| Announcements | | 
| | 
| | TTLA Is Going To NAPA | |
| | Fine Wine, Fine Food,Fine Company, Fine CLE. September 22—25, 2011 * Villagio Inn. Villagio Inn and Spa in Yountville will be our home away from home while we make our way around the vineyards of NAPA Valley. While in NAPA you will enjoy some of the best selections of wines produced in the area. Our chairs Bob Haslam and Clay Miller will also bring us six hours of informative CLE. | | Products | |
| |
| | More Tylenol Products Recalled by McNeil | |
| | McNeil, a division of Johnson & Johnson has announced a recall of a number of lots of Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps. The company initiated the recall because a compound in the medication "was slightly higher than expected." This is the fifth recall issued by McNeil this year. David Sell, Philadelphia Inquirer 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Philadelphia Inquirer | | Laws/Cases | |
| |
| | Wrongly Convicted Man Sues TX | |
| | Johnnie Lindsey, 59, filed papers with the Texas Supreme Court contending that Comptroller Susan Combs has refused to pay him what he's due under the Tim Cole Act, the 2009 state law that provides exonerees with $80,000 for each year of incarceration. The Dallas man spent nearly 26 years in prison on an aggravated sexual assault charge before the conviction was thrown out in 2008 after DNA testing excluded him as the rapist. According to Lindsey's lawsuit, the comptroller has denied him eight years' worth of payments on the grounds that he was serving a concurrent sentence for attempted rape in an unrelated case. Lindsey contends that he should be paid for at least four of those years, or $320,000, because he would have been released halfway through the sentence for good behavior if not for the wrongful conviction. Danny Robbins, AP, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Fort Worth Star-Telegram | | Lawsuit Says Hicks Stole Millions from Rangers | |
| | Former Rangers owner Tom Hicks was sued Monday by the team's post-bankruptcy administrator, who says the wealthy Dallas investor "stole" tens of millions from the major-league franchise to acquire what are now highly lucrative parking lots near Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and Cowboys Stadium. Alan Jacobs, the administrator charged with disbursing assets from the bankruptcy sale, also accused Hicks of forcing the Rangers to spend at least $18 million on parking lots and roads rather than fund deferred compensation for ballplayers, as required by Major League Baseball. In all, some $30.5 million was misdirected, the suit said. Barry Shlachter, Ft. Worth Star Telegram 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Ft. Worth Star Telegram | | Judge May Reverse $36M Verdict Against Abortion Doctor | |
| | An Orange Circuit judge is likely to decide soon whether to reverse a $36.7 million jury award in a medical-malpractice case decided last month against a suspended Orlando-area abortion doctor and his clinic, the Orlando Women's Center. An Orange County jury awarded $18.7 million in compensatory damages and a total $18 million in punitive damages against James Scott Pendergraft IV and the Orlando Women's Center. The lawsuit involves a woman who went to the Women's Center to terminate what she thought was a 16- to 20-week pregnancy. Staff determined she was 22.3 weeks pregnant, according to the complaint and gave her 12 doses of Cytotec and a single dose of RU-486 during an 11- or 12-hour period to induce labor. the woman "was instructed to and/or allowed to leave the Orlando Women's Center while in active labor." She then went to an ER in "active labor" and gave birth by cesarean section "to a viable female child," the lawsuit says. That baby was "born prematurely and has suffered catastrophic and permanent bodily injuries, impairment, disability, [and] disfigurement." Expenses related to the child's care and treatment formed the basis of the lawsuit. Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Orlando Sentinel | | Suit Filed in Death of Norfolk Police Recruit | |
| | A lawsuit has been filed against members of the Norfolk Police Department over the death of a police recruit in December 2010. The lawsuit claims the recruit died from a subdural hematoma caused by blows to the head during routine training exercises. The suit accuses training officers of "failing to properly operate and supervise the training academy" and is seeking more than $35 million in damages. Patrick Wilson, Virginian Pilot 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Virginian Pilot | | Woman Files Suit Against Bathtub Maker | |
| | An Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against Premier Care in Bathing after becoming trapped in her walk-in bathtub and ending up in the hospital. According to the suit, the woman slipped and fell in the tub. When she pulled the chain on the drain, it broke, leaving her soaking in the tub for 30 hours before she was discovered. She suffered "significant injuries to her skin," the suit says. Debra Cassens Weiss, American Bar Association Journal 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: American Bar Association Journal | | Issues | |
| |
| | Motorola Purchase Could Shield Google From Patent Lawsuits | |
| | Experts say Google's $12.5-billion purchase of Motorola is aimed at 'creating its own device brand to compete with Apple' and defending itself and its partner firms from lawsuits over the Android operating system. Google would gain ownership of more than 17,000 Motorola patents for mobile technology. That would help Google and smartphone makers that use its Android technology — including HTC, Samsung and LG — defend against patent infringement lawsuits filed by rivals such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. David Sarno & Shan Li, LA Times 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: LA Times | | Banks Seek Liability Shield for Future Home Mortgages | |
| | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is finalizing a proposal to entice banks to offer straightforward loans — without interest-only payments and excessive fees — by providing a legal shield. The question is whether to give banks full protection, known as a “safe harbor,” or a more limited legal shelter. The Federal Reserve issued a proposed rule on the matter earlier this year, but then punted it to the consumer agency, which now has jurisdiction. The agency, which was created by the Dodd-Frank oversight law, opened its doors on July 21. This rule will be one of the first big tests of how tough the consumer agency will be on mortgage markets. Reuters, Insurance Journal 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Insurance Journal | | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | |
| |
| | Dallas Court of Appeals: Workers' Compensation | |
| | In this workers' compensation case, a jury determined appellee Larry Adkins suffered a compensable injury and that he had a disability. The impact of a car crash caused Adkins' head to hit the back glass of his truck and the front window over the steering wheel. He immediately felt sick to his stomach and pain in his neck. The only inference that can be drawn from the facts was that the turning of his head caused Adkins to feel pain at that moment. Whether that pain was the result of his disc herniating when he turned his head or whether the disc herniated before then, was not an issue a layperson was equipped to decide based on his experience alone. Because Adkins failed to provide expert medical testimony supporting causation, the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury's finding that he suffered a compensable injury and he did not suffer from a disability. The trial court's judgment is reversed and rendered. State Office of Risk Management v. Adkins, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-10-00406-CV, 08-09-2011. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 08/16/2011 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | |
| | |