Latest news with #TimGriffin
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Arkansas prevails in lawsuit against Texas robocaller
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced late Thursday that the state had prevailed in a lawsuit against a Texas robocaller. According to the statement from Griffin's office, the federal district judge in Texas ruled that defendant John Spiller was in contempt of a 2023 order and now may no longer operate in the telecommunications industry. Attorney General Tim Griffin taking legal action against Texas robocaller for violating permanent bans Griffin was joined by attorneys general from seven other states in the lawsuit, which began in June 2020. 'This ruling is a win for Arkansans and for many Americans who have been subjected to fraudulent and annoying robocalls by John Spiller's companies, which included Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC,' Griffin said, adding, 'The 2023 judgment limited Spiller's activities in the telecommunications industry; however, Spiller violated the court's order by starting new companies under an alias and continuing his unlawful robocalls.' The order also assessed more than $600,000 in court costs that Spiller must pay, with $46,930 of that going to Arkansas for attorneys' fees. Florida robocall operator gets warning from Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin Arkansas joined with Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas in the suit. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Supreme Court decides TikTok vs. Arkansas case will go forward, denies dismissal request
Video: TikTok challenge damaging garage doors in Cabot LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court denied a request on behalf of the social media app TikTok to have the Arkansas lawsuit against it thrown out. The Arkansas lawsuit was filed in 2023 by Attorney General Tim Griffin. It charged TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, with violating the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). Arkansas AG Tim Griffin joins 41 other AGs calling for congressional requirement for social media surgeon general warning The suit claimed that TikTok violated the DTPA by misrepresenting itself and, in turn, exposing minors to mature content and engineered its platform to compel people to remain engaged. This has gone so far as to harm young people, the suit alleged, as they responded to various and dangerous 'TikTok challenges.' The suit was filed in the Cleburne County District Court, where attorneys for TikTok requested that the suit be dismissed, arguing that Arkansas had not established jurisdiction or a claim for relief. The court rejected the argument, meaning the case proceeded, and that ruling was subsequently appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court. CVS Pharmacy files suit against Arkansas over new law preventing PBM ownership of pharmacies On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, a request that the Supreme Court force the Circuit Court to rule in TikTok's favor, stating that such a ruling would be inappropriate under Arkansas precedent. Griffin was pleased with the Thursday ruling. 'Today's ruling allows our lawsuit against TikTok to move forward,' Griffin said. 'This moves us one step closer to holding TikTok accountable for deceiving Arkansans, especially children and their parents, about its app.' Arkansas filing suit against Meta, TikTok under Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act Court records indicate that the case is scheduled to be heard on Sept. 29 in a jury trial expected to last three weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Pitching in: Fundraising for Canada-Ukraine Foundation
The organizers: Bert Clark, Roman Dubczak and Tim Griffin The pitch: Raising more than $1-million and climbing The cause: The Canada-Ukraine Foundation Roman Dubczak likes to joke that he's probably the best-known Ukrainian-Canadian on Bay Street. 'I'm the only Roman,' he said with a laugh. Mr. Dubczak was born and raised in Toronto and has spent more than 30 years with CIBC, where he is deputy chair of capital markets. His parents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in the 1950s, and he has three cousins who live near Lviv. Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February, 2022, there has been a flurry of donations to help various causes in Ukraine. Bert Clark, chief executive of Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, wanted Toronto's financial district to get involved as well. He organized the Bay Street Breakfast for Ukraine in 2023 and invited former Ontario premier and UN ambassador Bob Rae to speak. The event raised around $300,000 for the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to help fund its medical outreach programs in Ukraine. Mr. Dubczak got involved as well along with Tim Griffin, former chief executive of Connor, Clark & Lunn Private Capital. They followed up with a second breakfast in June, 2024, featuring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Kyiv-based human-rights lawyer. That event also raised more than $300,000 for the foundation. The group is planning a third breakfast on June 6, the day before Ukraine's national soccer team plays Canada in the Canadian Shield Tournament in Toronto. The speaker will be Ukrainian soccer legend Andriy Shevchenko. The organizers are hoping to raise as much as $400,000, putting the total for all three events at more than $1-million. Mr. Dubczak said he keeps in close contact with his relatives in Ukraine and supports several local initiatives. 'It's tough to call and say, 'How's it going?'' he said. 'You feel you're not doing enough.' He has two sons and a daughter in their 20s and knows that if they were in Ukraine, the boys would likely be in the military. 'You feel it. It's drawn me in a lot more,' he added. The group plans to hold the breakfast again next year when the emphasis will likely be on raising money to rebuild Ukraine. And while interest in the war has waned, Mr. Dubczak said, the Bay Street crowd is still very much engaged. 'The awareness and the passion is very, very high on this topic.'
