Ruling on MTBE lawsuits against oil companies [US DC] News
Ruling on MTBE lawsuits against oil companies [US DC]

In re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether [MTBE] Products Liability Litigation, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Shira Scheindlin, April 21, 2005 [ruling that some 80 lawsuits can proceed against oil companies claiming that a gasoline additive, MTBE, contaminated groundwater]. Read the full text of the opinion here [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt born

Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragist, womens' rights advocate and co-founder of the League of Women Voters, was born on January 9, 1859.

Visit the Carrie Chapman Catt Childhood Home.

Great Britain's first income tax introduced

On January 9, 1799, British Prime Minister William Pitt introduced Great Britain's first income tax. The tax was announced the previous December as a means of raising money for war against Napoleon. Pitt's successor, Henry Addington, repealed the tax when hostilities subsided in 1802. Addington then reinstated the tax during the following year when fighting was renewed. The Addington tax model later became the model for the modern British income tax. Learn about the history of income taxation in Great Britain from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.