Wal-Mart has petitioned the US Supreme Court to reconsider a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirming class action certification in a gender discrimination case, notes a Jurist report.

The company has asked the court to examine whether the Appeals Court's April ruling was proper under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Due Process Clause, the Seventh Amendment and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (FRCP). Wal-Mart's position is that the class is overbroad and that the Ninth Circuit's decision is inconsistent with certification standards in multiple circuits.

Wal-Mart also contends that claims for monetary relief cannot be certified under FRCP 23, which it says only applies to claims to injunctive relief. The report states that the case was filed in 2001 by female Wal-Mart employees who contend that Wal-Mart's nationwide policies result in lower pay for women than men in comparable positions and longer waits for management promotions than men.

A mixed picture of U.S. banks emerged Tuesday as the industry posted its highest quarterly earnings in nearly three years while the number of troubled institutions grew by more than 50.

Banks overall made $21.6 billion in net income in the April-to-June quarter, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. It was the highest quarterly level since 2007 and was led by the largest institutions. The industry lost $4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2009.

But the number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list increased by 54 in the quarter -- growing to 829 from 775 in the first quarter. Most of the banks that have failed this year have been smaller or regional banks.

The decline in bank lending stemming from the financial crisis showed signs of leveling off, the data show. Total lending declined by $107.5 billion, or 1.4 percent from the first quarter. It posted the steepest drop since World War II -- 7.5 percent -- in 2009 from the year before.

Lawyers for Indian tribes are in federal court today to make a last-ditch effort to stop legislation taxing reservation cigarette sales to non-Indian customers.

This comes after a state judge yesterday refused to block New York State from enforcing a $4.35 per pack tax starting tomorrow.

Seneca Indian Nation officials had argued that the state circumvented procedures by adopting the regulations on an emergency basis.

The tax is expected to generate an estimated $200 million a year in revenues for the state.

Tribes argue the plan infringes on their sovereignty and could damage their economies.

The parents of a Cleveland boy have pleaded guilty to hog-tying and duct-taping him to a coffee table on a nightly basis for months.

Thirty-seven-year-old Andreia Huffman and 32-year-old Jason Dunikowski of Cleveland pleaded guilty Monday to a 196-count indictment. Charges include 180 kidnapping counts, child endangering and, against the mother, felonious assault.

The prosecutor has recommended a 17-year sentence for the mother and 15 years for the father.

Along with the nightly confinement, the couple admitted punishing the 8-year-old boy for six months by forcing him to stand all day facing a wall and smacking the back of his head until his nose broke.

His 15-year-old brother called police in April.

Messages seeking comment were left Monday with the couple's attorneys.

The voice of Charles Thomas O'Reilly is the last one about 140 people Texas death row inmates have heard over the past six years.

O'Reilly has been the warden of the state prison simply called the Huntsville Unit, where he presided over more lethal injections than any other warden. O'Reilly retired Monday after more than 33 years with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

He said he leaves with no reservations, no nightmares, having "always been a proponent of capital punishment."

He said that before the lethal drugs were administered, he would ask inmates if they wanted to make a statement. He said he tried to avoid using the words "last" or "final."

The revelation that BP's Texas City refinery emitted toxic benzene for more than a month has ignited a furor in the port community that has suffered its share of deadly industrial accidents and toxic spills.

Thousands of residents who fear they may have been exposed to the known carcinogen released at the oil refinery from April 6 to May 16 have been flooding parking lots and conference halls where local trial attorneys hosted information sessions and sought clients for class-action lawsuits against the oil giant.

BP faces the new challenge just as it is reaching a key milestone in another crisis — plugging the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in an oil spill disaster that is costing the company billions of dollars.

On Wednesday, more than 3,400 people lined the hallways and sidewalks around the Nessler Center to sign on to a $10 billion class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Galveston federal court by Friendswood attorney Anthony Buzbee.

The lawsuit alleges the release of 500,000 pounds of chemicals - including 17,000 pounds of benzene - has jeopardized the health and property values of people who live and work in the area. At the nearby College of the Mainland, a separate town hall meeting drew a crowd of 600.

"I've never seen anything like this," Buzbee said, looking at the lines waiting to enter a large room at the civic center where lawyers helped people fill out paperwork. "I can't believe this is mass hysteria and that everybody here is a faker," Buzbee said.

Webster-based lawyer Chad Pinkerton said he's met with about 8,000 residents over the past week. "I believe this is probably the largest prolonged release in Texas history and many, many people are sick," he said.

Word of the lawsuits spread this week, propelled in part by rumors that BP was cutting checks to head off the benzene claims from the $20 billion fund established to pay claims related to the oil spill.

Two Los Angeles County teenagers are suing Facebook, claiming the social network effectively sold their names and images to advertisers without parental permission.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles challenges a Facebook feature that allows members to note that they like an advertised service or product. Facebook broadcasts those endorsements to the user's friends.

The lawsuit also claims minors unwittingly endorse Facebook when people typing their names in a search engine are steered to a Facebook sign-up page.

The plaintiffs say Palo Alto-based Facebook is violating a California law that requires parental consent for children to make commercial endorsements. The teens seek unspecified damages.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes says the lawsuit is meritless. He notes Facebook doesn't allow users under 18 to let their profiles appear on public search engines.