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June 11, 2012

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Surge in Products Recalls Numbing Consumers

Safety Officials Probe Toyota, GMC, Honda SUVs

Jury Awards $3.1 Million in Police Chase Wreck

PA High Court Justices Consider 'Error in Judgment' Med Mal Defense

Suit: Former Broncos Player Raped Woman

Suit Filed Against Florida Voter Purge

Sept. 11 Health Fund Given Clearance to Cover Cancer

Grievance Oversight Committee Issues Report to High Court

Sunset Panel OKs Changes to Judicial Conduct Commissio

CDC: One-Third of US Teens Report Texting While Driving

Judge 'Concerned' About Reviving Walmart Suit

Fireman Files Suit Against City of Houston

Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts

Costco Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

 

 

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Products

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Surge in Products Recalls Numbing Consumers

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U.S. regulators, retailers and manufacturers are growing increasingly concerned that a surge in the number of products being recalled is resulting in "fatigue" by the public — increasing the chance that consumers could ignore or miss a recall that could ultimately endanger their health. Consumers last year were deluged with 2,363 recalls, or about 6.5 recalls each day, covering consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food, according to data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recalls announced mark a nearly 14 percent increase from 2,081 in 2010 and compare with about 1,460 in 2007.  Christopher Doering, Gannett, USA Today  06/11/2012

Read Article: USA Today    

 

Safety Officials Probe Toyota, GMC, Honda SUVs

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Certain Toyota RAV4, GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Honda Pilot SUVs are getting special attention from NHTSA officials for alleged safety problems ranging from rusty undercarriages to headlights that suddenly stop working.  Jonathan Welsh, WSJ Blogs  06/11/2012

Read Article: WSJ Blogs    

 

Laws/Cases

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Jury Awards $3.1 Million in Police Chase Wreck

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A St. Louis jury has awarded $3.1 million to a local family in a lawsuit over a police chase that ended in a deadly crash. The lawsuit says the police should have ended their chase due to its high rate of speed and could have prevented the death and injuries that occurred when the car they were chasing crashed into the plaintiff's vehicle. The crash killed one of the car's occupants and severely injured the driver along with another of the young passengers.  Jennifer Man, St. Louis Post Dispatch  06/08/2012

Read Article: St. Louis Post Dispatch    

 

PA High Court Justices Consider 'Error in Judgment' Med Mal Defense

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The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over whether medical malpractice defendants may rely on an "error in judgment" defense at trial. The court issued two orders May 23 separately granting the petitions for allowance of appeal of defendants Rowena T. Grumbine and Blair Medical Associates Inc.  Zack Needles / The Legal Intelligencer , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  06/11/2012

Read Article: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette    

 

Suit: Former Broncos Player Raped Woman

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A Denver woman has filed a lawsuit against a former Denver Broncos player, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in September 2010. The woman claims she was drugged while at a nightclub and taken back to the defendant's apartment and assaulted; the woman became pregnant and DNA tests proved the defendant is the father. In March, a jury acquitted the defendant of all criminal charges and he subsequently joined San Francisco 49ers.  Wire Report, USA Today  06/11/2012

Read Article: USA Today    

 

Suit Filed Against Florida Voter Purge

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Civil rights groups in Florida have filed a lawsuit against the governor's office over a non-citizen voter purge that allegedly violates federal election laws. Voting or election changes must be "precleared" under federal law, but the suit claims Gov. Rick Scott's office conducted the purge without federal approval. Many of the alleged ineligible voters flagged had Hispanic surnames, the suit says.  Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post  06/08/2012

Read Article: Palm Beach Post    

 

Issues

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Sept. 11 Health Fund Given Clearance to Cover Cancer

