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Announcements
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Best Kept Trial Secrets: What
Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas
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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
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Laws/Cases
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Fatal Wreck in Oklahoma Prompts
Lawsuit
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An Oklahoma mother has filed a lawsuit over the death of
her 15-year-old son in a car crash last year. The boy was riding in the
car with his friend, the suit says, who lost control of the vehicle
while trying to pass other cars at a very high speed. According to the
lawsuit, the car had been equipped with a nitrous oxide kit, which is
not legal for use on public roadways. The suit is seeking $1 million in
damages from the family of the driver, who also died in the wreck.
Robert Medley, NewsOK.com 01/30/2012
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Read Article: NewsOK.com
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FDA Staffers Sue File Suit Over
Surveillance of Personal E-mail
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The FDA secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group
of its own scientists and doctors after they warned Congress that the
agency was approving medical devices that they believed posed
unacceptable risks to patients, government documents show. The
surveillance — detailed in e-mails and memos unearthed by six of the
scientists and doctors, who filed a lawsuit against the FDA in U.S.
District Court in Washington last week — took place over two years as
the plaintiffs accessed their personal Gmail accounts from government
computers. Information garnered this way eventually contributed to the
harassment or dismissal of all six of the FDA employees, the suit
alleges. All had worked in an office responsible for reviewing devices
for cancer screening and other purposes. Ellen Nakashima and
Lisa Rein, The Washington Post 01/30/2012
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Read Article: The Washington Post
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Suit Filed Against Washington Man
in Fatal Shooting
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Parents of a Washington boy who was shot and killed by a
local man in 2010 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the
shooter. According to the suit and police reports, the boy and a friend
were picking up metal piping on the side of the road outside the man's
property. The man allegedly came out of his house with a gun, and the
boys got in their car to flee. Believing they were trying to hit him,
the man opened fire, killing the boy while he was driving. The suit
claims the man shot at the boys repeatedly, even after the truck had
passed his property. Adam Lynn, The News Tribune 01/25/2012
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Read Article: The News Tribune
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Judge: Parker County Not the Place
for Couple's Suit Against Range Resources
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A state district judge has ruled that a Parker County
couple lacks legal jurisdiction to sue Fort Worth-based Range Resources
in a high-profile case involving methane contamination of the couple's
water well at their home in the upscale Silverado subdivision in far
south Parker County. Judge Trey Loftin, of the 43rd State District Court
in Weatherford, said in an order issued late Friday that Steve and
Shyla Lipsky do not have legal standing for their pending $6.5 million
lawsuit against Range in his court because the Texas Railroad
Commission already determined last year that two Range natural gas
wells drilled into the Barnett Shale were not responsible for
contamination of the Lipskys' private water well. Loftin said the
proper venue for challenging a March 22 Railroad Commission order is
state district court in Austin. However, the deadline for appealing the
commission order passed months ago, Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella
said Saturday. The commission entered the order after reviewing
testimony presented by expert witnesses before commission hearing
examiners in January 2011. Jack Z. Smith, Star Telegram 01/30/2012
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Read Article: Star Telegram
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BP Emails Reveal Knowledge Of Disaster's
Potential
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On the day the Deepwater Horizon sank in the Gulf of
Mexico, BP officials warned in an internal email conversation that if
the well was not protected by the blow-out preventer at the drill site,
crude oil could burst into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 3.4 million
gallons a day, an amount a million gallons higher than what the U.S. government
ultimately estimated spilled daily from the site. The memo, which BP
agreed to release Friday as part of federal court proceedings, suggests
BP managers recognized the potential of the disaster in its early
hours, and the company officials sought to make sure that the
model-developed information wasn't shared with those outside the
company. The emails also suggest BP was having heated discussions with
Coast Guard officials over the potential of the oil spill. Associated
Press, National Public Radio 01/28/2012
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Read Article: National Public Radio
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Some Doctors Try to Squelch Online
Reviews
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Fuming about a billing dispute with his dentist, Robert
Allen Lee posted his complaints on two consumer review Web sites,
triggering a legal battle over a technique designed to snuff out
negative online commentary. In late August, a day after Lee posted his
comments on Yelp and DoctorBase, he received a letter from the dental
practice threatening to sue him for at least $100,000 for “defamation,
slander and libel.” The letter reminded him that he’d signed an
agreement with his dentist that barred him from publishing a critique
of her or her office. While extreme, such do-not-talk contracts
underscore the struggle between consumers that are eager to share their
thoughts online and companies that are looking for ways to protect
their reputations in an environment in which social media helps shape
opinions on just about everything. Dina ElBoghdady, The
Washington Post 01/30/2012
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Read Article: The Washington Post
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6 Costa Concordia Passengers Sue in
Miami Court
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Six Costa Concordia passengers have filed lawsuits in U.S.
