Lawsuit

A trial gets underway Tuesday in Yamhill County Circuit Court that could result in current and former Newberg School District board members paying out financially for what parents allege were violations of Oregon’s public meeting laws that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance pay and legal fees.

An Oregon jury has awarded more than $3 million in punitive damages to Christopher Garza for false arrest, battery and the use of excessive force in a 2021 incident at a tire store in Salem, when a police officer believed Garza was attempting to steal a car.

Dozens of US states, including Oregon, Washington and Idaho, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to the platforms.

The inmate alleges Oregon Department of Corrections officials ignored his status as a former street gang member when they assigned him to housing units with gang members.

The Oregon state agency charged with monitoring discrimination in workplaces across the state was itself a hostile work environment for the Black woman who was hired to head the civil rights division of the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries. A Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded Carol Johnson $1.7 million dollars on Monday, supporting her claim she faced a hostile workplace and race discrimination.

Attorneys representing the county argue the trial saw “a number of unduly prejudicial events” that skewed in the favor of three Latino workers who alleged multiple racist incidents in the county's public works department.

Wildfire victims and their advocates say the PacifiCorp ruling is a lifeline after nearly three years without enough insurance money, emergency funding or government support for people who lost everything and are struggling to start over.

Three Latino employees allege Clark County turned a blind eye to racism within its public works crews. A trial is scheduled to start May 22.

Expert witnesses say the electric utility suffered from a lack of leadership during the 2020 fires.

An apartment complex for low-income artists is facing a lawsuit from tenants accusing management of serious neglect.