New York court delays compensation trial of former NYSE chairman Grasso News
New York court delays compensation trial of former NYSE chairman Grasso

[JURIST] A New York appeals court Thursday granted the request of former New York Stock Exchange [corporate website] chairman Richard Grasso [Wikipedia profile] to delay the trial in a civil lawsuit filed by the state over the $187.5 million compensation package he received in 2003. The trial was set to begin October 16, but Grasso requested a delay in order to allow time for rulings on two pretrial appeals, both based on decisions by New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos [official profile]. Grasso is appealing Ramos' refusal to throw out four of the six claims against him and his decision to hold a non-jury trial.

The lawsuit [JURIST report] was brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official profile] amidst allegations [JURIST report] that Grasso had too much control in setting his multi-million dollar compensation package and took advantage of personal connections with the NYSE board of directors. Bloomberg has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.