eFiling Mandate Deadline | In December 2012, the Texas Supreme Court mandated e-filing in civil matters. The first group of counties (Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Collin, Denton, El Paso, Hidalgo and Fort Bend), the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the 14 Courts of Appeal become mandatory January 1, 2014. This means that attorneys will no longer be able to file paper documents at the clerk's counter. E-filing in all other counties will become mandatory on a graduated schedule through July 1, 2016. Click on the headline to learn more. | Some States Confirm Water Pollution From Drilling | | In at least four states that have nurtured the nation's energy boom, hundreds of complaints have been made about well-water contamination from oil or gas drilling, and pollution was confirmed in a number of them, according to a review that casts doubt on industry suggestions that such problems rarely happen. The Associated Press requested data on drilling-related complaints in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Texas and found major differences in how the states report such problems. Texas provided the most detail, while the other states provided only general outlines. And while the confirmed problems represent only a tiny portion of the thousands of oil and gas wells drilled each year in the U.S., the lack of detail in some state reports could help fuel public confusion and mistrust. Associated Press, Houston Chronicle 01/06/2014 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Investment Fraud is Booming Along with Oil and Gas Drilling, SEC Says | | Oil and gas fraud has been around as long as the industry itself. But with the oil and gas boom on and news reports of big discoveries in Texas and North Dakota proliferating, securities fraud cases are increasing, the Securities and Exchange Commission warns. What eight years ago might have been a few cases a year now amounts to more than 20 fraud lawsuits brought by the agency a year. Court rulings have brought into question the agency’s jurisdiction over investment offerings presented as joint ventures. Unlike shareholders in a company like Apple, the investors in such deals have been found by state and federal judges to be partners who essentially stake money at their own risk. JAMES OSBORNE, The Dallas Morning News 01/06/2014 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | State Farm, Farmers, Allstate Raising Home Insurance Rates | | Allstate, Farmers and State Farm have notified the TDI that they are increasing rates for most current and new customers by an average 6.5 percent to 15 percent to offset projected losses. More than 2 million homeowners will be affected. The Insurance Department will review the rate hikes. It can reject any increases deemed excessive. In addition, the state consumer advocate for insurance is challenging the increases. She argues that the increases are not justified. Whether to overturn them will be new Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber’s first major decision on rates. Farmers is raising its rates an average 14.9 percent. State Farm is boosting rates 9.8 percent. Allstate has the lowest increase at 6.5 percent. That will affect policyholders with Allstate’s two largest homeowners insurance subsidiaries. TERRENCE STUTZ, The Dallas Morning News 01/06/2014 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | Mo. Family Files Suit Over Fatal Police Shooting | | A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a man who was shot to death by Kansas City, Missouri police in 2010. Officers were responding to a call about prowlers around a vacant home, when the victim came out of the house and began walking toward the officers with a metal pole raised above his head. According to the man's family, he had recently relapsed into using methamphetamine and was not acting like himself at the time of the incident. According to a family member, one of the officers shot the man twice with a pistol, killing him. The lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, alleges that the use of deadly force was unreasonable, and that the officers used excessive force. Tony Rizzo, Kansas City Star 01/02/2014 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | | |