A New York appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit against the state over a capsized tour boat that killed 20 passengers in 2005 can proceed. The suit, filed by the survivors and family members of victims, claims that officials with the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation determined the boat could hold 48 people, when in fact is should not have held more than 14. The court ruled that the state could not seek sovereign immunity “because its employees showed no discretion during its annual inspections.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a lawsuit filed by six states against utility companies over greenhouse emissions. The states had demanded that utilities cut their greenhouse emissions under federal law, claiming that pollution was a “public nuisance.” The court, however, ruled that the “Environmental Protection Agency was better suited than federal judges to assess the costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions.”

A federal judge awarded $1.9 million in a lawsuit filed by a family of an 11-year-old boy who was killed by a black bear in Utah in 2007 while camping with his family. The lawsuit claimed the U.S. Forest Service should have warned the family that a potentially dangerous animal was on the loose near the camp grounds. The agency had received reports earlier that day of a bear breaking into campsites.

An Illinois appeals court has approved a $5 million verdict against the Diocese of Belleville in a lawsuit accusing one of the priests of sexual abuse. The suit, filed in 2002, alleged Rev. Raymond Kownacki sexually abused a young boy in the 1970s and that his actions were covered up by the Diocese. The 5th District Appellate Court ruled 2-1 in favor of the plaintiff.

A federal judge has approved a class-action lawsuit against Netflix Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over an alleged monopoly agreement. Netflix customers claim in their suit the two companies “conspired in 2005 to divide the market for selling and renting DVDs in order to reduce competition.” As a result of the agreement, the plaintiffs claim to have paid “supracompetitive” prices

An Indiana judge has awarded $15 million to the family of a man who was killed in a 2005 crash caused by a drunk driver. The crash, which occurred on the Indiana Toll Road, killed four people in all, but Stanislaw Gil, the man responsible, was unharmed. The truck driver had also been driving longer than federal regulations allow and his employer, Net Trucking, had doctored their logs to conceal this fact, an investigation discovered. Gil has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and 10 years probation.

A Pennsylvania appeals court has approved a more-than $20 million verdict to the family of a local college student who died in 2001 after a liposuction operation. The girl suffered complications during the surgery to remove fat from her stomach and chin; she died two days later. According to the lawsuit, the doctor who performed the surgery “refused to send [the girl] to a hospital over a period of 2 1/2 hours” after the operation.

An additional class-action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota Motors, claiming the company repurchased cars that showed sudden acceleration and forced owners to sign confidentiality agreements to keep their complaints silent. The suit also alleges that Toyota engineers were able to duplicate the acceleration problems in labs but failed to notify the proper government agencies. More than 200 lawsuits have been filed against Toyota after their recall of millions of vehicles earlier this year.