| COLLABORATE! TTLA’S 2014 ANNUAL CONFERENCE! | | COLLABORATE! Join TTLA President Mike Guajardo at TTLA’s 2014 Annual Conference in Austin, June 11-13. ALL MEMBERS are invited and encouraged to attend a very important meeting of our Board of Directors Meeting on June 12th. In addition, the CLE Committee has once again planned three dynamic programs. We’ll start things off with The Jury Bias Model™ - From Car Wrecks to the Complex Case presented by Greg Cusimano and David Wenner on June 11th, followed by a ½-day CLE on June 12th with some of TTLA’s brightest stars sharing their best tips. The conference will wrap up with our Annual Med Mal program with all the latest updates and insights, before closing with an evening of Magic and Music. Click here to see all we have planned for you! Two days. Three great seminars. TTLA’s 2014 Annual Conference. Click on the headline for more information and to register. |
| Good Laws and Good Lawyers. | | “There’s been a lot of talk about the Texas Trial Lawyers Association’s mission lately, with several iterations of lengthy wording and lofty statements. Syntax, length and style aside, we believe TTLA’s mission is best stated as Good Laws and Good Lawyers: standing up for Good Laws in the legislative and public arena and working together to continue being the Good Lawyers our clients deserve.” Mike Guajardo, TTLA President |
| A Cat Burglar in the House | | 
| | Douglas T. “Chase” Fonteno has made a living acquiring other people’s houses, particularly in the lowest-income neighborhoods of southern Dallas. If he had paid the legal owners or obtained their consent, his story wouldn’t be remarkable. But according to official property records and Fonteno’s own statements, his empire was built in part by acquiring scores of houses without the owners’ knowledge and without paying them a dime. Adverse possession — commonly known as squatter’s rights — made dozens of his acquisitions possible, though not necessarily legally defensible. It’s based on a century-old law that applies almost exclusively to rural land, mining rights and boundary disputes. Experts can’t point to a single time it has been upheld in court as a means of taking urban houses.
TOD ROBBERSON, The Dallas Morning News 05/23/2014    | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Former Ore. Inmate Files Suit Over Medical Care | |
| | A former inmate of Washington County Jail in Oregon has filed a lawsuit alleging that jail officials failed to properly treat him for his schizophrenia, anxiety, tuberculosis and other conditions. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was forced to take the wrong medications, which further exacerbated his medical problems. The plaintiff alleges that jail officials violated his Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and cites claims of medical malpractice, negligence, assault and battery and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The damages sought by the lawsuit have yet to be determined.
Emily E. Smith, The Oregonian 05/22/2014 | | Read Article: The Oregonian |
| Suit Claims Teachers Recruited Young Girls Into Cult | |
| | A Connecticut family has filed a lawsuit alleging that three Spanish teachers and a guidance counselor at Avon High School indoctrinated their daughters into a cult that "celebrates death." According to the plaintiffs, their daughters began "having 'fantasies of suicidal ideation and martyrdom'; speaking in a strange language; and gathering at Wellesley College in Massachusetts with other girls to perform religious 'whirling dervish' dances through the night" as a result of the teachers' influence. The lawsuit names as defendants the teachers, the counselor, and Avon Public Schools.
Evann Gastaldo, USA Today 05/23/2014 | | Read Article: USA Today |
| Suzuki Recalls 184,000 GM-Made Small Cars | |
| | Suzuki recalled more than 184,244 U.S.-market small cars made for it by General Motors because the steering columns can catch fire. The recall covers Suzuki Forenza models from 2004 - 2008 and Reno models from 2005 - 2008 manufactured from Sept. 1, 2003, through July 30, 2008. GM said in its recall that it has no immediate remedy for the problem.
James R. Healey, USA Today 05/23/2014 | | Read Article: USA Today |
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