A printing company is reprimanding actor Diether Ocampo and his business partners by asking a Quezon City court to order the latter  to pay P3.6 million for their supposed failure to pay the remaining balance in the printing of a men’s magazine.

Velprint Corporation stated in a three-page complaint for sum of money, said that Ocampo and his partner Neil Angelo Romero, and 5 Leaf Publishing Corp availed its services from June 2 to December 28, 2009 for the printing of Uno, a men’s magazine.

The contract for P4,124,970 was covered by post-dated checks but somehow, in spite of full delivery of services, the defendants only paid P490,000, leaving an unpaid balance of P3,643,970 as of July 22, 2010.

Velprint Corp general manager Leonardo Uy filed a  civil complaint, and  was raffled off to Judge Bayani Vargas of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 219.

A $1 million (£650,000) sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Steven Seagal’s former assistant has been dismissed by Court in Los Angeles.

The martial arts actor Seagal, whose film credit includes Under Siege and Flight of Fury, was sued by his 23 year old former assistant, Kayden Nguyen claiming that he had forced her to stay in a Louisiana home and that the action star had repeatedly abused her. She also claimed that the actor illegally trafficked women. These allegations forced Seagal to suspend the filming of his reality series "Steven Seagal Lawman". 

The court did not released any information regarding the dismissal of the case on Tuesday. Seagal’s camp had denied the allegations and had been trying to resolve the case through private arbitration.

Lawyers of Seagal and Nguyen did not release any statement regarding the issue and did not return phone messages Wednesday.

In the public court documents, Ms Nguyen claimed that the 58 year old actor had asked for a massage on her first day. She also said that the actor had proceeded to sexually abuse her. The lawsuit was filed on April 12, 2010.

On April 13, 2010, Seagal’s lawyer Marty Singer released his statement that the allegations was a "ridiculous and absurd" claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired.

Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel issued on Tuesday the 90 days in jail and an inpatient rehab program after actress Lindsay Lohan had been found guilty of violating the terms on her probation in 2007 drug case. This is after listening to the employees’ testimonies of an alcohol treatment that the actress had been ordered to attend.

The actress immediately burst into tears after the ruling.

“I did do everything I was told to do and did the best I could to balance jobs and showing up. It wasn’t vacation, it wasn’t some sort of a joke,” the actress told the judge.

The judge found the actress’ apology insincere and says “somebody who cheats and think it isn’t cheating if she doesn’t get caught.”

Lohan still have until July 20 to surrender, as she was not immediately taken into custody. However, she was required to wear an ankle alcohol monitor until then.

The monitor issued an alert after the actress attended the MTV Movie Awards and after-parties last month. It showed a 0.03 blood alcohol level at that time. Lohan denied this.

Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, urged the judge to place the actress back on probation, saying she had learned her lesson and had improved. Prosecutor Danette Meyers disagreed and urged jail time for the star.

"When you ordered her to go every week, it didn’t catch her attention," Meyers said in a closing statement.

The Maryland Department of Labor ordered a reverse that withheld unemployment benefits from one of three Filipina nurses who were fired from a Baltimore hospital for speaking Tagalog.

Administrative judge Stuart Breslow supported the nurses when he said in his verdict that no patient was ever put in danger when they spoke Tagalog during their break.

Breslow said Filipina nurse Corina Yap should be entitled to receive jobless benefits. Earlier, the Labor Department said Yap could not collect any unemployment benefits because she was fired for grave misconduct.

In April, four Filipino employees of the Bon Secours Hospital were fired, for allegedly disobeying the hospital’s English-only policy while on duty at the emergency room.

Nurses Anna Rosales, Hachelle Natano,Yap and employee Jazziel Granada insisted they spoke Tagalog only during breaks. Breslow also added that  any slips on the part of the nurses were accidental.

According to Arnedo Valero, the nurses’ legal counsel from the nonprofit Migrant Heritage Commission, that the administrative court’s verdict can boost the nurses’ discrimination complaint filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Valero said the nurses are thinking of suing Bon Secours for damages

An Iranian woman convicted of adultery was reported to be  executed by stoning. This news is being denied by Iran’s government  though her death sentence may still be carried out by some other method.

