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July 18, 2011

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Child Booster Seats Recalled from Target

Chrysler Recalls 250,000 Dodge Rams

Judge Tosses RICO Claims Against BP

5th U.S. Circuit: Torts - Federal Tort Claims Act

Death at Day Care Center Prompts Lawsuit

Suit: DuPont Herbicide Lethal to Certain Trees

California Settles Suit Against State Medical Board

Groupon Deals Attract Connecticut's Scrutiny

Some Patients Worse Off With More-Experienced Docs

Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts - Texas Tort Claims Act

Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Health Law - expert opinion

 

 

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Announcements

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Share with your FB friends: HBO Documentary Mann v. Ford Airs Tonight

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Tonight HBO airs another very powerful documentary film, called Mann v. Ford, by co-directors Maro Chermayeff and Micah Fink, which showcases how vitally important the civil justice system and plaintiff’s lawyers are to help communities seek justice when powerful corporations have harmed them.  

 

Products

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Child Booster Seats Recalled from Target

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of children's booster seats sold at Target. The agency reported the restraints on the seat can open at unexpected times, allowing the child to fall out of the seat. The products were sold between January 2005 and June 2009 for $15.  Staff Report , The Salt Lake Tribune  07/13/2011

Read Article: The Salt Lake Tribune    

 

Chrysler Recalls 250,000 Dodge Rams

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Chrysler has issued a recall of 250,000 Ram trucks due to problems in the steering system. Federal officials said "a part near the left front wheel can fracture and potentially cause crashes." The recall covers Rams model years 2008 to 2011.  Staff Report, Kansas City Star  07/13/2011

Read Article: Kansas City Star    

 

Laws/Cases

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Judge Tosses RICO Claims Against BP

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A federal judge has thrown out racketeering claims by the lead plaintiffs suing BP over last year's oil spill. Gulf residents and businesses alleged that BP defrauded regulators in connection with the safety of its drilling operations, its ability to respond to any oil spill, and its response to the actual spill. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier dismissed the claims Friday. Barbier also set aside a lawsuit filed against BP by one of its partners on the well project that resulted in the oil spill. He stayed Anadarko's claims because its contract with BP required arbitration of such disputes, rather than litigation.  HARRY R. WEBER, AP, Forbes  07/18/2011

Read Article: Forbes    

 

5th U.S. Circuit: Torts - Federal Tort Claims Act

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Alana Alexander brought this Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§2671-2680, action on behalf of her minor son, Christopher Cooper, against the government for injuries allegedly related to Cooper's exposure to potentially dangerous, high levels of formaldehyde in their Federal Emergency Management Agency provided trailer. The district court found that the claim was time-barred. A tort action under the FTCA accrues when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the alleged injury that is the basis of the action. Alexander's administrative claim was filed more than two years after Alexander became aware that her son was experiencing symptoms of formaldehyde exposure. Alexander could have established FEMA's connection to the trailer, from which the "chemical smell" was emanating. Accordingly, the discovery rule does not apply to Alexander's claim. Assuming that the continuing tort doctrine could apply to Alexander's FTCA claim, the district court properly held that it does not apply to this case. Claim accrual under the FTCA is based on awareness of the injury, not when the alleged wrongful conduct ends. The district court's judgment is affirmed. In Re: FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation v. United States, 5th U.S. Circuit, No. 10-30451, 06-24-2011.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  07/18/2011

Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)    

 

Death at Day Care Center Prompts Lawsuit

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Florida day care center after a 22-month-old boy was found dead at the center last week. While the cause of death is unknown, the Miami Herald reports that the boy may have died after being left in the day care center's van during the heat of the day. The suit accuses the center of negligence and claims it allowed an individual to drive the children who was not authorized to do so.  David C. Walter, Miami Herald  07/14/2011

Read Article: Miami Herald    

 

