New York TimesJ. & J. to Pay $158 Million to End Suit Filed by TexasJanuary 19, 2012 Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday that it would pay $158 million to settle a Texas lawsuit accusing the drug maker of improperly marketing its Risperdal antipsychotic drug to state residents on the Medicaid health program for the poor, including children.The lawsuit […]

Joyce Murphy lost custody of her daughter after she left the state in an effort to protect her child from her father who she believed was a child molestor. Joyce Murphy was accused of Parental Alienation and charged with kidnapping. Custody was given to the alledged child molestor. Six years later it turns out that [...]

Kristina Hepp’s death never should have happened. Although the mother was struggling, her parents were able to adequately care for this child. After the state’s involvement in Paternity, the father of this child, Roland Matthew, allegedly did what many abusive men do – he obtained custody. (Possibly to avoid child support issues) The hearin […]

In another case where California courts failed to protect a child despite a mother’s desperate efforts, the child’s body was found in the father’s yard and he is the number one suspect. The mother attempted to protect the child for years by fleeing, but eventually California’s courts that bend over backwards to give custody to [...]

BMLCTA blog received a comment from Joyce Murphy, the mother who was accused of parental alienation and kidnapping who had to endure years of separation from her daughter due to the fraudulent Parental Alienation scam. The comment is on a post supporting California AB612 to ban the use of alienation theories in court: California AB [...]

This is yet another case of court ordered visitation that gave an incestuous father, Victor Perez, the opportunity to repeatedly rape his young daughter. The sexual assaults occurred over several years when the girl was 9 & 10 years old. Thankfully, there is actually a conviction in this case. Hopefully the child will NOT be [...]

(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Family Law) Trial court's denial of wife's motion to vacate an order restraining her from interfering with ex-husband's child custody time is affirmed as the restraining order is neither ambiguous nor overbroad.

(Cal. App., Administrative Law, Family Law, Juvenile Law) In juvenile dependency proceedings, the juvenile court's visitation order is reversed and remanded as it unlawfully delegated the responsibility of whether or not the father's visitation would occur at all to the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services.

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Government Law) In a class action lawsuit on behalf of foster care children who are under the legal custody of Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), claiming that systematic deficiencies in the state's child welfare and foster care systems de […]

(U.S. 1st Cir., Civil Procedure, Family Law, Probate, Trusts & Estates, Tax Law) In a tax deficiency case, the judgment of the tax court is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the tax court's judgment that all of the Citigroup shares were the separate property of the decedent for federal estate tax purposes and, thus, were includable in […]

(U.S. 4th Cir., Criminal Law & Procedure, Family Law) A conviction under 18 U.S.C. section 228(a)(3) for willfully failing to pay child support is affirmed over two challenges to the district court's jury instructions on venue where: 1) the district court did not err when it defined "resided" as "the act or fact of living in a given p […]

In September, Taylor announced that due to budget cuts he would no longer prosecute DV misdemeanors, which essentially decriminalized domestic violence and left abused women with severely limited legal protections. After an outcry from domestic violence advocates, including a strong response by KCSDV, the DA reversed his original position and said he would r […]

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). It is the month to remember the 1 in every 4 women who are abused by an intimate partner and the month to speak up about the issue! Now, more than ever, is the time to raise awareness that domestic violence still exists. At WomensLaw, a project of NNEDV, we are committed to doing just that: providing easy- […]

A new survey conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) reveals telling information about domestic violence services in the U.S. On September 15, 2010 – one 24-hour period – domestic violence victim advocates served more than 70,000 adults and children and answered more than 20,000 emergency hotline calls. During the same 24 hours, mo […]

The recent release of “Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem’s new collaboration with Rihanna, has generated a heated debate over whether Rihanna is sending the wrong message to victims of domestic violence. The song’s graphic music video, which stars Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan, has garnered nearly 20 million hits on you-tube and depicts a couple caught in a vic […]

A report released by the NY Attorney General’s office this Wednesday, July 28, clears Governor Paterson of criminal charges relating to his alleged role in attempting to cover up domestic violence claims against a former top aide. The report investigated whether Paterson and the New York State Police became improperly involved in an incident of domestic viol […]