California court backs ban on kangaroo shoes

Court Alerts

[##_1L|1326135226.jpg|width="130" height="90" alt=""|_##]California's high court has decided that football shoes made from kangaroo leather cannot be sold in the state, rejecting arguments from sportswear giant Adidas. Lawyers for Adidas held that the state ban on kangaroo products was in conflict with a US federal law that allows for imports of some kangaroo-skin items.

But the San Francisco-based court unanimously ruled on Monday in favour of a British animal rights group, Viva International Voice for Animals, which challenged Adidas and retail firms saying US states can enact stricter wildlife protections than the federal government, according to the decision posted on the court's website.

The animal rights group charges that kangaroos are slaughtered in a cruel manner and that hunters are often not able to distinguish between species that are endangered or not, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

California imposed a ban on the import and sale of kangaroo products in 1971.

The case will now be taken up by the Court of Appeal in San Francisco, where Adidas will have a chance to present other arguments on the issue.

A spokesperson for Adidas said kangaroo leather shoes coveted by footballers comprise only one percent of the company's footwear sold in the United States and that no shoes are made from threatened or endangered kangaroos, the Chronicle reported.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read