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A federal health official’s ruling has cleared the way for 50 different types of cancer to be added to the list of sicknesses covered by a $4.3 billion fund set up to compensate and treat people exposed to the toxic smoke, dust and fumes in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The decision, released on Friday, came as a vindication for hundreds and perhaps thousands of people who have claimed — often in the face of resistance from public health officials — that their cancers were caused by their exposure to the dust cloud and debris thrown up by the attacks.  ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS, The New York Times  06/11/2012

Read Article: The New York Times     The New York Sun    

 

Grievance Oversight Committee Issues Report to High Court

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Texas grievance committee panels conducting evidentiary hearings should be allowed to send letters expressing "concerns" to lawyers about their conduct or practice methods, according to a recommendation from the Texas Supreme Court-appointed Grievance Oversight Committee (GOC). The recommendation is included in the GOC's June 1 biennial report to the Texas Supreme Court. The report is based on information the committee gathered over the past year when traveling around the state meeting with judges, public interest groups, lawyers and participants in the grievance system.  Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, Texas Lawyer  06/11/2012

Read Article: Texas Lawyer    

 

Sunset Panel OKs Changes to Judicial Conduct Commissio

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With little comment on June 5, the state's Sunset Advisory Commission (SAC) unanimously approved its recommendations to the Texas Legislature for changes in the state agency responsible for disciplining judges. The recommendations, which the Legislature will address during its 2013 session, would require a constitutional amendment to authorize the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to use its full range of sanctions after initiating formal proceedings against a judge. A statutory change also would be required to authorize a court of review to hear appeals of sanctions following formal proceedings in the same way as it hears appeals of censures.  Mary Alice Robbins, Texas Lawyer  06/11/2012

Read Article: Texas Lawyer    

 

CDC: One-Third of US Teens Report Texting While Driving

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A new federal study shows dramatic improvement in the driving habits of U.S. high school students, but texting by teenagers behind the wheel is a concern, the CDC. One in three high school students reported they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous 30 days, according to the centers' 2011 youth risk behavior survey of 15,000 high school students. The percentage of those who had texted or emailed while driving was higher for upper classmen, with nearly 43 percent of 11th graders and 58 percent of 12th graders saying they had done so in the past month. This is the first time texting questions were included in this survey.  David Beasley, Reuters  06/11/2012

Read Article: Reuters    

 

Class Action

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Judge 'Concerned' About Reviving Walmart Suit

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A year after the Supreme Court rejected a nationwide lawsuit against Walmart by more than 1 million women, a federal judge expressed doubt Friday about allowing a revived sex-discrimination suit against the retail giant by more than 45,000 female employees in California. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco said he was "seriously concerned" that the proposed statewide class-action suit may have the same fatal flaw that the high court found in the national suit: an inability to point to any company policy or decision by higher-ups that caused women to be paid less than men or promoted less often.  Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle  06/11/2012

Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle    

 

Labor/Employment

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Fireman Files Suit Against City of Houston

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A veteran Houston firefighter has filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing the department of age and race discrimination. In his suit, the plaintiff claims he was "intentionally given low performance evaluations" to halt his path of becoming the city's first black fire chief. He claims he was been consistently denied promotions for more than a decade, despite working for the department since 1968.  Cindy George, Houston Chronicle  06/10/2012

Read Article: Houston Chronicle    

 

TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES

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Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts

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The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants in this Equine Act case. Nothing in the language of the statute mandates that its limitation of liability applies only to consumer-oriented equine activities. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. Young v. McKim, Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-11-00376-CV, 05-31-2012.  Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  06/11/2012

Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)    

 

Wrongful Death

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Costco Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

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A Las Vegas couple has filed a lawsuit against Costco after their 38-year-old son was shot and killed at a local store by police in 2010. The suit claims Costco employees called 911 after seeing the victim carrying a concealed weapon into the store, "grossly and inaccurately describing the Costco situation to [police]." Store clerks allegedly falsely reported the actions and conduct of the victim to the police, causing the situation to unnecessarily escalate.  Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review Journal  06/08/2012

Read Article: Las Vegas Review Journal    


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