Bollywood Star Fined for "Dogged" Defiance

Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, fined filmstar Swastika Mukherjee Rs 8,500 for unleashing her pet dog on a high court employee when he went to her house to serve a summons.

Not only that, Justice Maharaj Sinha rejected her application seeking to take defence in a damage suit pending before the court against her. The court observed that the application was not made truthfully. Mukherjee was directed to pay the fine by November 11.

Swastika was married in 1998 to Pramit Sen, younger son of Rabindrasangeet exponent, the late Sagar Sen. Anwesa, the couple's daughter, was born in 2000. In June that year, Swastika left her in-laws' house and lodged a complaint against her husband and his elder brothers - Pritam and Priyam - with Jadavpur police under Section 498A IPC.

The Sen brothers were discharged of allegations of physical and mental torture against Swastika by an Alipore court in 2005.

Congressional Candidate Moonlighting as Process Server

Republican Congressional candidate Peter James said yesterday that he would spend the day as a process server, handing out legal filings to the White House, the Department of Treasury and congressional offices.

James, an avowed libertarian challenging Democrat Donna F. Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District, agreed to help a group called We the People serve papers in a lawsuit challenging the not-yet-passed $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan as unconstitutional.

James has been warning for months about the possibility that massive debt could bring down the American financial system, as he and Edwards ran against one another in a June special election to replace longtime incumbent Rep. Albert R. Wynn. Edwards won that contest for the Prince George's and Montgomery district, with more than 80 percent of the vote.

James believes the financial market crisis proves his point.

Bankruptcy Judges to Rewrite Mortgages?

Some Democrats in Congress are pushing to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages as part of the proposed $700 billion bailout for financial institutions that are straining under the weight of failing home loans.

The goal is to allow homeowners facing foreclosure to seek a reduction in their mortgage debt when they file for bankruptcy. Some analysts say it makes no sense to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to buy toxic mortgages without also extending aid to households at risk of losing their homes.

“Right now the pain is with people who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments, and that is a leading reason why people would go down the bankruptcy route,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending.

Groups that counsel people facing foreclosure long have complained that banks and loan servicers are slow to respond to requests for loan modifications. Consumer advocates hope that if bankruptcy judges are given the ability to compel lenders to reduce debt, consumers will have more negotiating clout.

Former Kenyan Official Finally Served Papers

Former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo has been served with court papers over the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing scandal.

Process servers George Kibe and Michael Kioko served Githongo with the papers during tea break at a conference he was chairing organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs at Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

Mr Githongo is now obligated to make an appearance within 15 days in court for the case filed by former Internal Security Minister Chris Murungaru over defamation.

Mr Kibe told The Standard that Githongo politely acknowledged and signed the copies.

Last week, Murungaru filed an application at the Nairobi Law Courts to be allowed to serve Githongo through Times of London, The Guardian, The Standard and Daily Nation newspapers.

He claimed attempts had been made to serve Githongo at PCS Plaza, Strathmore University and Karen during his visit last month but all were in vain.

Process Servers Serving Severance

Human resources adviser Bob Benwick recalls watching in amazement as a supervisor of a Vancouver hospital's cleaning staff ran screaming from the room after being told by a manager that her job was being outsourced.

Instead of taking the severance notice the manager tried to hand to her, the woman ran down the hall yelling: "If I don't see it, you can't fire me."

A few days later, unbeknownst to Mr. Benwick, the hospital manager decided to have a process server deliver the notice. When he caught up to the woman's car at a stoplight and handed her the paper, she drove over his foot.

"That was a really wild, but totally inappropriate, way to tell someone they no longer had a job," recalls Mr. Benwick, chairman of Vancouver executive coaching company R.W. Benwick Associates Ltd.

It's the sort of disaster that can happen if managers aren't sensitive to the emotional impact of delivering the "you're fired" news, Mr. Benwick says.

No Investigation of Sarto, Despite Lawyer's Request

The attorney representing Carpentersville Village Trustee Paul Humpfer in his ongoing criminal matter recently asked police to conduct an investigation into Village President Bill Sarto's alleged refusal to accept a subpoena to testify at a hearing in the case.

But Carpentersville Police Cmdr. Mike Kilbourne said Friday "there is no active investigation" into whether Sarto committed a criminal misdemeanor on Aug. 19 by reportedly refusing to accept the subpoena from a process server.

Humpfer's attorney, Patrick Crimmins of Brady & Jensen in Elgin, subpoenaed Sarto to testify at a hearing on Humpfer's motion for a new judge in his case. Humpfer claims that Judge James Hallock, who convicted the trustee of domestic battery in a bench trial in March, failed to disclose relationships he has or had with current and former Carpentersville officials.

From Parole to Process Server

Andre Garrett parks his white Volvo sedan at a meter outside the Nassco shipyard on Harbor Boulevard on a hot, late summer morning. He shuffles through some papers in his black canvas briefcase and plucks out a stack, reading aloud the name written at the top. He repeats the name again and again, as if committing it to memory, as if it might disappear by the next time he looks down.

The name on the paper belongs to someone Garrett needs to find. The shipyard was the only address his client had for the man. This is the most daunting place Garrett's ever come to do his work, he says.

"I have no idea how to get in, where to go," he mutters to himself, sizing up the colossal fortress of shipbuilding and machinery.

He tries to enter the yard at one gate and is turned away. The same thing happens a little further up the street. Finally he finds the door for an office and walks in.

He proclaims the name of the man on his mind to a receptionist and some empty chairs.

"I'm here to serve him," he says, holding up a stack of legal documents signed by a woman who no longer wants to be the man's wife.ng her entry on board the ship. That was all,” said Botha.

Suspect Charged in Process Server Murder

A judge on Friday declined the request of the attorney for a Loveland man accused of first-degree murder to reduce the charges against him.

James Whitler, 45, has been charged in the beating death of Stephen Allen, a 57-year-old process server, the evening of May 28 at Whitler’s residence west of Loveland. Whitler is also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly choking his children, 12-year-old Amanda and 10-year-old Jacob, when sheriff’s deputies apprehended him at his home.

Friday, 8th Judicial District Judge Daniel Kaup decided enough evidence existed to carry all charges against Whitler to a possible trial after listening to testimony from one of the investigators in the case.

Attorneys for both sides agreed Whitler hit Allen multiple times with a T-ball bat and choked the children, but prosecutors and defense attorneys differed on what Whitler’s mind-set was during the attacks.

Allen was serving Whitler with divorce papers and a restraining order taken out by Whitler’s estranged wife, Lisa Whitler, when he was attacked by Whitler — who hit Allen between 15 and 20 times, Larimer County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Feyen testified.

Carpentersville Village President May Face Contempt Citation

Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto may face a contempt citation for failing to appear in court to testify Friday in a domestic violence case against a rival village trustee, a prosecutor said.

Sarto was called to testify in the case of trustee Paul Humpfer, who was found guilty of domestic battery this year.

Sarto could be held in contempt, said Kane County Assistant State's Atty. Elizabeth Miles.

A private investigator said Sarto refused to accept a subpoena when he approached Sarto in the Village Hall parking lot this month, according to a court document.

The investigator, Eric Moskal, said he saw a man arrive in a car, which had a license plate that read, "SARTO," the document said.