federal court in Miami seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in
damages. The lawsuit filed Friday seeking $460 million in damages names
Costa Cruise Lines and its parent company Carnival Corp. Both companies
have offices in South Florida. Associated Press, Miami Herald
01/30/2012
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Read Article: Miami Herald
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Issues
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Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners
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Freddie Mac, a taxpayer-owned mortgage company, is
supposed to make homeownership easier. One thing that makes owning a
home more affordable is getting a cheaper mortgage. But Freddie Mac has
invested billions of dollars betting that U.S. homeowners won't be able
to refinance their mortgages at today's lower rates, according to an
investigation by NPR and ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit
newsroom. These investments, while legal, raise concerns about a
conflict of interest within Freddie Mac. Chris Arnold,
National Public Radio 01/30/2012
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Read Article: National Public Radio
ProPublica
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Discipline Problems Persist at
Harris County Jail
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Incidents highlight how the Harris County Jail continues
to experience problems similar to those cited in a 2009 U.S. Department
of Justice report critical of the use of excessive force against inmates.
A Houston Chronicle review of disciplinary records indicates that from
2008 through 2010, more than 200 jail employees were disciplined for
various offenses, some serious and others minor. Last year, the
Sheriff's Office disciplined 88 employees working in detention,
including jailers, deputies and civilians. Their offenses included
excessive use of force, having sex with inmates, mistakenly releasing
dangerous prisoners including suspected drug dealers, sleeping on the
job, and even leaving their post to have a 90-minute-long domino game.
James Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle 01/30/2012
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Read Article: Houston Chronicle
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OK's Low Liability Cap Leaves Some Holding the
Bag
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The recent case of Broken Arrow's John Zane has brought
scrutiny to the Oklahoma Tort Claims Act. Zane was run over by a Broken
Arrow school bus Dec. 16 while waiting at a stoplight on his motorcycle,
and he now faces medical costs and wage losses that seem certain to far
exceed the state's $125,000 liability limit for most government
entities. At least 38 other states have laws that treat people injured
or killed by the government more generously than Oklahoma, a Tulsa
World review of the 50 state laws found. For some of the other states,
comparisons are difficult for a variety of reasons, including that some
states cap liability at the amount of insurance carried by the local
government. Wayne Greene, Tulsa World 01/30/2012
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Read Article: Tulsa World($)
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Company Seeks Asbestos Liability
Limit in Idaho
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Pennsylvania-based Crown Holdings, whose products include
the tops of soda pop and beer containers, has gotten help from the
American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-backed conservative
nonprofit, to broaden limits on asbestos claims against it stemming
from an ill-fated acquisition nearly 50 years ago. Together, they've
succeeded in winning legislative protections in Florida, Georgia,
Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and
Wyoming. Associated Press, New Orleans Times-Picayune 01/30/2012
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Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Insurance
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Auto Insurance Rates in Texas Climbing
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The high cost of fixing damaged cars and trucks in Texas
has pushed up the price of auto insurance in the state to 11th highest
in the nation, according to a new study analyzing premiums across the
country. The study by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners shows that the price of collision coverage — the portion
of an insurance policy that pays to repair damage after an accident —
has been climbing in Texas and now ranks as the fifth highest among the
states. By contrast, the amount paid for liability coverage — which has
been a target for advocates of limiting lawsuits — ranks 20th among the
states. TERRENCE STUTZ , The Dallas Morning News 01/30/2012
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Read Article: The Dallas Morning News
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