| | TTLA Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Seminar | April 3-4 | Royal Sonesta, Houston | | In April 2014, something BIG is coming to TTLA! Planning is underway, and the 2nd Annual TTLA Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Seminar will be bigger and better than ever. You won’t want to miss this sell-out seminar with its lineup of in-demand topics, storied speakers and unparalleled insight. Watch your e-mail for more information coming soon and save the date: April 3-4 in Houston. Think BIG. Think TTLA PMD. | | Former Priest and a Scout Leader Facing Sexual Abuse Suit | |  | | A lawsuit has been filed against one former Chicago priest and a Boy Scout leader who allegedly molested three boys as part of a “tag team." The lawsuit was filed after confidential church documents were released which contained information concerning past clergy abuse. The plaintiffs in the case, all men in their 50's, allege that the Archdiocese of Chicago did not protect them from the abuse between 1967 and 1973. Both of the defendants have been convicted in other cases of abuse.
Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune 01/23/2014    | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | | Warehouse Employees Sue After Being Ordered Not to Speak Spanish | | | | Two separate lawsuits have been filed against the parent company of a TJ Maxx warehouse in Pittston, Pa. The lawsuit alleges that two Hispanic men who worked at the warehouse were retaliated against after they objected to being ordered not to speak Spanish. According to the lawsuit, the two plaintiffs, who were often required to translate for Spanish-speaking employees, were told they were only allowed to speak English whenever they were in the company's human resources department. After voicing concerns to their supervisors, the plaintiffs were subjected to hostile and derogatory comments by co-workers and supervisors.
Terrie Morgan-Besecker, The Scranton Time-Tribune 01/23/2014 | | Read Article: The Scranton Time-Tribune | | Suit: State Placed Foster Child With Convicted Sex Offender | | | | A lawsuit has been filed against the state of Washington on behalf of a boy who was repeatedly raped by his foster parent. The boy, who was 4 years old at the time, was placed in the care of a man convicted as a teen of sexually assaulting children. During his year-long stay with the man, the boy was subjected to repeated sexual abuse. The former foster parent is now serving an 18-year prison sentence for the abuse. Investigators found that the man molested at least three other children who previously lived in his home. The lawsuit contends that the sex offender should not have been allowed to host foster children and that concerned reports made to Child Protective Services concerning the 4-year-old's safety were ignored.
Levi Pulkkinen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 01/23/2014 | | Read Article: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | | Water Fight Ends in Ranchers' Favor | | | | A Houston company has dropped its plans to tap an aquifer beneath mostly rural Austin and Waller counties for use in fast-growing Fort Bend County suburbs, ending one of Texas' nastiest water fights. Electro Purification LLC's withdrawal this week, however, does not put to rest the primary reason for the conflict: the unique way Texas governs groundwater. State law allows property owners to pump as much water from beneath their land as they desire, for any purpose. Electro Purification had asked for the right to pump 22,500 acre-feet of water per year from an aquifer - essentially an underground reservoir - beneath some sparsely populated ranch and farming land and send it by pipeline about 25 miles to Richmond and Rosenberg. An acre-foot is roughly equal to the amount of water three typical Texas households use in a year.
Matthew Tresaugue, Houston Chronicle 01/24/2014 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | As Patent Suits Increase, Firms Fight Back | | | | Advocates of patent reform say the legal system unfairly favors the entities and have called on federal lawmakers to restrict what they call frivolous litigation that stifles innovation. While bills slowly grind through Congress, some Texas lawmakers are considering ways for the state, which has increasingly invested in the software industry, to address the issue.
Edgar Walters, Texas Tribune 01/24/2014 | | Read Article: Texas Tribune | | Safety Boards Call for Tighter Standards for Crude Oil Trains | | | | Officials in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday told regulators to swiftly tighten standards for oil-carrying trains, following a series of fiery derailments that has highlighted the risks of North America's soaring shipments of crude by rail. The joint recommendations from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Canada's Transportation Safety Board include better planning to route hazardous materials around cities and other sensitive areas. The groups also want regulators to audit oil shipments to make sure they are classified properly and that safety plans are in place in case of an accident.
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Houston Chronicle 01/24/2014 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | |
