Declarations

“This case boils down to a single question: must the Boy Scouts continue to use the word ‘Boy’ in its name now that it has become a co-ed institution.”

— U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said when he tossed the 2018 trademark lawsuit brought by the Girl Scouts over the term “scouting.” The suit claimed the now-coed Boy Scouts’ use of the terms “scout” and “scouting” in recruitment ads without reference to gender would confuse the public. The judge ruled that the term was generic enough that both groups could use it without referring to gender. The Girl Scouts of the United States of America said in a statement that they plan to appeal. “This case is about ensuring that parents are not misled into thinking that Girl Scouts are part of or the same as the Boy Scouts.”

“The disclosure of this information is vital. … We give police officers a badge and a gun and we need to be able to trust them with it.’

— Gilles Bissonnette, the state legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said when New Hampshire released an expanded list of police officers who the state determined may have credibility concerns due to a range of infractions from excessive force to lying. The ACLU was one of several groups including several media outlets that sued in 2018 for access to what is known as the “Laurie List.” The list of 174 officers, released following legislation passed last year, aims to improve transparency by tracking officers whose credibility may be called into question during a trial because of something in their personnel records.

“Defendants acted with actual malice because they deliberately ignored the truth, which was evident in the medical records possessed by The Athletic, and because the defendants’ defamatory statements were part of a campaign to harass Mr. Bauer.”

— A lawsuit filed on behalf of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer against The Athletic and a former reporter accuses them of “creating and spreading the false narrative” that he had fractured a woman’s skull during a sexual encounter. The complaint, filed in California, also alleges two counts of defamation.

“This is an inspiring moment for all of us at Applied and for all of those who have worked so hard to realize this grand success in the making.”

— Steve Menzies, chairman and founder of Applied Underwriters, on the construction milestone of the company’s future operational headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. Applied’s mixed-use, 500-acre development topped out in late March, a term that refers to when the last beam is placed atop a structure during its construction. Applied plans to move up to 2,000 employees into the 270,000-square-foot facility. The headquarters sits among public nature trails and lawns, residential developments, and retail shops in Heartwood Preserve. Anticipated completion of the site and occupancy is slated for 2024.

“I did fear that he was much bigger than I was and much stronger.”

— Days before his own death, Louisiana Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth told investigators about the night he held down Black motorist Ronald Greene and repeatedly bashed him in the head with a flashlight. Greene’s family has filed a civil suit against Hollingsworth’s widow over the unarmed motorist’s deadly arrest. In a two-hour interrogation obtained by the Associated Press, Hollingsworth portrayed himself as the victim in the violent arrest, saying he feared for his life even as graphic footage played over and over showed white troopers swarming Greene’s car after a high-speed chase.

“Most of our guys want to install quality roof systems that will last for years and years, and this requirement takes away from that.”

— That’s from Mike Silvers, a roofing contractor and director of technical services for the Florida Roofing and Sheetmetal Contractors’ Association, talking about the current Florida building code requirement that often means minor roof damage results in a whole new roof for homes. Although property insurers have been at war with some roofing contractors in Florida, the FRSA has proposed major changes to the building code that insurance groups heartily support. The changes would revise the requirement that calls for entire roofs or roof sections to be replaced if just 25% of the shingles are damaged.