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July 29, 2015 Like TTLA on Facebook Follow TTLA on Twitter

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Counsel Financial

Upcoming Online CLE
30
Jul
Client Control: Strategies for Managing Challenging Client Behavior in Legal Practice
4
Aug
The Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Statute and Future Medicals in 2015 : What IS the Beneficiary's Deductible?
6
Aug
How the Defense Values a Case
11
Aug
Emerging Mass Torts: Drug and Device Cases
13
Aug
Personal Injury Practice in 2020 - What you Need to Know to be Prepared for the Future
21
Aug
Masters in Trial®: A Trial Demonstration from Opening Statement through Jury Deliberation
24
Aug
Net Worth SB 735
25
Aug
Forum Non Conveniens HB 1692
26
Aug
Discovery in a Commercial Trucking Case
Announcements

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.

Texas Tribune Daily Brief

The Brief for July 29

Polo Rocha, Texas Tribune 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn icon
Read Article: Texas Tribune


Studies/Reports

Auto Insurers Charge Widows, Divorcees More: Study
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A new study finds that many major auto insurance companies are adding to the grief by raising rates for new widows by as much as 226 percent. In general, auto insurers levy penalties, in the form of higher premiums, on those who aren't married, according to new research by the Consumer Federation of America. The higher rates are not backed up by data showing increased risk, the consumer group claimed. "It seems inhumane for insurers to raise rates on women who have become widows," said CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck.
NBC News, NBCNewYork.com 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: NBCNewYork.com


Issues

Reversing the Decline of the Civil Jury Trial
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Fewer than 1% of federal civil cases are resolved by juries these days, down from 5.5% in the 1960s. The picture is the same in state courts. The 75 largest counties in the U.S. saw a 50% drop-off in jury and bench trials from 1992 to 2005, and the trend has continued, according to state-level studies. In the digital age, the cost of litigating civil cases has exploded. Criminal cases have displaced or delayed civil cases. And arbitration clauses have removed many disputes from courts. Jurors, who are paid nominal fees for their service, are harder to come by, as the length of trials has grown.
JOE PALAZZOLO, WSJ Blogs 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: WSJ Blogs

Groundwater Districts Seek Help Tracking Disposal Wells
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Amid a surge of disposal wells in drilling country - pipes designed to carry the waste far below freshwater aquifers - groundwater officials are trying to keep a close eye on the roughly 7,500 waste sites and counting. But groundwater conservation districts are struggling to track new permits, and they are looking for help from the industry and its regulators. They want energy companies to notify them directly when they apply to drill new wells.
Jim Malewitz, Texas Tribune 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: Texas Tribune


Laws/Cases

EEOC Files Suit Against UPS Over Appearance Policies
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Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim woman in a religious discrimination lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service over similar claims. The lawsuit alleges that the service's Uniform and Appearance Policy discriminates against job applicants by prohibiting beards or hair longer than collar length. The lawsuit contends that since 2004 UPS has refused to promote or hire individuals whose religious practices conflict with the appearance policy. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, including modification of company practices relating to religious accommodations, lost wages and compensatory and punitive damages.
Paula Burkes, NewsOK.com 07/22/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: NewsOK.com

Ky. Woman Sues After Being Injured on Amusement Park Ride
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A Kentucky woman has filed a lawsuit over an injury she sustained when an amusement park ride she was on flipped over. The woman and her 9-year-old daughter were on the Jitterbug Swings ride at Beech Bend Park last weekend, when the ride broke and flipped over. According to the lawsuit, the woman was slammed into the tower and her back was broken. She alleges that the ride operator left the station shortly after starting the ride and that too many riders were placed on one side of the swings. An investigation is being conducted by the Kentucky Agricultural Department to discover why the ride flipped over.
Chris Conte, News Channel 5/KION/KMUV Telemundo 07/28/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: News Channel 5/KION/KMUV Telemundo

Indiana Priest Named in Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
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Two lawsuits have been filed in St. Paul, Minnesota accusing a former priest of sexually abusing two men when they were young boys. The civil lawsuits were filed on Tuesday and allege that the priest, originally from Lafayette, Indiana, sexually abused the plaintiffs when they were young. The 77-year-old priest has admitted to sexually abusing boys in his charge for 30 years. Legal action from the abuse survivors is possible because of Minnesota's Child Victim Act, which ended the statute of limitations for victims to file civil lawsuits.
Ron Wilkins, Journal & Courier Online 07/28/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: Journal & Courier Online

Fans Safety at the Ballpark Isnâ??t Optional
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A lawsuit, filed on behalf of an Oakland A's fan and other Major League Baseball season-ticket holders, seeks an extension of protective screens down the base lines. It says 1,750 spectators are hurt each year by balls, mostly fouls that scream into the stands. The lawsuit names baseball commissioner Rob Manfred as the defendant.
Thomas Farragher, Boston Globe 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: Boston Globe

Legal Experts Question State's Immunity Claim
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The state of Texas can't hide behind sovereign immunity to escape a lawsuit for denying birth certificates to U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants, the director of the University of Texas' Transnational Worker Rights Clinic said Tuesday. That state's claim of immunity is mere "boilerplate," said Bill Beardall, who also serves as executive director of the Equal Justice Center, and the lawsuit against the Department of State Health Services should proceed.
Juliån Aguilar, Texas Tribune 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: Texas Tribune


Healthcare

FDA Examines Whether MRI Drugs Accumulate in Brain Tissue
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The Food and Drug Administration announced it is investigating the risk of brain deposits for patients who are given repeated MRIs using imaging drugs that contain a heavy metal. The FDA did not announce any label changes for the nine medicines that contain the metal, gadolinium, saying there was a "need for additional information." However, "to reduce the potential for gadolinium accumulation," the safety announcement asked health care professionals to "consider limiting" their use and to reexamine "the necessity of repetitive" MRIs involving these drugs.
Jeff Gerth, ProPublica 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: ProPublica


Insurance

Oil Train Insurance Minimums in Question
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Within the past two years over a dozen trains transporting crude oil have derailed in North America. And while there are still no U.S. regulations regarding minimum insurance coverages for these trains, Canada's government in July approved the Safe and Accountable Rail Act, which consists of a new liability and compensation program requiring the rail industry and crude oil shippers pay for minimum levels of insurance ranging from $25 million to $1 billion.
Donna Mahoney, Business Insurance 07/29/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: Business Insurance


Wrongful Death

Appeals Court Reverses Summary Judgement in Greyhound Case
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A California court of appeals has reversed a summary judgment in favor of Greyhound Lines Inc., in a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed over the 2008 crash of a bus going from Sacramento to a casino in Colusa County. The lawsuit alleged that safety defects in the bus were the cause of the fatal crash. A three-justice panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal recently found fatal flaws in the motion for summary judgement by Greyhound. In their decision, the justices stated that the judgement "addressed only the lack of passenger seat belts; it did not address the lack of other passenger safety restraints or the lack of adequate warnings."
Denny Walsh, The Sacramento Bee 07/23/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: The Sacramento Bee

Lawsuit Filed Over Man Who Died In Violent Jail Incident
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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over a 2014 incident in which a jailed man died after being forcibly removed from his jail cell. According to the lawsuit, the man was hogtied by officers at the Harris County jail in Texas and removed from his cell. During the incident, the man told officers, who were pinning him to the ground, that he could not breathe and that he was going to pass out. The lawsuit contends that the officers ignored his pleas, leading to the man's death shortly after. The 38-year-old man was arrested in February for interfering with child custody.
Ted Oberg and Trent Seibert, KTRK-TV 07/28/2015 Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon
Read Article: KTRK-TV



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