Lawsuit

Attorneys for alleged victims of jail abuse at the Sedgwick County Detention Center are asking for monetary damages in the amount of $20 million. Click Here to Read Court Filing FactFinder 12 filed an Kansas Open Records Request last week for the official copy of the "Notice of Claim" filed with the Sedgwick County Clerk's Office.   There are two separate claims relating to deputy David E. Kendall, both dated July 24, 2012, and both asking for $10 million in damages.

The Wichita city council has approved a settlement in a civil lawsuit against a former police officer. Joseph McGill pleaded guilty to sex crimes against two women while on duty. One of those women filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the Wichita Police department. The settlement is worth $89,000. It does not reflect an admission of liability for McGill or the city. McGill was sentenced to three years probation in this case. He was also found guilty of sexually abusing two children in a separate case earlier this year.

The family of an inmate who committed suicide at the Sedgwick County jail is preparing to sue Sheriff Bob Hinshaw . Attorney Mark Schoenhofer is representing the Haehn family and is preparing litigation.  The family claims, according to the document, Sheriff Hinshaw was negligent for failing to properly train, educate and supervise his detention deputies.  The family wants to know why he wasn't placed on suicide watch....

One casino is already under construction in south central Kansas.  Now an increased effort is underway to build a second. The Wyandotte Nation filed a suit this week against the Department of Interior. It says the government is taking too long to sign off on a tribal casino in Park City. For five years, there's been talk of a tribal casino being build near the old Wild West World in Park City. "They never have actually done it," said Wichita resident Bruce Bolte.  The Wyandotte Nation says the hold up has nothing to do with them.  "We wish we did have an idea of why it's taking so long," said Chief Billy Friend.

They target businesses and organizations under construction and claim to be all about fair wages.   But who's really behind the "Shame on” and “Labor Dispute” signs you've seen all around Wichita? Viewers contacted FactFinder 12 Investigators wanting answers. The Carpenters Local 201 are behind the signs and protests outside of Wichita State, the YMCA, and Central Christian Church to name a few.    They claim non-union contractors aren't paying standard wages and benefits for the area.

It's a story that makes you wonder, who does this to other people? A lawsuit in Florida claims homeless men were recruited for videos in which women beat them. Advocates for the homeless say they began to notice men with injuries and started asking questions.  Police are now investigating too. Read the story here .

A Scott City family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Wichita company and two homeowners.  Attorneys for Jeff Murphy and his ex-wife filed the suit in Sedgwick County Court on Wednesday. Twenty-eight yr. old Jackie Coberly, her four yr. old son Brandon and the Murphy's two daughters Terra and Cassie all died in a house fire back in March. The lawsuit claims a Wichita company, Windsor Place At Home, did not provide proper care to Coberly.  Coberly was a quadriplegic and required around-the-clock care.

A Segwick County judge will sit with the Kansas Supreme Court next week. The Honorable James Fleetwood will hear an appeal in a class action lawsuit in Wilson County on October 27th. He'll hear from those who say they're affected by clean up of a former oil refinery operation. Judge Fleetwood has heard many civil, criminal, and family cases.    

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked implementation of a new Environmental Protection Agency regulation that Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says would threaten the Kansas electrical supply. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today granted a stay of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was scheduled to take effect Sunday. Kansas, which filed a lawsuit against EPA in September, had asked the Court to block implementation of the new regulation while the Court hears arguments about it. With the regulation on hold pending the outcome of the lawsuit, the Court has set oral arguments in the lawsuit for April 2012.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has asked to join a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking a new casino in Park City. In July, the Wyandotte Nation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to approve the tribe's application to place land in Park City into trust.  That would allow them to build a casino. If approved, the motion to intervene filed by the Attorney General's Office would allow the State of Kansas to join in the lawsuit and take part in the effort to block the plan.