Latest news with #LukeDavis
ABC News
07-05-2025
- ABC News
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb to resign
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb is expected to leave the job imminently. The ABC understands she will resign after three years in the position. Commissioner Webb became the first woman to hold the position in the state when she took over from Mick Fuller in 2022. During her tenure she attracted criticism for her handling of the manslaughter of 95-year-old Clare Nowland by a police officer and her response to the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davis, who were allegedly murdered by an off-duty officer. Last year she initiated a review into police culture amid claims from former and serving officers of bullying and sexism in the ranks. Commissioner Webb joined the force in 1987 and went on to work in Sydney and regional NSW in general duties and criminal investigation roles before being appointed commissioner. There has been no mention of her future during Question Time in parliament. Loading
Epoch Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Supreme Court Grapples With Discrimination Lawsuit Against Labcorp
The Supreme Court struggled this week with a complex discrimination lawsuit that blind patients filed against Labcorp over self-service kiosks they could not use. The case, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis, was heard on April 29. The petitioner does business with the public as Labcorp. The respondents are blind Labcorp patients, including Luke Davis and Julian Vargas. The issue in the case is whether a federal district court may certify a class action that includes claimants who have not experienced an injury. In a class action, one or more plaintiffs sue on behalf of a 'class,' or a larger group of people who claim to have suffered the same injury because of a defendant. Federal and state court rules govern whether a class action gets certified and is allowed to proceed. The case goes back to 2017, when Labcorp, a major provider of diagnostic services, offered patients a new way to check in for appointments, according to the company's Related Stories 1/27/2025 6/8/2023 The company began offering self-service kiosks at its patient service centers, but blind individuals could not access them without help, the petition said. In 2020, a group of legally blind people filed a putative—or proposed—class action lawsuit, claiming that the kiosks violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. Labcorp claims that not all blind people in the class actually experienced injuries as a result of the company's policies. When it granted the petition on Jan. 24, the Supreme Court said it would consider whether federal civil procedure rules allow a federal court to certify a class action 'when some members of the proposed class lack any Article III injury.' Article III of the U.S. Constitution governs federal courts and has been interpreted as saying that those courts may only hear cases involving actual controversies in which at least one litigant has standing to sue. Standing refers to the right of someone to sue in court. The parties must show a strong enough connection to the claim to justify their participation in a lawsuit. The company stated in the petition that 'it is very hard to find blind patients actually harmed by the availability of Labcorp's new kiosks.' Many blind patients 'either do not know these kiosks exist or, if they did, have zero interest in using them, preferring instead to use the front-desk option that has served them well for years,' it said. Moreover, the other side could not point to any patients who could not avail themselves of Labcorp's services because they could not access a kiosk, according to the petition. The plaintiffs in the original lawsuit defined the proposed classes as 'all blind patients who had been merely exposed to these allegedly unlawful kiosks—i.e., blind patients who had walked into a [patient service center] with a kiosk, regardless of whether they knew about or wanted to use it.' The plaintiffs said this meant the classes could number as many as hundreds of thousands of people and could lead to about half a billion dollars per year in damages, the petition states. In May 2022, a federal district court certified two classes in the lawsuit. One class consisted of patients in California seeking damages under the Unruh Act; the other class consisted of patients across the country seeking relief under the ADA and two other federal statutes—the Rehabilitation Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Labcorp appealed the class certifications to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which sided with the patients in a February 2024 'Neither court ... disputed that each class contained a sizable number of members who lacked Article III injuries—which makes good sense, because a person simply proximate to an allegedly unlawful kiosk has not suffered any concrete injury,' the petition said. The Ninth Circuit's 'lax approach to certification' has been rejected by about half the federal circuit courts, it added. Allowing uninjured persons into a class 'can drive up potential liability, and thus manufacture leverage with which to extort a settlement.' This means that weak claims can move forward and millions of dollars can be 'extracted from companies who have done nothing wrong—but nonetheless cannot tolerate a massive litigation risk,' the petition said. During the April 29 oral 'If a class is defined to include plaintiffs without Article III standing and, as a result, you need thousands of mini-trials to separate the wheat from the chaff, the Article III issue necessarily swamps any common ones,' said Francisco, who was U.S. solicitor general for most of the first Trump administration. In this case, 'plaintiffs who don't want to use kiosks don't have standing to challenge how kiosks work any more than a vegan has standing to challenge how a restaurant defines a medium rare steak,' he said. It follows that the Supreme Court 'needs to assess whether each of the 8,000 to 112,000 class members actually want to use kiosks, and that will necessarily swamp any common issues, as the D.C. and First Circuits correctly held' in two prior cases, Francisco said. Justice Clarence Thomas asked Francisco if the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to deal with this case. 'This court has the jurisdiction to address that judgment, reverse it, and send it back to the Ninth Circuit,' the attorney said. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Labcorp is responsible 'for the confusion that we are in right now.' She said Labcorp previously argued that the class definition was 'too narrow' but that today, it is 'saying it's improper because it's too broad.' The definition 'now includes uninjured people, whereas, before, it … contained only injured people,' she said. Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed concern that the Ninth Circuit's opinion may be an advisory opinion. An advisory opinion is a non-binding opinion in which a court provides advice on a hypothetical legal question. The Supreme Court has long held that Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which gives federal courts jurisdiction, or authority, over live disputes, During a discussion with Department of Justice attorney Sopan Joshi, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the Ninth Circuit ruling 'really does start to sound sort of like an advisory [opinion].' The respondents' attorney, Deepak Gupta, said the Supreme Court has previously ruled that 'Article III doesn't give federal courts the power to give relief to any uninjured plaintiff, class action or not.' The lawyer said if the court rules on the merits of the case and issues an 'advisory opinion,' that opinion should state 'that at the class certification stage, the proper inquiry is whether there will be an administratively feasible mechanism to weed out the uninjured.' The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of June.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Veren Inc. (VRN) the Top Oil & Gas E&P Stock Outperforming Despite Sinking Oil Prices?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) stands against other top oil & gas E&P stocks outperforming despite sinking oil prices. Oil prices have crashed by as much as 8.5% since the start of this month as Donald Trump reignites the tariff war. At one point, it was down as much as 18%! The broader market, as well as investors, have come to terms with a harsh reality: the tariffs are here to stay! Inflation resulting from these tariffs threatens to send the country's economy into recession, and global oil demand is reacting accordingly. The oil prices continue to tumble, threatening the future of some of the major oil producers of the world. Amid this uncertain environment, some oil and gas stocks are outperforming the market. We decided to take a look at these stocks to find gems that can help retail investors outperform the market in these tough times. To come up with our list of the top 10 oil & gas stocks outperforming despite sinking oil prices, we looked at the oil & gas exploration and production industry, considering only the stocks with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion. tcly / Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) develops, acquires, and holds interests in petroleum assets operations. The company recently entered into a merger agreement with Whitecap Resources in an all-share transaction valued at approximately C$15 billion, along with debt. The company's stock is up 5.18% in the last one week of trading. Raymond James analyst Luke Davis shared his thoughts on this merger by saying: 'The merger is a match made in heaven and a long time in the making, as the combined company is positioned exceptionally well thanks to Whitecap's management team and poised to improve operational performance and capture synergies across the value chain.' Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) also offers an attractive dividend yield of 5.5%, which makes it a compelling candidate for income-oriented investors. There was a surge in the market price once the merger was announced, but that could be attributed to an arbitrage play between the two companies involved. Over time, one may see the stock price correct itself to come back to its previous valuations. However, investors shouldn't forget that the Canadian Oil landscape has now changed with the two companies coming together. The resulting entity will be in a better position to negotiate favorable pricing with service providers and be less prone to risks that normally affect its now smaller peers. Overall, VRN ranks 4th on our list of top oil & gas E&P stocks outperforming despite sinking oil prices. While we acknowledge the potential of VRN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VRN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Whitecap Resources and Veren to merge in massive $15-billion deal
Whitecap Resources Inc. and Veren Inc. have announced plans to merge in a $15-billion transaction aimed at creating Canada's largest light-oil-focused producer. If approved, the new company, under Whitecap's name, would have combined production of around 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the companies said in a release Monday. The merger stands to create the largest Canadian light oil producer and the seventh-largest producer overall in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The new company would also be the largest landholder in the Alberta Montney and the second largest across unconventional Montney and Duvernay fairways, with a combined 1.5 million acres in Alberta, the release said. The combined company would also be the second-largest producer in Saskatchewan. The new company will be led by Whitecap's current management team, with four Veren directors — including chief executive Craig Bryska — joining Whitecap's board. The all-share transaction is valued at $15 billion, including net debt. Under the terms of the deal, Veren (formerly known as Crescent Point Energy Corp.) shareholders will receive 1.05 Whitecap shares for each Veren share. Post-merger, Whitecap shareholders would own roughly 48 per cent of the combined company; Veren shareholders will own 52 per cent. The deal will be voted on by both companies' shareholders in early May. The merger will also require court and regulatory approvals. Luke Davis, an analyst at Raymond James Financial Inc., suggested the merger has been a logical move for at least the last decade. Canadian oilpatch angst ramps up amid falling oil prices 10 stocks to watch in 2025 Pipeline giant makes big bet on Canadian crude '(T)he combined company will be positioned exceptionally well with Whitecap's best-in-class management team poised to improve operational performance and capture synergies across the value chain,' he said in a note Monday. 'We also think this positions the company among larger-cap peers, which seems to be the clearest path to sustainable multiple expansion. That said, we would not be surprised by some near-term weakness as the deal is digested with the premium paid a key driver.' • Email: mpotkins@
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
CT DOT kicks off ‘High-Risk Rural Roads Enforcement Campaign'
CONNECTICUT (WNTH) — The Connecticut Department of Transportation, state and local law enforcement agencies are kicking off the annual statewide 'High-Risk Rural Roads Enforcement Campaign.' The goal is to get drivers to slow down and improve overall road safety. From March 1 to May 30, the Connecticut State Police say the campaign will deploy additional patrols on back-road hotspots as part of the initiative. The $2M campaign was funded by the Federal Highway Administration. 'Never seen it this bad': Rates of homelessness on the rise in Connecticut 'These are roadways where we have seen frequent issues of excessive speed and other aggressive and dangerous driving taking place,' Sgt. Luke Davis with state police told News 8. Sgt. Davis is reminding motorists that the implications of speeding can be life-shattering. 'It only takes a split second for something to go absolutely sideways,' he said. 'It seems like an epidemic now,' said Old Saybrook resident Shawn Hatchel. 'There seems to be more road rage than normal. People seem to be in a bigger hurry than they used to be, and they don't seem to care about pedestrians as much.' The Connecticut DOT says that from 2019 to 2023, the state averaged 44 rural road deaths annually. A quarter of those deaths were speed-related. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
