American Scene

She died at a hospital Monday after experiencing chest pains and breathing trouble. The cause of death has been listed as undetermined, pending further studies.

Philadelphia police said they issued a search warrant at the Bergen County, N.J., home of a woman they think organized the appointment.

Police said the woman was questioned and unspecified evidence was seized from the residence but she was not arrested.

TEXAS

NFL, Cowboys sued in Super Bowl seating

DALLAS | Ticket-holding football fans who ended up with no seats or what they considered obstructed views of Sunday’s Super Bowl game have filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Dallas alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices on behalf of people who ended up watching the game on TV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, or had seats the lawsuit labeled “illegitimate.”

The NFL announced just hours before the Green Bay Packers played the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that about 1,250 temporary seats were deemed unsafe, and the league scrambled to find new seats for about 850 people. The remaining 400 were forced to watch from standing-room locations around the stadium.

Spokesmen for the Cowboys and the NFL had no comment Wednesday.

VIRGINIA

State’s first black chief justice dies

RICHMOND | Virginia Supreme CourtJustice Leroy Hassell Sr., the state’s first black chief justice, has died. He was 55.

The court disclosed his death in a brief statement Wednesday that didn’t include cause of death or other details.

Justice Hassell was appointed to the Supreme Court by then-Gov. Gerald L. Baliles in 1989. In 2003, he became the court’s first black chief justice and the 24th overall. He held the post until the end of last month.

A Norfolk native, Justice Hassell graduated from the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School, then returned to Richmond where he became a partner in the politically potent McGuire Woods law firm.

Story Continues →