Portage County Legal News

Portage County Legal News.

State

Court Reverses Decision on Sealing Convictions Without Restitution Payment

The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled recently that an offender convicted of a fourth- or fifth-degree felony must fully pay court-ordered restitution to be eligible to apply for sealing their criminal record. The decision reversed the Tenth District Court of Appeals' judgment, which had allowed T.W.C. to seal his forgery convictions desp ... (full story)

Court rules offender ineligible for judicial release

An Ohio appeals court wrongly granted judicial release to an offender serving a 15–50 year “indefinite” prison sentence for crimes committed in 1995, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled recently.
In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Daniel Staffrey is ineligible for judicial release. A Mahoning County trial c ... (full story)

Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump

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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court recently threw out President Donald Trump's massive civil fraud penalty while upholding a judge's finding that he exaggerated his wealth for decades. The ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine but bans him and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadersh ... (full story)

Many towns are unprepared to handle train derailments and hazmat spills

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A train derails and spills at least 1,000 gallons of hazardous materials in the U.S. about once every two months. Nearly half of those derailments resulted in evacuations; more than a quarter resulted in a fire or explosion since 2015, an analysis of federal derailment data showed.
And many communities along the rail lines aren' ... (full story)

Bank not obligated to inform business owner about risks related to guarantee agreement

Huntington National Bank had no duty to disclose facts unknown to a business owner that materially increased the risk of the business owner personally guaranteeing a $77 million loan after that owner’s business partner placed the jointly owned companies in a perilous financial situation, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled recentl ... (full story)