CHICAGO (CBS) — California attorney Thomas Girardi and two colleagues from his law firm are facing federal charges accusing them of stealing more than $3 million in settlement money from the families of victims of the 2018 crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia.

Girardi, the estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, has been indicted on eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of criminal contempt of court. David Lira, an attorney at Girardi’s law firm, Girardi Keese; and Christopher Kamon, the former head of accounting at Girardi Keese, both also are

This post was originally published on the RLUIPA Defense blog by Evan Seeman, Esq. of Robinson & Cole, and is reposted with permission.

A district court has ruled that the City of Meriden, Connecticut (the City) discriminated against Omar Islamic Center Inc. following the City’s denial of the Islamic Center’s application to move its mosque to another location. The Islamic Center (the Center) outgrew its prior location – a 1,200 square foot space above a pizza restaurant in a neighboring city – and was unable to accommodate the members of the assembly, the number of students interested in its Quran

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

The petitioner had requested variances from several different zoning requirements, including the regulations for lot area, lot frontage, front yard setbacks, rear yard setbacks, and minimum and total side yard setbacks, which it needed so that it could build a single faming home. The board of zoning appeals (BZA) denied its request for area variances, however, and the Second Department confirmed the BZA’s denial on appeal. As the court explained, there was sufficient evidence to support the BZA’s determination that there would be an undesirable impact on the character of the neighborhood

UCLA Extension’s annual Land Use Law and Planning Conference is the leading networking event and source of information on California land use legislation, case law, and the emerging issues that frame land use and development practices in the nation’s most popular state.

The program’s unique cross-disciplinary approach explores the full range of perspectives drawn from land use planning, legal, development, and environmental communities, and demonstrates how these factors influence the day-to-day work of planners, developers, environmental regulators, and attorneys .

Now in its 37th year, the UCLA Extension conference offers a big-picture view of land use law and planning practice,

Brazil’s attorney general has filed an indictment against 39 people for their alleged involvement in the storming of the Senate building on 8 January.

The riot saw thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro attack government buildings following his election loss last year.

The indictment says the individuals – who are not named – used violence and threats to try to abolish democracy.

Mr Bolsonaro has voiced “regret” for the unrest, but denies he caused it.

Perceived threats to democratic order are

This post was authored by Matthew Loescher, Esq.

Plaintiffs owned homes in the City of New Buffalo, Michigan, that they used, or intended to use, as short-term rental properties. In 2019, the City passed an ordinance requiring homeowners in the City to obtain a permit before using their homes as short-term rentals. In 2020, the City adopted a resolution that suspended the issuance of such permits. Plaintiffs brought this action against the City to challenge the validity of that resolution under state and federal law.

At the outset, the court noted that Plaintiffs’ failure or inability to obtain a short-term

This post was authored by Matthew Loescher, Esq.

The Chandlers and Barnes had sought an injunction to prevent the Town Council of Perdido Beach from constructing a public boat launch and pier at the end of State Street on the western shore of Soldier’s Creek. – adjacent to their properties. In this case, the property appealed from a judgment entered by the Baldwin Circuit Court after a bench trial in favor of the Town Council.

Upon review of the record, the court noted that the proposed boat launch would be placed where State Street ends at the edge of Soldier’s

An attorney on Twitter clapped back at an account closely linked to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that suggested Tuesday’s shattering testimony before the House select committee investigating the US Capitol riot was “all hearsay.”

The House Judiciary Committee Republicans’ account ― which names Jordan as its ranking member in its Twitter bio ― labeled the astonishing testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson as hearsay.

“It’s literally all hearsay evidence. What a joke,” the post on the GOP account said of Hutchinson’s testimony about Donald Trump’s last days as president.

Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of