Free Legislative Webinar RE: Net Worth (SB735), 8/24/15 | August 24, Noon: TTLA President Bryan O. Blevins will discuss the changes to discovery of net worth of a party passed last session (1-hr CLE). Learn the impetus behind the bill and the story of the negotiations leading to the enacted version. Before the bill's effective date of September 1, 2015, He will take you through the legislative history of the bill ' from an outright ban on discovery of net worth to a new discovery procedure ' and share with you strategies for how to comply with this new area of discovery practice. Click on the headline to register. | Free Legislative Webinar RE: Forum Non Conveniens (HB 1692), 8/25/15 | August 25, Noon: Join TTLA's Vice President for Communications Laura Tamez for a webinar (1-hr CLE) on the changes to the Forum Non Conveniens statute, Chapter 71 CPRC. Laura will discuss the In Re Ford case, which led to the filing of the bill and the negotiations which crafted the final language passed into law. Laura will discuss the changes to the safe harbor aspect of the statute and the changes to the definitions in the statute ' the elimination of the definition of 'legal resident' and the changes to the definition of 'plaintiff.' The changes to this statute are effective now, so if you have a case with FNC implications, you need to listen to this webinar. Click on the headline to register. | Dallas Car Wrecks CLE Seminar, October 8, 2015 | Earn up to 7.25 hours MCLE credit including 1.0 hr ethics credit. TTLA's Car Wrecks CLE Seminar features practical, in-depth tips and strategies to help you WIN YOUR CASES. Come away with the tools you need to compete in the courtroom! Join the TTLA Advocates Board of Directors at Happy Hour after the Seminar from 5:00-8:00pm (included in registration). Click on the headline to learn more and register. | Texas Tribune Daily Brief | | Fla. News Anchor Fired in Retaliation for Story, Lawsuit Says | | A Florida TV news anchor has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired in retaliation for reporting a story involving a local doctor. The lawsuit, which was filed in Lee County Court last week, contends that the plaintiff was fired after reporting the story about a doctor who has connections with the TV station's news director. The plaintiff alleges he was terminated after refusing directions "in texts, emails and verbally to conceal what he discovered" and to not "speak to any state or federal investigator." Ryan Mills, Naples News 08/19/2015 | Read Article: Naples News | Trial Begins Over Undrinkable Water in Webb County | | Incompetence, local politics, lack of resources ' all have been blamed for the foul tap water that periodically streams from the faucets of about 8,000 residents in two small border communities. In Laredo's courthouse Tuesday, prosecutors began their efforts to prove that at least part of the problem was criminal. Two former plant supervisors ' Johnny Amaya, a former water utilities director and well-connected political figure in Laredo, and his former deputy Luis Camacho ' went on trial for allegedly instructing workers to falsify records to hide water quality problems from state regulators. Neena Satija, Texas Tribune 08/19/2015 | Read Article: Texas Tribune | Last Official Charged in Chemical Spill Pleads Guilty | | Freedom Industries President Gary Southern is the last of six company officials to plead guilty in the spill. The spill happened when a corroded Freedom tank in Charleston leaked coal-cleaning chemicals into the water supply for nine counties, spurring a ban on tap water for up to 10 days. JONATHAN MATISSE, AP, Yahoo News 08/19/2015 | Read Article: Yahoo News | Texas County Clerk Sues Justice of the Peace for Sexual Harassment | | A lawsuit has been filed against a justice of the peace from Tarrant County, Texas alleging that he forced a county clerk to have sex with him. The woman has filed a lawsuit alleging that the justice of the peace forced her to perform oral sex on him over 20 times during a period of five years and threatened to fire her if she did not comply. The woman had worked for the county for 22 years and alleges that she was wrongfully terminated in August 2014. According to a county official, the woman is still employed by the county. Mitch Mitchell, Ft. Worth Star Telegram 08/19/2015 | Read Article: Ft. Worth Star Telegram | Slain Bank Hostage's Family Files Suit over Shootout | | The family of a California bank hostage who was shot and killed by police in Stockton has filed a lawsuit over the incident. The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in San Joaquin County and accuses the city of negligence in the way it handled the robbery and pursuit. An independent review of the incident revealed that 10 rounds of the 600-round police shootout killed the woman who was being held hostage by the robber. The lawsuit was filed by her husband and daughter. Joseph Serna, LA Times 08/18/2015 | Read Article: LA Times | | |