Illinois high court tosses $1 billion verdict against State Farm News
Illinois high court tosses $1 billion verdict against State Farm

[JURIST] The Illinois Supreme Court [official website] reversed a $1 billion judgment against State Farm [corporate website] Thursday, ruling [summary; full text] that a class action should not have been certified in the case. In 1999, State Farm was held liable for using sub-standard parts in repairing policyholders' damaged vehicles. The state Supreme Court held that, due to differences in the plaintiffs' insurance policies, the cases were not similar enough to be part of a class. Additionally, only one named plaintiff was from Illinois and the court found he did not prove actual damages. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Ku Klux Klan founded

The US hate group known as the Ku Klux Klan was founded on December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a reaction to reconstruction efforts following the Union victory in the American Civil War. The group would later become notorious for its attacks on Black Americans, being targeted by the Enforcement Act of 1871, which imposed civil and criminal liability for deprivation of constitutional rights. Read the Enforcement Act of 1871.  

Hamid Karzai born

On December 24, 1957, Hamid Karzai was born in Karz, Afghanistan. He would go on to become in 2004 his country's first elected president after the end of Taliban rule in 2001.