Latest news with #civilcase
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Anwar allowed stay of civil suit by ex-research assistant
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is appealing a High Court's refusal to refer eight legal questions arising from the suit to the Federal Court for determination. (Bernama pic) PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has allowed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a stay of former research assistant Yussof Rawther's civil suit over an alleged assault. The stay is pending the outcome of the prime minister's appeal to the Court of Appeal against a High Court's refusal to refer eight legal questions arising from the suit to the Federal Court for determination. A three-member bench chaired by Ruzima Ghazali said a stay should be granted as Anwar had shown special circumstances. 'His appeal will be rendered nugatory if the application is disallowed,' said Ruzima. Also on the panel hearing the application were Justices Wong Kian Kheong and Lim Hock Leng. The court fixed Sept 2 for case management before a court registrar to determine a hearing date for the prime minister's appeal. Ruzima said parties were at liberty to apply for an early hearing date. On June 4, High Court judge Justice Roz Mawar Rozain maintained the trial dates previously set for seven days between June 16 and June 25 after dismissing Anwar's reference application. In her decision, Roz Mawar said none of the questions posed in the application had crossed the threshold set out in Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 to justify a referral to the apex court. In a 21-page judgment, she said the application was misconceived as to the jurisdiction of the courts, and based on speculative doctrines with no constitutional footing. On June 10, the Court of Appeal granted Anwar an interim stay pending today's hearing of the prime minister's stay application. The prime minister wants the apex court to determine whether Articles 5(1), 8(1), 39, 40 and 43 of the Federal Constitution grant him qualified immunity from the suit filed by Yusoff four years ago. Yusoff's suit relates to events which allegedly took place before Anwar took office on Nov 22, 2022. A grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, Yusoff claims he was assaulted at Anwar's home in Segambut in October 2018. He is seeking general, special, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as interest, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court. Anwar denies the claim and has filed a countersuit. Earlier today, lawyer Alan Wong, representing Anwar, said the appeal against Roz Mawar's ruling centred on whether civil suits brought against a sitting prime minister should undergo a vetting process. 'There is a risk of the suit being politicised when the prime minister is holding office,' he said, adding that the suit should be stayed to preserve the status quo. Wong said Yusoff had in his suit described his lawsuit as an action against a 'prime minister in waiting'. Wong added that proceeding with the trial would divert Anwar's attention from both domestic governance and international engagements. 'We have shown special circumstances to warrant the stay of the trial pending the outcome of the appeal (before the Court of Appeal),' he said. In reply, counsel Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Yusoff, submitted that the appeal on the reference questions was bound to fail as they were rhetorical and had no basis in Malaysian jurisprudence. He also said the defendant knew the trial dates as they were fixed on June 6 last year. The prime minister's legal team comprised (from left) SM Kavyaasrini, Shahir Tahir, Alan Wong, Megat Abdul Munir Megat Rafaie and K Rajasegaran. Rafique said the suit was filed in July 2021 and pointed out that Anwar was appointed prime minister on Nov 22, 2022. 'Yet he filed the reference application only 23 days before the trial was to start through his new solicitors,' he said. The lawyer said in the court of law, everyone should be treated equally, whether the litigant is a prime minister or a lay person. Lawyers Megat Abdul Munir Megat Rafaie, Shahir Tahir, K Rajasegaran, and SM Kavyaasrini also appeared for Anwar while Nurmustanir Nor, Amirul Ar-Rashid Azman and Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi acted for Yusoff.
ABC News
6 days ago
- ABC News
Law firm Maurice Blackburn investigating alleged historical sex abuse at Perth's Beldon Primary School
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has confirmed a number of people have come forward as part of its investigation into alleged sexual abuse claims at a Perth primary school dating back 30 years. The civil case is being brought by a former student of Beldon Primary School, which is in Perth's northern suburbs, who claims they were abused by a teacher. Specialist abuse lawyer Lily Hart has told the ABC the firm was looking to speak to anyone who was at the school between 1990 and 1994. "Witnesses we're hoping to speak with aren't always other survivors who may have experienced abuse," Ms Hart said. "It's also maybe former students, or parents that were involved with the school and might be able to provide further information about what was going on during that period." Ms Hart said while the case was yet to be formally presented to the court, any information uncovered during the investigation would be vital. "Often the defendants have all of the information and all of the power. "So if we're able to speak with other witnesses from that time period, that can really assist our clientele level that playing field a little bit." The Department of Education said it was not aware of the case or the potential claim and would not comment further. Ms Hart said given the department may end up being a defendant if the case gets to court, accessing documents from the period of the alleged abuse could be challenging. She said the firm would follow court processes in the event of that scenario, but the evidence-gathering process was already well advanced. "We're already spoken with quite a few witnesses. They've been really helpful and taken the time to speak with us," she said. "I appreciate it can be quite upsetting to hear if someone's attended a school that they really loved themselves and had good memories there, it can be upsetting to hear about these allegations. "But we have spoken with former students and members of the school community. And they've all been really lovely and really helpful and I want to thank them for their time as well."
