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Announcements
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TTLA Annual Conference has moved to
June 1-3 in Austin
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We’ll be hosting all the events you’ve come to expect from
our December conference. Between the 2-day CLE, parties, meetings,
legislative update & special events. Check out the CLE program
agendas for Wednesday and Thursday, which include a live video
presentation with David Ball plus family friendly events to make this a
true vacation opportunity. Register now!
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Share with your FB friends!
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Gibson Vance: How our cars got safer, Washington Post
4-16-11. Traffic deaths in the United States have dropped to their
lowest level since 1949, according to a report released this month by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Remarkably,
this drop occurred even as Americans drove 21 billion more miles in
2010 than they had the previous year. Click on the headline to continue
reading.
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Laws/Cases
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Federal Circuit Dismisses Veterans' Case Over
Agent Orange
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has
dismissed a petition in a case originally brought by Vietnam veterans
more than 30 years ago. After their disability claims were denied, five
veterans in 1979 filed a challenge to a 1978 Veterans' Administration
publication suggesting that only limited claims could be brought based
on chemical exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants during the
Vietnam War. The Federal Circuit, after recounting the labyrinthine history
of the case, ruled that it lacked jurisdiction because there was no
court avenue for procedural challenges to Department of Veterans
Affairs regulations until the 1988 Veterans' Judicial Review Act.
Sheri Qualters, The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription
Required 04/19/2011
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Read Article: The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription
Required($)
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Jury Orders Nordstrom to Pay $1.6 M
to Stabbing Victims
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A Montgomery County jury ordered Nordstrom to pay nearly
$1.6 million to two women stabbed inside its Bethesda store six years
ago, concluding that the retailer did not adequately warn shoppers that
a woman armed with four butcher knives was on the loose, attorneys said
Monday. The jury returned its verdict Friday, awarding $345,500 to
Sarah Paseltiner and $1.25 million to Jacqueline Greismann. Dan
Morse, The Washington Post 04/19/2011
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Read Article: The Washington Post
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Burger King Franchises Drop Suit
Against Company
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A lawsuit filed by a group of Burger King franchises
against the fast food giant has been dropped after the company agreed
to give individual franchises more control. The franchises filed the
lawsuit over the mandatory $1 pricing of the restaurants' double
cheeseburger, which operators said hurt profits. Burger King agreed to
give its franchises more input on the price of items on its Value Menu
and on how long special deals run, company officials said. Lisa
Baertlein, Reuters 04/18/2011
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Read Article: Reuters
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Lawsuit Filed in Fatal Colorado Car
Crash
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A lawsuit has been filed over a deadly single-car crash in
Douglas County, Colo., the killed two and left an eight-year-old boy
without a mother. The lawsuit claims the driver of the vehicle was
under the influence of drugs and alcohol and was driving at speeds up
to 110 mph in a 50 mph zone. He lost control of the vehicle, went into
a ditch and rolled. The suit is seeking that the claim be classified as
a felonious killing, which would increase the possible awards above the
normal state cap. Carlos Illescas, Denver Post 04/19/2011
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Read Article: Denver Post
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Fatal California Plane Crash
Prompts Lawsuit
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A lawsuit has been filed by the family of one of the
victims in a fatal plane crash in Redwood Shores, Calif., last
September. The suit, filed against the estates of the owner and pilot
of the plane, claims they "negligently and carelessly owned,
operated, maintained and controlled the subject airplane, thereby
causing the airplane to crash." An official report on the cause of
the crash has not yet been filed. Bonnie Eslinger, San Jose
Mercury News 04/19/2011
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Read Article: San Jose Mercury News
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Second Suit Against Daycare After
Deadly Fire
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A second lawsuit has been filed against a Houston daycare
operator over a deadly fire that killed four children and injured
others. The second suit, filed by the mother of a 22-month-old who
suffered severe burns, claims the operator, Jessica Tata, was unfit to
operate the daycare. Tata also faces criminal charges in Houston, including
murder, reckless injury to a child, child abandonment and unlawful
flight to avoid prosecution. Staff Report, KHOU-TV 04/18/2011
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Read Article: KHOU-TV
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Parents of Teen Who Committed
Suicide Sue Cy-Fair ISD
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The parents of a Cypress-Fairbanks teen who committed
suicide are planning a federal lawsuit against Cy-Fair Independent
School District. Amy and David Truong claim their son, Asher Brown, was
bullied to death and the district didn't do anything to stop it. The
district maintains the accusations of bullying were not reported before
the 13-year-old killed himself at home on September 2010. KRIV
, Houston Chronicle 04/19/2011
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Read Article: Houston Chronicle
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Issues
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FAA to Extend Minimum Time Off for
Controllers
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Air traffic controllers will be guaranteed a minimum of at
least nine hours off between tightly scheduled shifts under a plan
announced by federal officials. The FAA said the new rules were already
in place, although it may be the end of the week before they take full
effect. Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post 04/19/2011
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Read Article: The Washington Post
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Four Babies Die of Birth Defect in
Bryan-College Station
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A confirmed cluster of a rare and fatal birth defect in
Bryan-College Station is being investigated by both the Texas
Department of State Health Services and professors at Texas A&M University.
Between August 2009 and February 2010, five families conceived children
who were born with trisomy 18, a chromosomal defect that occurs at
conception and causes the baby to have three copies of the number 18
chromosome instead of the usual two. According to data the DSHS used
from the Texas Birth Defects Registry in its report, there were eight
trisomy 18 cases reported in Brazos County in the previous decade.
MICHELLE CASADY, BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION EAGLE, Houston
Chronicle 04/19/2011
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Read Article: Houston Chronicle
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