Curt Anderson

April 21, 2008 | Daily Report Online

MIAMI AP - Tens of thousands of ill Florida smokers and families of those who died are lining up for a share of a $600 million fund created by major tobacco companies as part of a 14-year-old lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers.The Florida Supreme Court in 2006 threw out a massive $145 billion damage award in the case, but the tobacco companies had previously set up the fund to be paid out even if the appeal failed.

By CURT ANDERSON

3 minute read

December 22, 2009 | Daily Report Online

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. AP - Attorneys for two former employees of disgraced financier Allen Stanford are seeking the dismissal of charges that they illegally shredded thousands of documents in Florida.A hearing on the issue is scheduled to take place in a Fort Lauderdale court Tuesday.Lawyers for Thomas Raffanello and Bruce Perraud say prosecutors tried to intimidate a witness so he would refuse to testify for them.

By CURT ANDERSON

1 minute read

March 14, 2007 | Daily Report Online

MIAMI AP - A jury decided Wednesday that a convicted sex offender should get the death penalty for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was buried alive in trash bags just yards from her home.The jury, on a 10-2 vote, brushed aside pleas for mercy and a life sentence from defense lawyers based on claims that John Evander Couey, 48, is mentally retarded and suffers from chronic mental illness.

By Curt Anderson

3 minute read

February 18, 2009 | Daily Report Online

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. AP - Philip Morris was ordered by a jury to pay $8 million in damages to the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in a case that could set a standard for some 8,000 similar Florida lawsuits.The six jurors deliberated over two days before returning the award for Elaine Hess, 63, whose husband Stuart Hess died in 1997 at age 55 after decades as a chain smoker.

By CURT ANDERSON

3 minute read

February 13, 2009 | Daily Report Online

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. AP - The jury that decided a 40-year chain-smoker was helplessly addicted to nicotine must now decide whether tobacco giant Philip Morris owes his family potentially millions of dollars for his death from lung cancer.The next phase of the closely-watched lawsuit filed by the man's widow, Elaine Hess, starts Friday in Broward County Circuit Court.

By CURT ANDERSON

3 minute read

October 30, 2009 | Daily Report Online

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida AP - A New York businessman who admitted hiding assets worth $8 million with Swiss bank UBS AG hopes to get a light sentence for a Florida tax conviction.Jeffrey Chernick's disclosures led to charges against others involved with UBS. His lawyers say that warrants a sentence of probation and house arrest.

By CURT ANDERSON

1 minute read

January 22, 2007 | Daily Report Online

MIAMI AP - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick won't face criminal charges after a water bottle was seized by security at Miami International Airport.Lab tests on the bottle, which police said smelled of marijuana and contained a hidden compartment, found no evidence of drugs, according to a memo Monday by Deisy Rodriguez, an assistant state attorney.

By Curt Anderson

2 minute read

May 02, 2007 | Daily Report Online

MIAMI AP - The painstaking process of picking a jury has pushed back the start of testimony in the Jose Padilla terrorism support case to the week of May 14, meaning the trial itself is likely to last most of the summer.More than 150 prospective jurors had been questioned as of Wednesday since jury selection began April 16.

By Curt Anderson

3 minute read

April 18, 2007 | Daily Report Online

MIAMI AP - The Tampa Sports Authority called pat-down searches at Tampa Bay Buccaneers football games an essential layer of security in an age of terrorism and urged a federal appealscourt Tuesday to reinstate them.Tampa is the only NFL city where the pat-downs have been successfully challenged, although lawsuits have also been brought in Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco, according to attorneys in the Florida case.

By Curt Anderson

3 minute read

February 06, 2008 | Daily Report Online

By CURT ANDERSON

3 minute read