Lawsuit seeks to sheild Alaska sea otter (AP via Yahoo! News) A conservation group, alarmed at a decrease in the number of sea otters in southwest Alaska, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday to try to compel the government to designate critical habitat to help the endangered species recover. [News Source]

Owner of a Santa Barbara newspaper files defamation lawsuit (North County Times) LOS ANGELES - The owner of a Santa Barbara newspaper has filed a defamation lawsuit against a journalism professor at Chapman University in Orange for writing a magazine article critical of the paper's management, it was reported Tuesday. [News Source]

Goldman files lawsuit against Simpson over book deal (San Diego Union-Tribune) LOS ANGELES, 5:05 p.m. Dec. 19 (COPLEY NEWS SERVICE): O.J. Simpson's scuttled book and television interview deal has sparked a new legal standoff between Trial of the Century combatants with the father of slaying victim Ronald Goldman filing a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging fraud and that the agreement was set up to avoid paying damages to the Goldman family. [News Source]

Lawsuit Filed Against Bayview Development (KGO-TV Bay Area) Opponents of a plan to develop S.F.'s Bayview neighborhood have filed a lawsuit against the city for not allowing them to put the issue to the voters. [News Source]

Mid-State Schools Benefit From Microsoft Lawsuit (WKRN Nashville) Christmas is coming early for every school system in Tennessee. The $15 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against the Microsoft Corporation will mean extra money for schools across the state. | | Beverly Burrell has taught everything from first grade to eleventh grade. Now she's the brand new technology teacher at J.E. Moss Elementary in Nashville. She said, “There... [News Source]

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Taco John’s (AP via Yahoo! Finance) Fast-food chain Taco John's was hit with another lawsuit Tuesday, this one by a customer who contracted E. coli after eating a super burrito and a hard-shell taco from a Waterloo franchise. [News Source]

Paper’s Lawsuit Against ‘AJR’ Reporter Draws Criticism (Editor and Publisher via Yahoo! News) NEW YORK A lawsuit filed by publishers of the Santa Barbara News-Press claiming that an American Journalism Review writer defamed the newspaper's owners in a recent article has drawn harsh criticism from newspaper industry leaders, who said such an approach is counter to journalistic practices. [News Source]

Lawsuit seeks to protect habitat for sea otters (San Diego Union-Tribune) ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Despite an “alarming” decrease in sea otters in southwest Alaska, the federal government is dragging its heels when it comes to designating critical habitat to help them recover, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. [News Source]

Lawsuit alleges Detroit hospitals suppressed nurses’ wage (WOOD TV 8 Grand Rapids) DETROIT -- Nurses have filed a class-action lawsuit against six Detroit-area hospital systems, alleging they unlawfully conspired to suppress their wages. [News Source]

Conservation group files sea otter lawsuit (KTVA Anchorage) A conservation group filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Washington, DC, to get more protection for Alaska sea otters. [News Source]