Announcements | 
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Best Kept Trial Secrets: What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas |
| Don't gamble with your cases. 48 hours in Vegas can change your practice forever! Join some of TTLA's battle-tested veterans and emerging superstars in Las Vegas for a CLE experience that'll change your luck in the courtroom. February 23-25, 2012, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, 8 hrs. MCLE w/ 1 hr. Ethics |
New TTLA List Server Tools |
| You may have noticed your TTLA list server messages look a little different. That’s because we’ve implemented some enhancements to the list server that we think you’ll find valuable. Click on the headline for a video explaining the changes. |
Laws/Cases |
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Jury Orders Christus Spohn Health System to Pay $6.4M |
| A jury awarded an 89-year-old Corpus Christi woman a $6.4M verdict against Christus Spohn Health System after she was injured by a sliding-glass door two years ago. In her lawsuit, Bennie Garcia said she fractured her hip in 2009 after the door slammed on her at the professional building at Christus Spohn Hospital South. The jury heard testimony that the hospital had been informed more than once that the door was broken and in need of repair. The verdict covers Garcia's medical expenses and damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering her attorney said. Christus Spohn Health System intends to appeal the verdict. Rhiannon Meyers , Corpus Christi Caller Times 12/13/2011 | Read Article: Corpus Christi Caller Times |
Jury Fines Flea Market $3.6M Over Knock-off Vuittons |
| federal jury Thursday slapped a local flea market with a $3.6 million award to the designer brand Louis Vuitton for allowing vendors to sell knockoffs of its products. Jurors took less than two hours to decide that the Eisenhauer Market's owner, Bruce Gore, 62, and its manager, Pat Walker, 70, contributed to trademark infringement. Guillermo Contreras, Houston Chronicle 01/13/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Ex-Congressman Loses $1.2M Suit Against Teens in Shooting |
| Former U.S. congressman, Craig Washington, lost a $1.2M civil lawsuit he filed against two teenagers he was indicted for shooting at in his Houston law office parking lot more than four years ago. The families of Taylor Brooks and Evan McAnulty, both then 17, said that after years of court battles with the former congressman, the 11-1 jury verdict felt good. The teenagers had parked in a private lot below Washington's law office, Brooks and McAnulty said Washington shot at them after demanding payment for parking there. Washington was indicted by a grand jury in 2008 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and he entered into an agreement with prosecutors on the eve of the scheduled trial. Susan Carroll, Houston Chronicle 01/13/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Credit Card Arbitration Trumps Lawsuits, Court Says |
| Consumers who sign credit card agreements that feature an arbitration clause cannot dispute fees or charges in court, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 8-to-1 decision drew immediate fire from consumer advocates. To get a credit card, a consumer generally must sign a detailed agreement. In the fine print, almost always, is an arbitration clause that says that if consumers want to dispute fees, they must do so through arbitration, not in court. Yuki Noguchi, National Public Radio 01/13/2012 | Read Article: National Public Radio |
Suit: Woman Fired for Wearing Prosthetic Genitalia |
| A Pennsylvania woman has filed a discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, alleging she was fired for wearing prosthetic genitalia to work. In the suit, the woman said she wore the device under her clothing because she is "considering a gender change." The woman also claims that a male employee in her office had worn "female prosthetic devices" to work while taking hormone treatments and was not terminated. The suit is seeking unspecified damages. Denis J. O'Malley, The Scranton Time-Tribune 01/13/2012 | Read Article: The Scranton Time-Tribune |
Walgreen's Overcharged for Generic Drugs, Suit Says |
| A union benefits fund has filed a lawsuit against Walgreen Co. and generic drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical Cos. for allegedly overcharging for generic drugs. The lawsuit claims the two companies conspired to overcharge for drugs including the generic versions of Zantac and Prozac. The plaintiff says it has paid "millions of dollars more for the capsules than they would have for the correctly prescribed tablets." Andrew Harris, Bloomberg 01/13/2012 | Read Article: Bloomberg |
Fatal ATV Crash Lawsuit Settled for $2.7 Million |
| A lawsuit in Scranton, Penn., over a fatal ATV crash has been settled for $2.7 million. The suit, filed by the parents of one of the passengers that died when the ATV flipped, claimed the driver had been intoxicated and was driving the vehicle recklessly. The suit also claimed the defendant's parents had served the defendant and his friends alcohol "on a continuous basis" in the hours leading up to the crash. Joe McDonald, The Scranton Time-Tribune 01/13/2012 | Read Article: The Scranton Time-Tribune |
Issues |
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State Decides to Keep Abuse Investigation Records for 20 Years years |
| Responding to an investigation into allegations that a psychiatrist at Austin State Hospital abused eight boys in his care over two decades, the state's Department of Family and Protective Services said Thursday that it would begin keeping its abuse investigation files for 20 years. Previously, the agency kept those records for only five years. The purging even included files of cases in which abuse allegations at state psychiatric facilities had been "confirmed," the term the agency uses when it finds sufficient evidence to indicate the alleged incident probably occurred. Eric Dexheimer and Andrea Ball, Austin American Statesman 01/13/2012 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
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