Governor Abbott Sets February 17 for Special Runoff Election | Governor Abbott set the special election runoff date for SD 26 (Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D v Rep. Jose Menendez, D), HD 17 (John Cyrier, R v Brent Goleman, R) and HD 123 (Diego Bernal, D v Nunzio Previtera, R) for Tuesday February 17 with early voting the week of February 9. Click on the headline to access the proclamations. | STATEWIDE TTLA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE THURS. JAN. 29, 2015 | Austin - Dallas - Houston - San Antonio, work half a day or the full day lunch is included! Click on the headline to learn more! TTLA Board Members, this is an opportunity to raise your 2015 Board Dues. Click on the headline for more info. | Texas Tribune Daily Brief | | Family of Man Killed in Tracy Morgan Crash Settles Suit | | The family of comedian James McNair, who was killed in a crash that seriously injured Tracy Morgan, have settled their lawsuit against Walmart, which owned the truck that slammed into the limo van carrying McNair, Morgan and others. The out-of-court settlement between the company and the estate of McNair is the first connected to the New Jersey Turnpike crash. Under the settlement terms, Walmart does not accept responsibility for the death of McNair. The driver of the truck is charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto. According to the criminal complaint, he was operating the truck without having slept for more than 24 hours. Jane Lerner, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News, USA Today 01/26/2015 | Read Article: USA Today | TX High Court to Rule in SAWS Case | | The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in the San Antonio Water Systemâ??s appeal of a 2012 jury verdict and $1.3 million judgment in favor of a female former SAWS executive who claimed her job was eliminated in an act of retaliation. The woman, Debra Nicholas, said she lost her job nearly three years after she told SAWS Vice President Greg Flores to stop inviting two rank-and-file female employees to lunch. Scott Huddleston, San Antonio Express News 01/26/2015 | Read Article: San Antonio Express News | Mechanics sue American Airlines | | A union local representing American Airlines mechanics is alleging in a lawsuit that American Airlines managers are pressuring them to send out airplanes that need repairs and are unsafe. Transport Workers Union Local 591 filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of the Dallas and Chicago mechanics seeking to stop the carrier from its allegedly improper practices. Plaintiffs include the Local 591 president in Fort Worth and a vice president and two other union officers in Illinois. Terry Maxon, The Dallas Morning News 01/26/2015 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | Girl's $72M Award for Pit Bull Attack Cut in Half | | A DeKalb County jury awarded a girl who suffered permanent injuries in a pit bull attack $72 million, but a judge ruled that, by law, he had to reduce the amount to nearly $37 million. Judge Mathew Robins explained that the jury awarded Erin Ingram, 13, $36,691,278.50 in compensatory damages and another $36 million in punitive damages for the March 9, 2010, attack that left the then 8-year-old with an amputated left arm and limited use of her right arm, but Georgia law limits punitive damages to $250,000. The civil court award comes after a 2012 criminal verdict, in which the dog's owner, Twyann Vaughn, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for violating Georgia's Vicious Dog Act. Julie Wolfe, WXIA-TV, Atlanta, USA Today 01/14/2015 | Read Article: USA Today | Appeals Court Refuses to Reconsider Cruise Ship Malpractice Decision | | A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a decision that opens the door for cruise ship passengers to sue for medical malpractice. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week rejected a bid by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to revisit the ruling. The court noted that none of the 11th Circuit judges voted in support of reconsideration. Associated Press, Star Tribune-South Metro 01/26/2015 | Read Article: Star Tribune-South Metro | Sex-Abuse Civil Trial to Unveil Boy Scout 'Perversion' Files | | Previously sealed Boy Scout "perversion" files spanning 16 years could soon be in the public eye as part of a negligence lawsuit set for trial Monday that a victim of sex abuse filed against the organization. Opening statements were scheduled in Santa Barbara, where a man who is now 20 and was molested by a Boy Scout volunteer in 2007 is seeking punitive damages. He claims the Scouts failed to educate and warn parents and volunteers about the dangers of sex abuse. The files cleared for use by Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Donna D. Geck include 16 years of documents â?? from 1991 to 2007â?? that have never been seen before. Associated Press, The New York Times 01/26/2015 | Read Article: The New York Times | | |