Based on the Islamic republic’s first public statement on the case of Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, 42, the Iranian Embassy in London, England, said Thursday that "this mission denies the false news aired in this respect and … according to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she will not be executed by stoning punishment.

"It is notable that this kind of punishment has rarely been implemented in Iran and various means and remedies must be probed and exhausted to finally come up with such a punishment," the embassy said.

However, Ashtiani nevertheless faces the possibility of execution for her 2006 adultery conviction, said Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International in London.

"We have noted in the past that those who have been sentenced to stonings have gone on to be hanged," he said. "That remains a concern."

According to Dyke, Amnesty first heard that Ashtiani had been sentenced to death by stoning from her lawyer, Mohommad Mostafaei.

Dyke added he accepted Iran’s statement that seems to back off from the punishment that some governments have condemned as barbaric, but added, "It raises far more questions than it answers."

Ashtiani’s son, who appealed Wednesday to Iran’s courts to spare his mother’s life, said he won’t accept any decision short of his mother’s freedom. Through human rights activist Mina Ahadi, Sajjad Mohammedie Ashtiani said he would be satisfied only when Iran’s judiciary officially drops the charges against her.

"Legally, it’s all over," said Ahadi, who heads the International Committee Against Stoning and the Death Penalty, earlier this week.

Ashtiani’s son made an open letter to government officials which contains that there was neither evidence nor legal grounds for his mother’s conviction and sentence. He said the family has traveled six times from their home in Tabriz to Tehran to speak with Iranian officials, but in useless.

"So I have no option but reaching out to them this way," he said earlier in the week.

He asked, why has an accused been twice prosecuted on the same charge when Islamic criminal law allows prosecution only once?

Sajjad Ashtiani told CNN that he visits his mother every Monday in jail, never knowing whether that meeting will be their last.

His mother was convicted of adultery in 2006 and was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes, according to human rights lawyer Mostafaei. She later retracted that confession and has denied wrongdoing.

Her conviction was not based on evidence but on the determination of three out of five judges, Mostafaei said. She has asked forgiveness from the court but the judges denied to grant clemency.

Iran’s supreme court upheld the conviction in 2007.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department on Thursday obtained reports of the alleged stoning. Spokesman Mark Toner said, "We’re deeply troubled by press reports of the planned execution by Iranian authorities of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani by stoning.

"Stoning as a means of execution is tantamount to torture. It’s barbaric and an abhorrent act," he said.

"We call on the Iranian authorities to live up to their due process commitments under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and we condemn in the strongest terms the use of the practice of stoning anywhere it occurs as a form of legalized death by torture."
 

Jason Ivler showed up at the Pasig municipal trial court Thursday morning to face trial for the death of Malacañang Assistant Secretary Nestor Ponce nearly six years ago.

Ivler, together with his mother Marlene Aguilar, Jason was the pointed suspect  in a car smash-up at the C5-Ortigas flyover in August 2004 that led to the death of Ponce, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser on resettlement.

Article source: Inquire.net

During the continuation of the hearing of the criminal case filed by Halili against the cosmetic surgeon,  the defense requested an ocular inspection of the hotel room where the sex tape of Katrina Halili and Hayden Kho was allegedly recorded.

Actress Katrina Halili failed to give out details of the hotel room prompting the defense to request for an ocular inspection at the Holiday Inn.

The defense said a complete inspection of the room would prove if the sexy actress was telling the truth when she insisted that she wasn’t aware that Kho was already videotaping their sexual intercourse in 2007.

“The whole theory of the case is she did not know. Ang sinasabi namin how could she not know when the room was very small? And from the end of the bed and the TV set, it is impossible not to see the TV at the edge of the bed,” lawyer Lorna Kapunan, Kho’s legal counsel, said.

“And she also said that, if at all there was a video camera, it would be on top of the TV set. So to say that she did not see, it is I think is stretching the truth. Or she could have been under the influence of some substance that made her not see it,” Kapunan added.

The ocular inspection is slated on June 15.

As for Halili, it would be hard for her to revive the past.