Axios
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Push to protect ballot initiatives advances in Arkansas
A proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution could have a sweeping impact on voters' control over how future laws are shaped. Why it matters: The measure, backed by Arkansas' League of Women Voters and Save AR Democracy, seeks to require a statewide vote before changing Arkansas' direct democracy process. It would also streamline legal reviews and prohibit the state Legislature from amending or repealing constitutional amendments. Driving the news: Attorney General Tim Griffin's office on Wednesday approved the popular name and ballot title for the citizen-led constitutional amendment. His office rejected three previous drafts. The most recent rejection cited a 2025 law, Act 602, which requires the language to be at or below eighth-grade reading level according to the Flesch-Kincaid scale. The big picture: Arkansas voters can change or reject laws enacted by the state Legislature through a citizen-initiated ballot process. Changes can be in the form of a proposed ballot initiative as a state statute (a change to a law) or a constitutional amendment (a more significant change to the state's constitution). They also may repeal legislation with a veto referendum. Yes, but: In recent years, lawmakers have made the process more difficult, passing laws that riddle it with technicalities and all but require a group to be well funded to gather petition signatures. Acts 240 and 241, signed this year, require canvassers to submit an affidavit proclaiming they will follow Arkansas law and to check photo ID before a voter can sign a petition. Act 274 requires canvassers to certify a voter has read the ballot title summarizing the measure, or to read it aloud to the voter before they sign the petition. Flashback: Last year, three citizen-led initiatives collected enough signatures for the November ballot. However, the abortion amendment and the recreational marijuana amendment were eventually disqualified over paperwork. Only a measure to revoke a casino license and require voters to approve future licenses was included. Voters approved it by a wide majority. State of play: Supporters of the proposed amendment can now begin gathering signatures from registered voters. Signature requirements vary for each type of citizen-initiated proposal, based on a percentage of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Constitutional amendments require 10%, or 90,704 signatures. Due to a 2023 law, signatures must be gathered from 50 counties instead of the previously required 15. What they're saying:"This victory belongs to every Arkansan who believes in the power of the people to shape their own government," Bonnie Miller, president of the League, said in a statement following Griffin's decision. "Despite the challenges, we refused to give up because the right to direct democracy is worth fighting for." What we're watching: It will be telling to see how quickly or slowly Arkansas voters sign the petition.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorney general approves Arkansas League of Women Voters, Save AR Democracy ballot title for referendum roll-back
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas attorney general approved a ballot title on Wednesday that could change the way citizens bring issues to the ballot for voters to decide. This was the third ballot title submitted by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas to the attorney general. The league, along with the Save AR Democracy group, intends to ask voters whether access to the referendum process should be part of the Arkansas Constitution. Arkansas coalition submits proposed ballot initiative to overturn legislative changes to referendum law Attorney General Tim Griffin's opinion that accompanied the approval said the group's submission had appropriate language in the title, as compared to the previous submissions. The league president classified Wednesday's decision as a victory. 'This victory belongs to every Arkansan who believes in the power of the people to shape their own government,' League president Bonnie Miller said. 'Despite the challenges, we refused to give up because the right to direct democracy is worth fighting for.' Two additional groups ask to join Arkansas League of Women Voters suit against changes to referendum law Secretary of State Cole Jester's office says the next step in the process is to meet with someone from its elections division and start collecting their signatures to try to get enough valid signatures to get it on the ballot. By state law, the group will need to gather 90,704 signatures, amounting to 10% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last election. The league has also filed a lawsuit against the referendum changes. The most recent legislative session created several laws that tightened access to the referendum process, including multiple laws on signature gathering and the reading level of the title. The group's second submission being above an eighth-grade reading level is what led to its rejection. This is the first ballot title approved under the new laws. A recent successful ballot initiative in Arkansas was an amendment repealing the Pope County casino's license. In the past, a 2018 initiative increased the state's minimum wage, and a 2016 initiative established an Arkansas medical marijuana program. Arkansas League of Women Voters speaks on lawsuit regarding changes voter referendum process Other ballot initiatives to increase access to marijuana failed in 2022 and 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
