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Shaquille O’Neal has recently been coming up in the news not related to anything with his status in the NBA.  This big time celebrity has been the center of a very shocking lawsuit; Shaq has been accused of hacking a computer, destroying evidence, and attempting to frame an employee.  The alleged allegations from Shawn Darling, a former employee, include intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and civil R.I.C.O. (a racketeering charge).  Looks like he might want to look into criminal attorneys in Los Angeles to defend his case.

Some of the allegations according to Radar Online include:

    * Shaq hacked into the voicemails and phone systems of Darling and Vanessa Lopez, a mistress who has been recently suing Shaq. He deleted Lopez’s messages and changed her password.
    * Shaq obtained restricted information from law enforcement on the two. 
    * His personal computer holding much of this evidence was thrown in a lake behind his house.

According to Shaq, "ok but in the meantime o boy needs to be put in jail, we have way too many law enforcement connections to let a criminal try to get over on mine o mine, we don’t need any distractions as we deal with Harvard guy, shoe line guy, restaurant guy, real estate guy and everything we are planning to do after basketball life…"

Right now a divorce trial happening in downtown LA that is scheduled to run until the 30th of September has the city of angels buzzing. The trial will determine not only the division of assets between Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie but will decide who has ownership of the LA Dodgers sports franchise. Bob Nightengale reporting for USA today comments:

Divorces are as common as plastic surgery in Hollywood, but the divorce trial between Frank and Jamie McCourt that begins Monday has a chance to be the most titillating drama in this citysince Lindsay Lohan’s late-night capers.This trial could determine the fate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and, ultimately, who will own the storied franchise.

McCourt contends that a 2004 marital property agreement signed by himself and his then wife granted him sole ownership of the team. Meanwhile Jamie McCourt’s attorneys are countering that their client did not have informed counsel as to community property law in California when she signed the agreement(the couple was then living in Boston, Massachusetts) and that there is more than one version of the agreement and that the versions conflict in regard to ownership of the team.

With so much to be determined and so many eyes on the LA trial it will be interesting to see what agreement will be reached by the 30th. In the coming weeks you can be sure that media experts and divorce lawyers in Boston and Los Angeles will be giving their two cents as to who should get “custody” of L.A.’s Dodgers.

Toyota is recalling two more models of its cars, the popular Corolla, and the Matrix hatchback, which were produced between 2005 and 2008.  Toyota has been in the press for the past year mostly due to its recalls of its models that would suddenly accelerate due to a design flaw in floor mats and gas pedals.  However, the Japanese automaker has maintained that the electronic control modules (ECMs), which control the engine, were not responsible for those sudden acceleration problems.

The ECM however, is being faulted for this recent recall, which pertains to an opposite problem of sudden acceleration: the cars are suddenly stalling.  According to USA Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 163 complaints about the stalling in the Corolla and Matrix models.  As a result of the recall, there is increased scrutiny on Toyota’s quality assurance methods:

Toyota has known about the stalling problem for years. It issued four technical service bulletins, the most recent in 2007, telling mechanics about the problem and instructing them to replace the module. But it did not deem the problem to be a safety risk needing a recall.

While sudden acceleration represents a more sensational safety risk at first impression, a defective vehicle lawyer could argue it is just as dangerous.  A car that stalls without warning can make the driver and passengers sitting ducks for collisions is a stall occurs on a crowded highway or railroad tracks.  It will be interesting to see if this recall for the stalling problems is a tip of the iceberg the way it was for the sudden acceleration problem, if this creates more evidence of a link between ECMs and sudden acceleration, or if the stalling problem leads to another Congressional hearing.

If you are a U.S. citizen and you are engaged to a non citizen outside the U.S., you can help your betrothed acquire a fiancé visa in New York City.  

To do so, you must fill out a Petition for Alien Fiancé, form I-129F.  This three-page form allows you to petition to bring your fiancé to the U.S. for marriage to you.  The I-129F form also allows you to petition to bring your spouse and that person’s children (K-3 and K-4 visas, respectively, are required) to the United States to complete processing for permanent resident status under the LIFE Act and Amendments of 2000.

The filing fee is $455, but there is no fee for petitions for K-3 status based on an immigrant petition filed by the same U.S. citizen. 

Contact New York City work visa attorneys today if you are looking to fill out this petition. Bretz & Coven, LLP 305 Broadway,
New York, NY 10007.

Officials in Polk County, Georgia, are responding to criticisms of the Grady Road Landfill’s waste disposal procedures.  The landfill has come under scrutiny for receiving a significant amount of asbestos from a recent demolition project.  Asbestos is the leading cause of mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer, and there are concerns about how secure the recepticles in which asbestos is being disposed.

Polk county officials reiterated, however that asbestos is not hazardous waste, as defined by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.  However, David W. Pepper, manager of the landfill operated by Waste Industries, stated that the landfill follows all state rules pertaining to asbestos disposal. 

The article does not really go into detail about the complaints and protests regarding the asbestos disposal at Grady Road.  The point of view is exclusively that of the county politicians and Waste Industries.  At stake is the health and well being of the demolition workers who may have been exposed to asbestos fibers, the Waste Industry workers who may have been exposed if the disposal did not adhere to state regulations, and citizens of Polk County if asbestos leaks into groundwater.  A Georgia mesothelioma lawyer might be interested to audit the landfill and determine if Polk County executives can have their word taken at face value.