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's Suit Against MIT Over Student Suicide Moves Forward | | A lawsuit has been filed over the suicide death of a student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The family of the student, who committed suicide in 2009, has filed the lawsuit against the university, two professors, and an associate dean, alleging that they knew about the boy's mental state, but failed to take measures to prevent his suicide. The lawsuit was filed in 2011 but saw a recent push forward when a judge denied a request for dismissal by the university. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe 01/26/2015 | Read Article: Boston Globe | SCOTUS, 6th Circuit Agree Judge Was Immune From Suit Over Affair With Party in Case | | The nationâ??s top court has declined to review a federal appeals court decision that a Detroit judge was immune from suit even though he had an affair with a woman seeking child support in a case on his calendar. A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year said former Wayne Circuit Judge Wade McCreeâ??s conduct was â??often reprehensibleâ?? but nonetheless protected by judicial immunity. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left that ruling in place without comment, the Associated Press reports. MARTHA NEIL, American Bar Association Journal 01/27/2015 | Read Article: American Bar Association Journal | Former FDA Commissioner May Testify Against J&J | | Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler may testify for the plaintiff in a lawsuit against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson that is being heard in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. It would be the first time for Kessler to testify against J&J and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which makes Risperdal and its successor drugs. J&J has been accused of promoting Risperdal for unapproved uses in many jurisdictions and, in a federal case, eventually agreed to pay a $2.2 billion penalty. David Sell, Philadelphia Inquirer 01/27/2015 | Read Article: Philadelphia Inquirer | Santa Fe Jury Awards FedEx Crash Victims $165M | | A Santa Fe jury decided FedEx should bear most of the blame for a June 2011 crash that killed a mother and her 4-year-old daughter. Her 19-month-old son survived. The jury awarded the family $165 million wrongful death judgment. A lawyer for the family said the jury wanted to send a strong message to FedEx to improve driver training, specifically for fatigue and â??danger zone drivingâ??â??driving between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. Tina Jensen, KRQE News 13 01/27/2015 | Read Article: KRQE News 13 | Doctors' Pay Will Be Linked to Quality in Historic U.S. Overhaul of Medical Billing | | Starting next year Medicare, which covers about 50 million elderly and disabled Americans, will base 30 percent of payments on how well health providers care for patients, some of which will put them at financial risk based on the quality they deliver. By 2018, the goal is to put half of payments under the new system. Alex Wayne , Bloomberg 01/27/2015 | Read Article: Bloomberg | | |