CBC
11-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
$8M lawsuit against Robert Miller shouldn't have been tossed out, rules Court of Appeal
A woman can now proceed with her $8-million lawsuit against Montreal billionaire Robert Miller, after the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned last year's lower court decision to have the legal proceedings tossed out. In the last two years, Miller, who is 81, has been hit with a long list of accusations of paying minors for sex. The founder of Future Electronics has dealt with civil litigation, including a class action which has received the Superior Court's authorization to proceed. In one of the civil cases, a woman identified in court documents by the initials "A.B.," claims she was 17 when she met Miller and that sexual encounters between them continued for "several years." In March 2024, a Superior Court judge ruled that her lawsuit could not go ahead because she left a meeting with Miller's legal team and his associate Sam Abrams in 2023 with $50,000 in envelopes and what was described in court documents as a "letter" that served as a transaction receipt. The Superior Court judge ruled that by leaving with the money and the letter, the woman had essentially agreed to a deal with Miller. "Consent can be inferred from the behaviour," Justice Marc St-Pierre wrote at the time. "As far as the court is concerned, the complainant departing with the sum of $50,000 cannot be explained otherwise." In an unanimous decision issued on Thursday, the Court of Appeal said Justice St-Pierre erred in his decision. "In light of the evidence presented and the facts acknowledged by the judge, he committed a clear and decisive error by coming to the conclusion that a transaction took place on Feb. 20, 2023," the Court of Appeal ruling read. Last month, a judge ruled Miller was too sick to be tried in criminal court. Miller was facing 24 charges related to sex crimes involving 11 women, most of whom were minors between 1994 and 2016 — the period of time of the alleged offences. The businessman who founded the company Future Electronics is also the subject of a class action with more than 50 plaintiffs which was authorized to proceed by the Superior Court. Miller is appealing that authorization and contests the allegations of the suit.
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Federal judge extends arguments in Abrego Garcia case; slams ICE witness who 'knew nothing'
GREENBELT, MD. – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered lawyers for the Justice Department and Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to return to court Friday morning for another day of hearings, as she continues to weigh next steps in the civil case, including an effort by Abrego's attorneys to preempt the Trump administration's plans to deport him to a third country as early as next week. Xinis made the call for an additional day of arguments at 5:30 p.m, over the stated objections of Justice Department lawyers, who told her that at least two of them had prior obligations and could not appear in court. For her part, Xinis was unsympathetic. She said the witness they provided to the court "took four times as long as he should have" in testimony, "because he knew nothing." "That's on the government," Xinis said pointedly, adding, "If you want to discuss that now, we can." Both parties were ordered to appear back in court at 9 a.m. Friday to continue arguments. Xinis had also suggested the possibility of a temporary restraining order, by which the government would agree to certain things, such as requirements that ICE keep Abrego Garcia in immigration custody for at least 48 hours before he is removed, and that they keep him in local immigration detention facilities and do not "spirit him away to Nome, Alaska," to prevent access to counsel before his removal. "However, I'm not willing to just allow an unfettered release of Abrego Garcia," if he is released from U.S. custody in Tennessee next Wednesday, she said. "I want a full-throated assurances," and there remains "much delta" between where they ended things Thursday and where she had hoped the court would be at the end of Thursday's hearing. The extended arguments capped a lengthy, unsatisfactory day of testimony in court led by witness Thomas Giles, the assistant director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations office. Judge Xinis had ordered the government to produce for the court a witness with "personal knowledge" of Abrego Garcia's case to testify, under oath, about the "who, what, where, and when" in regards to Abrego Garcia's case, and the government's stated plans to take him into ICE custody pending release from criminal detention in Tennessee and deport him to a third country. Ultimately, little new information was provided. Giles himself said he was notified by a senior DHS official Tuesday morning at 7:47 a.m., Pacific Time, about his role in the hearing, and that he had spent an estimated "3-4 hours" total prepping for the appearance. He could not offer the court new information about third-country removals, despite his 24 years at ICE— noting repeatedly that he had very little familiarity with the procedures, and had not had direct involvement with any such cases for the past 18 years. Xinis, who spoke little during the proceedings, appeared taken aback by the lack of knowledge from Giles, despite his status as a top-ranking ICE official. She said she planned to continue the questions Friday, and will likely address the lack of knowledge from a key government