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Suspect’s lawyer: Stories about killing Shakur are fiction

LAS VEGAS — The defense attorney representing a former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of killing hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas said Tuesday his client's accounts of the killing are fiction and prosecutors lack key evidence to obtain a murder conviction. "He himself is giving different stories," attorney Carl Arnold told reporters outside a courtroom following a brief status check with his client, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, in front of a Nevada judge. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 4. "We haven't seen more than just his word," Arnold said of Davis' police and media interviews since 2008 in which prosecutors say he incriminated himself in Shakur's killing — including Davis' 2019 tell-all memoir of life leading a street gang in Compton, California. Prosecutor Binu Palal did not immediately comment outside court about Arnold's statements. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said evidence against Davis is strong and it will be up to a jury to decide the credibility of Davis' accounts. Arnold said his client wanted to make money with his story, so he embellished or outright lied about his involvement in the car-to-car shooting that killed Shakur and wounded rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight at a traffic signal near the Las Vegas Strip in September 1996. Knight, now 59, is serving 28 years in a California prison for killing a Compton businessman with a vehicle in 2015. He was not called by prosecutors to testify before the grand jury that indicted Davis last year. Arnold said Davis will not testify at trial, but he intends to call Knight to testify. The defense attorney said police and prosecutors lack proof that Davis was in Las Vegas at the time of Shakur's killing, and don't have the gun and car used during the shooting as evidence. "We've seen video of everybody else here. Where's video of him?" Arnold said of Davis. "There's just nothing saying that he was here." Davis has been jailed on $750,000 bail since his arrest in September. Arnold said Tuesday that Davis has been unable to raise the 10% needed to obtain a bond to be released to house arrest. Davis, 60, is originally from Compton. Police, prosecutors and Davis say he is the only person still alive who was in the car from which shots were fired. Davis pleaded not guilty in November to first-degree murder. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. In his book, Davis wrote that he was promised immunity from prosecution when he told authorities in Los Angeles what he knew about the fatal shootings of Shakur and rival rapper Christopher Wallace six months later in Los Angeles. Wallace was known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls. Shakur had five No. 1 albums, was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted in 2017 into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He received a posthumous star last year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

US to pay $138.7M to Nassar’s victims

DETROIT — The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest. When combined with other settlements, $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries. Nassar worked at Michigan State University and also served as a team doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He's now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts. Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of those in his care for decades, and that the "allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset." "While these settlements won't undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing," Mizer said of the agreement to settle 139 claims. The Justice Department has acknowledged that it failed to step in. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against him but apparently took no action, an internal investigation found. FBI Director Christopher Wray was contrite — and very blunt — when he spoke to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. "I'm sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again," Wray said. "And I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed." After a search, investigators said in 2016 that they had found images of child sex abuse and followed up with federal charges against Nassar. Separately, the Michigan attorney general's office handled the assault charges that ultimately shocked the sports world and led to an extraordinary dayslong sentencing hearing with gripping testimony about his crimes. "I'm deeply grateful. Accountability with the Justice Department has been a long time in coming," said Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who is not part of the latest settlement but was the first person to publicly step forward and detail abuse at the hands of Nassar. "The unfortunate reality is that what we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see," Denhollander told The Associated Press. "Most survivors never see accountability. Most survivors never see justice. Most survivors never get restitution." Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement. Mick Grewal, an attorney who represented 44 people in claims against the government, said the $1 billion in overall settlements speaks to "the travesty that occurred."

$34.6 million verdict: Patent infringement case protects, rewards SC company

Action: Infringement Injuries alleged: Patent infringement with trade dress allegations Case name: GeigTech East Bay LLC v. Lutron Electronics Inc. Court/case no.: U.S. Southern District of New York / 18 civ 5290 Judge: Colleen McMahon Amount: $34.6 million Date: March 15, 2024 Most helpful expert: Douglas Kim, patent attorney, of Kim, Lahey & Killough, Greenville Attorneys: Gary Sorden of Cole Schotz, Dallas (for the plaintiff); Scott W. Breedlove of Carter Arnett, Dallas (for the defendant) GeigTech East Bay, a South Carolina company that makes modern window shades, obtained U.S. Patent No. 10,294,717, for a "shade bracket with concealed wiring" on May 21, 2019. The patent was originally filed by Richard J. McKenna of Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee, and obtained by Douglas Kim, a registered patent attorney, of Kim, Lahey & Killough, Greenville. GeigTech filed a federal patent infringement complaint with trade dress allegations against Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. One of the tactics Lutron used to try to invalidate the patent. However, the patent written by Kim withstood two challenges in the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board and a jury trial. On March 12, the jury returned a verdict stating that Lutron had infringed on GeigTech’s patent and awarded $34.6 in damages. According to the jury verdict form, “Lutron opted to poach (GeigTech’s) patented designs and intellectual property to try and remain competitive in a segment of the market that (GeigTech) cornered.” As the finding of infringement was willful, GeigTech can ask the judge to triple the damages.

Defense verdict: Jury turns back lawsuit from pandemic-inspired claim

Action: Breach of contract and violation of South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act Injuries alleged: Breach of contract, unfair trade practice act, breach of warranty Case name: HHBC Inc. v. Jamis Bicycles Court/case no.: Beaufort County Common Pleas / 2021-CP-07-00143 Judge: Bobby Bonds Injuries alleged: $1.03 million (subject to tripling and addition of attorney’s fees to an estimated $4.5 million) Date: March 19, 2024 Most helpful expert: George Durant, CPA, Columbia Attorneys: Ashley Twombley and Thomas Iandoli of Twenge + Twombley, Beaufort (for the defendant); John Bowen of Laughlin & Bowen, Hilton Head (for the plaintiff) In 2021, plaintiff Hilton Head Bicycle Co. sued Jamis Bicycle Corp., alleging defendant breached a bicycle supply contract and caused plaintiff more than $1 million in damages. Plaintiff further alleged that the manner in which defendant breached the contract violated the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, allowing plaintiff to seek treble damages and attorney’s fees. The total exposure was estimated to be $4.5 million. A central issue at trial involved the unforeseen effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chain, and whether these effects excused defendant from the alleged breach. This is one of the few known jury verdicts dealing with the unforeseen effects of COVID-19 and the South Carolina Uniform Commercial Code’s “commercial impracticably” provisions. Another central issue involved plaintiff's alleged damages, which were ultimately limited by the trial court judge before being presented to the jury. When plaintiff’s damages were presented to the jury, defendant alleged plaintiff’s damages claims were not supported by sufficient documentation (a calculation methodology, receipts, invoices, etc.) and amounted to little more than a homemade list of numbers set forth on a single sheet of paper. In closing arguments, plaintiff’s counsel Ashley Twombley argued, “My children have prepared Christmas list with more detail than this wish list prepared by .” After a six-day trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of defendant, concluding it did not breach the contract, and that plaintiff was not entitled to any damages.