| TTLA Pioneers: Joe Tonahill |
In the ninth installment of the TTLA Pioneers series, we share two videos chronicling the life of TTLA founding member and Past President Joe Tonahill. A BIG thank you to Willie Chapman for his continuing efforts to chronicle and archive the history of the TTLA. Click on the headline to learn more.
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Hiring Dispute Brings Second Lawsuit Against Shell |
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A decision by Shell Oil Co. to reject the hiring recommendation of its former head of U.S. security has led to another discrimination lawsuit against the company, a subsidiary of the international oil major Royal Dutch Shell. Earlier this year Crockett Oaks III sued Shell for allegedly firing him after he objected to hiring preferences based on age and gender. Oaks and a selecition committee chose a 53-year-old man with a military background for a security advisor opening, but Shell executives allegedly blocked his hiring and directed Oaks to find a young, female candidate instead, according to court documents.
L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle 07/05/2017    |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Jury Awards Fla. Man Nearly $5M In Ladder Defect Suit |
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A federal jury in Florida has sided with a man who injured himself after falling from an allegedly defective ladder, awarding more than $4.7 million in damages in his suit against Tricam Industries and Home Depot, which respectively manufactured and sold the Husky brand ladder. Jurors returned verdicts Thursday against Minnesota-based Tricam Industries Inc. and Georgia-based Home Depot USA Inc. on counts of strict liability and negligence brought by plaintiff Moises Ore.
Nathan Hale, Law360 ($) 07/05/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Engine Maker Can't Escape $2.75M Airplane Crash Verdict |
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A Pennsylvania federal judge has rejected an engine maker's request to alter a jury's decision to award a U.S. Forest Service employee's widow $2.75 million in a trial over a 2010 plane crash. U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner on Wednesday said Continental Motors Inc. could not escape liability under the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 because the company manufactured a replacement part for the engine not too long before the accident and the jury was provided sufficient evidence to determine what caused the crash.
Rachel Graf, Law360 ($) 07/05/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Texas High Court Reverses $1.9M Win Against Scaffolding Co. |
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A split Texas Supreme Court has sided with United Scaffolding Inc., reversing a $1.9 million jury verdict in favor of an injured worker and holding that he can't recover on his negligence claims because if properly characterized, his claims are actually for premises liability. In a 6-3 ruling, the court determined Friday that James Levine, who was injured when he fell through scaffolding USI had constructed, didn't “secure findings” to support the premises liability claim, and therefore he cannot recover the judgment in his favor.
Michelle Casady, Law360 ($) 07/05/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Giant Concrete Coverage Suit Tests Conn. Bad Faith Laws |
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National insurance giants including State Farm, AIG, Allstate and a slew of others are staring down the barrel of an unconventional proposed class action in Connecticut that could cost them billions of dollars and will test the limits of the state's insurance industry bad faith laws. Pyrrhotite-contaminated concrete is the culprit behind a vast outbreak of crumbling basements and foundations currently sweeping eastern Connecticut.
Ryan Boysen, Law360 ($) 07/05/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Allergan Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleging Kickback Scheme |
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Pharmaceutical-maker Allergan has settled a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that the company provided incentives for doctors who prescribed its expensive eye medications. The lawsuit was filed by two Philadelphia-area ophthalmologists and accused the company of a kickback scheme aimed at stimulating sales of eye-care drugs Restasis, Acular LS and others. The plaintiffs, a father and daughter team of ophthalmologists, accused Allergan of providing paid speaking engagements, free business consulting, and other services to eye doctors who used its products. The pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay $13 million to settle the lawsuit.
Chris Mondics, Philly.Com 06/30/2017 |
| Read Article: Philly.Com |
| States, Cities, Counties Target Drug Companies in Nation's Opioid Crisis |
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At least 25 states, cities, and counties across the country have filed lawsuits targeting companies that manufacture and distribute highly addictive painkillers. The lawsuits are being filed as the worst drug epidemic in U.S. history continues to escalate. Over the past few weeks, the states of Ohio, Missouri, and Oklahoma, and the district attorneys for three counties in Tennessee have filed suit over the opioid crisis. Representatives of the companies have denied the allegations and say they will defend the lawsuits.
Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein, The Washington Post 07/04/2017 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| Supreme Court Sends Border Patrol Lawsuit Back to Lower Court |
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The U.S. Supreme Court recently ordered a lawsuit over the shooting death of a Mexican teenager by an American Border Patrol agent back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was filed by the family of the teenager, who was killed in 2010 during what officials called a "rock-throwing incident." The Border Patrol agent was patrolling the banks of the Rio Grande in El Paso when he fatally shot the teen from the American side. The boy's family filed suit against the U.S. government, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security and the agent.
Julian Aguilar and Cassandra Pollock, Texas Tribune 06/26/2017 |
| Read Article: Texas Tribune |
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