witness. Xinis breezed past objections that the two Justice Department attorneys might not be available to argue, and harrumphed at the notion they have moved their schedules around to be accommodating. "I have 400 cases," she replied. The request came after Justice Department officials conceded at a hearing earlier this week that Abrego Garcia could be removed from the U.S. as soon as July 16 — nine days from today, when a federal judge in Tennessee will consider whether he should be freed and transferred to DHS custody. Abrego Garcia, currently held by U.S. Marshals in Tennessee, was returned from El Salvador in June — three months after his deportation and weeks after the Supreme Court backed Xinis's order to facilitate his return. Upon arrival, Abrego was immediately slapped with federal charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop. Justice Department officials acknowledged in court this week that they plan to immediately take him into ICE custody as early as this month and deport him to a third country — regardless of the status of his criminal case. Xinis, who is handling his civil case, grilled Trump administration lawyers for details Monday as to when they opened a federal investigation into Abrego Garcia in the U.S. Middle District of Tennessee — and how the timing of the investigation and federal indictment squared with the government's testimony in her own court. She took umbrage at the dueling timelines of the criminal investigation, noting that, by the government's own admission, it began investigating Abrego Garcia in the Middle District in Tennessee on April 28, 2025 — the same time officials were telling the court that the administration was powerless to order a foreign government to return Abrego Garcia, in compliance with the court order. "Now I have real concerns — as if I haven't for the last three months," Xinis noted in response. Justice Department lawyers also told Xinis that they do not plan to keep him in the U.S. until his trial is over. "No," Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn answered simply. "There's no intention to just put him in limbo in ICE custody while we wait for the criminal case to unfold," Guynn told Xinis. "He will be removed, as would any other illegal alien in that process." "Given the series of unlawful actions" here, I feel like it's well within my authority to order this hearing — perhaps more than one — to hear testimony from at least one witness with firsthand knowledge, who can answer these questions about the immediate next steps" from the government pending Abrego Garca's release from custody, Xinis said.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs 'victims' hotline still taking calls
The Sean "Diddy" Combs 'victims' hotline is still taking calls. Lawyer Tony Buzbee, 56, set up a call centre as he launched a series of civil lawsuits against the rapper, who is in jail awaiting sentencing on two of the five federal charges on which he stood trial in New York over the past two months. He told about how the call centre set up to log the accounts from alleged abuse victims of the Bad Boy Records founder: "There may be real victims who are hesitant to come forward. "I'm always willing to hear from people, and talk to people, and hear their story. Maybe I can help them and maybe I cannot." The hotline went live shortly after Buzbee filed one of the first sexual abuse lawsuits against Combs, 55. Within 24 hours of its creation, the 1-800-200-7474 number reportedly received more than 12,000 calls from alleged victims, witnesses, and those with knowledge of events related to the case, according to Mr Buzbee. Despite Combs' recent acquittal on sex trafficking charges, Mr Buzbee said operators are still "standing by" and he continues to field calls from those who "saw something" or claim to be witnesses. The veteran Texas lawyer stated the volume of information gathered has been significant, saying his team has received testimony and evidence in the form of videos, photos, text messages, police reports, and hospital records. He also vowed in a chat with Radar: "We will still march on because the burden of proof in a civil case is much lower than the burden of proof in a criminal case." Buzbee has continued to pursue legal action against Combs, filing three new civil lawsuits in jurisdictions including Nevada and California. At a press conference when the hotline was first announced, he claimed several reports involved underage individuals at the time of the alleged incidents. He added: "Most of these events and incidents occurred at parties and afterparties, or album release parties, New Year's Eve parties, Fourth of July parties, something they called a 'puppy party' and all-white parties." Combs, who was found not guilty on three out of five criminal charges, was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. While he faces prison time, it is believed he will not be jailed for long if at all, and he avoided the life sentence he was originally facing. Buzbee said the outcome of the criminal trial has not affected his determination to pursue justice through the civil courts. He said: "What we have learned throughout this criminal trial is that this conduct that many of the people that I represent have talked about was in fact occurring, and it was occurring on a frequent basis. "And there was a constant theme throughout this criminal trial that P Diddy, as the head of this alleged RICO organisation, would not take no for an answer." Combs has denied all charges against him and his sentencing is due in October.