"Nahihirapan po ako talaga. Sobrang hirap po. Kasi pinipilit nila akong i-detalye lahat. ‘Yong kwarto, kung gaano kalaki, kung gaano kalayo."

The defense also asked for the results of Halili’s psychological test accomplished by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) when the sex video scandal broke out in 2009.

“This is a case of domestic violence…. Their ground for domestic violence is psychological and the expert here is the NBI who examined her. And the NBI said the cause of the psychological distress is not the sex video… [but] an event that happened within the 3 months from her examination. What event is that? That is the release of the sex video,” Kapunan said.

Kapunan said Halili herself said that Kho is not responsible for the release of the sex tapes.

Kho, who insisted that he is also a victim,  said those responsible for the release of the videos should be held in question, and not him.

Halili’s lawyer, Raymund Palad, countered: "The sex video was taken without her knowledge and consent. Kapag hindi mo alam ang isang bagay, hindi ka masasaktan."

Yayo Aguila made a statement on controversial actor Baron Geisler to come forward and face the charges filed against him.

In April 2008, Yayo’s daughter accused Geisler of harassment  called on Geisle when Bocaue, Bulacan court issued a warrant for the arrest of the “Jay” actor.

The issuance of the warrant of arrest was about the case of acts of lasciviousness and unjust vexation filed against Geisler by teen actress Yasmien Kurdi.

Authorities, however, were unable to serve the warrant of arrest.  According to Judge Lauro Bernardo of the Municipal Trial Court said “nobody wanted to receive the subpoena at the ABS-CBN Talent Center as Baron Geisler was no longer a talent of the studio.”

However, Kurdi’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, has announced that a "substantial reward" would be granted to any law enforcer or private citizen who could give information about the actor’s whereabouts.

"We cannot let Mr. Geisler escape trial and possible punishment by the simple expedient of making himself disappear in order to evade court hearings. We are appealing to all police personnel and concerned citizens to give us information in order to apprehend Mr. Geisler so that he would answer for the criminal charges. We will make it worth their while to arrest him or give information," the lawyer said.

Kurdi accused Geisler of  harassing her during the taping of their television series. The actress said the aggravation happened in front of the production staff. She also disclosed that Geisler had allegedly sent her vulgar text messages.

Reports say that Geisler was under the influence of alcohol during those instances,but the actress said this was not an excuse for his behavior.

Kurdi added that  she filed a complaint against the Geisler to put a stop in Geisler’s incessant harassment.

Cagadog family finally tasted justice after four years.

Known as the fork-and-spoon incident in Quebec, in 2006,  7-year old Filipino boy Luc Cagadoc was allegedly discriminated and reprimanted by school staff for eating with spoon and fork. They reportedly told the boy he "ate like a pig" and that his eating habits were disgusting.

The Cagadoc family complained against the school board for humiliating and reprimanding the boy for not eating the way Canadians eat.

The family sought the help of the Center for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR) after the complaint was dismissed for no evidence found.

CRARR argued that the incident let to Luc becoming anti social. He also lost his appetite anf did poorly in school.

The Quebec Human Rights Tribulan awarded the family $17,000 in damages, to be paid by the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school board, the principal Lalande School, and Luc’s former teacher.

Maria Galalrdo, his mother, and Luc are pleased that their family won the case. It was a tough battle but it was a lesson thet served him well. This case has convinced Luc to become a lawyer.

Television’s tough prosecutor Nancy Grace, one of the anchor host of HNL is now facing a lawsuit from the Duckett’s. The situation sprung from an interview made last 2006, wherein Melinda Duckett, 21 year old with a 2-year-old son, Trenton, taped an interview with Nancy.  The said interview was about the disappearance of her son.  But on the day the taped interview was scheduled to air, Melinda shot and killed herself.

The Duckett’s were devastated, blaming Nancy Grace for inflicting emotional distress by drilling her with questions and accusations concerning his son’s disappearance.  Nancy defended herself, saying that she was not to blame, that Melinda is filled with guilt of her son’s loss.

Nancy wouldn’t want to have cameras during the questioning on Thursday.   Her attorneys say it’s necessary to protect Nancy from embarrassment.