Suit: DuPont Herbicide Lethal to Certain Trees

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A Michigan golf club has filed a lawsuit against DuPont, claiming the company's widely-used herbicide, Imprelis, kills trees. According to the suit, the herbicide is "lethal to mature landscape trees including Norway and Colorado spruce, white pines and other evergreens." The Environmental Protection Agency reports they have received numerous complaints from states about Imprelis and is in the early stages of an investigation.  Jonathan Stempel, Reuters  07/15/2011

Read Article: Reuters    

 

California Settles Suit Against State Medical Board

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California has agreed to a $750,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed against a Sacramento investigative unit of the Medical Board of California. The suit, filed by two former members of the unit, claimed they were retaliated against after raising concerns about the racist and sexually inappropriate behavior of their supervisor. The plaintiffs said they were reassigned within their department after complaining and were "denied requests for transfers and promotions."  Torey Van Oot, The Sacramento Bee  07/17/2011

Read Article: The Sacramento Bee    

 

Issues

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Groupon Deals Attract Connecticut's Scrutiny

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Connecticut law-enforcement officials are looking into whether online deals site Groupon Inc. is breaking consumer-protection laws that prohibit gift cards from expiring. According to the attorney general for the state of Connecticut, the state is looking into whether Groupon's deals—known as groupons—should be considered in the same light as gift certificates, for which Connecticut law bans expiration dates altogether.  MICHAEL HICKINS , Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required  07/18/2011

Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($)    

 

Healthcare

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Some Patients Worse Off With More-Experienced Docs

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In a study that flies in the face of common sense, sicker patients turned out to fare worse under the care of seasoned doctors than when newcomers to medicine looked after them. According to findings in the American Journal of Medicine, patients whose doctors had practiced for at least 20 years stayed longer in the hospital and were more likely to die compared to those whose doctors got their medical license in the past five years. The results highlight "issues that we have as a medical profession in keeping up to date" with the latest medical knowledge, said Dr. Niteesh Choudhry of Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the new study. It is "a quality of care problem that has been recognized for five to 10 years," he told Reuters Health.  Reuters, MSNBC  07/18/2011

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TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES

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Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts - Texas Tort Claims Act

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Appellee Rosalaba Rodriguez alleges she was injured when the vehicle in which she was traveling was struck by a motor-driven vehicle operated by Leslie Carl Hudson, an employee of the city of Houston. At the time of the accident, Hudson was operating his vehicle within the course and scope of his employment. Rodriguez filed suit against Hudson and the city simultaneously. The city filed a motion to dismiss Hudson from the suit pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §101.106(e). The trial court granted the motion. The city then filed a plea to the jurisdiction in which it requested dismissal of Rodriguez's suit. The city referred to §101.106(b), which provides that the filing of a suit against a governmental employee forever bars suit against the employee's governmental unit regarding the same subject matter unless the governmental unit consents. The trial court denied the city's motion, and the city brought this interlocutory appeal. The Texas Tort Claims Act waives governmental immunity to the extent liability arises from the use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment. Section 101.106 subsection (b) does not bar Rodriguez's claims against the city because the city's immunity relative to the claims is waived under the TTCA. The trial court's order is affirmed. City of Houston v. Rodriguez, Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-11-00136-CV, 07-12-2011.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  07/18/2011

Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)    

 

Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Health Law - expert opinion

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Appellants appeal from the trial court's order granting the motion of appellee, Clearlake Senior Living Limited Partnership ("Rosemont"), to dismiss appellants' health care liability claim. Appelants argue that the trial court abused its discretion in granting Rosemont's amended motion to dismiss because the only objections upon which the court could base its ruling were either waived or withdrawn. Although Rosemont does not present its objections to the substantive sufficiency of an expert's opinions regarding the elements of breach and causation in the same manner as it did in its original motion, Rosemont did not withdraw those objections in its amended motion to dismiss. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. Lucas v. Clearlake Senior Living Limited Partnership, Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-10-00544-CV, 07-12-2011.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  07/18/2011

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