Announcements | 
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Share with your FB friends: Perils of ‘Bounce Houses’ |
| NY accident, other mishaps illuminate perils of inconsistently regulated ‘bounce houses’, AP 6-7-11. They look like harmless fun — fluffy, inflated castles, ships and slides filled with children jumping around carelessly, their parents letting their guard down a bit during playtime. But an accident that sent three of the huge toys aloft on a breezy afternoon on New York’s Long Island, left a woman seriously injured and hurt 12 other people is drawing attention to the little-known hazards of the inflatable playthings sometimes called “bounce houses” and the inconsistent regulations covering them. |
Products |
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Cadillac SRX Vehicles Recalled |
| General Motors has issued a recall of 47,000 2011 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles to fix a problem with the passenger-side air bag. The company found that the head protection air bag may not inflate in a crash if the front seat is empty, potentially leaving any passengers in the back seat unprotected. There have been no injuries reported. Staff Report, Detroit Free Press 06/11/2011 | Read Article: Detroit Free Press |
Laws/Cases |
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Judge: First Suit Against Toyota to Trial in 2013 |
| A federal judge has announced that the first lawsuit against Toyota over allegedly defective cars will go to trial in California in 2013. The suit, filed in Utah over a fatal crash, claims the company made "defective cars that are responsible for the deaths," will serve as the "bellwether" case, and others are expected to follow. The fatal crash killed two people when a 2008 Camry suddenly accelerated on the off-ramp of a Utah highway. Lindsay Whitehurst, The Salt Lake Tribune 06/11/2011 | Read Article: The Salt Lake Tribune |
US High Court Limits Securities Fraud Lawsuits |
| The Supreme Court has cut off a lawsuit by investors against Janus Capital Group seeking to hold the company liable for allegedly false statements in some Janus mutual fund documents. The court’s 5-4 ruling reversed an appeals court decision that allowed the lawsuit to go forward. At issue is whether the adviser to a mutual fund can be held financially responsible for false statements in the fund’s prospectus.The court was ideologically divided, with the four liberal-leaning justices saying the suit should be allowed. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/14/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Judge Limits Ability of Minn. Man Jailed for Fatal Crash to Sue Toyota |
| A federal judge says a Minnesota man incarcerated after a 2006 fatal crash involving a Toyota Camry who was later cleared can’t collect damages from the automaker for the time he spent in prison. In a pretrial order Monday, Judge Ann Montgomery ruled that Koua Fong Lee was wrongly convicted due to a long chain of actions and decisions by prosecutors, his attorney, the judge and the jury. She says none of Toyota’s alleged actions can be considered a “substantial factor” in bringing about Lee’s incarceration. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/14/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
States to Fight Lawsuit Accord |
| Attorneys general in 38 states are fighting a proposed class-action settlement they said could make it much harder for state law-enforcement officials to regulate debt collectors. The proposed settlement involves a February agreement by Encore Capital Group Inc., the nation's largest debt buyer by revenue, to pay $5.7 million to settle all class-action lawsuits accusing the San Diego company of violating U.S. or state laws with flawed or phony affidavits. This month, the 38 state attorneys general asked the federal judge to throw out the proposed settlement. They contend that approval of the deal would help the debt-collection industry dodge enforcement actions by state officials. JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 06/14/2011 | Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) |
Suit: Police Failed to Notice Woman was Still Alive |
| The estate of a Kentucky woman who was killed last year has filed a lawsuit against the city of Lexington over allegedly "reckless, wanton and egregious" police behavior during her murder investigation. The lawsuit claims that when police found her body in the bushes outside her apartment, she was still alive, but officers failed to notice for several hours. The suit claims officers did not check the body for vital signs upon arrival and did not realize the woman was alive until the body was taken to the Fayette County Coroner. The suit is seeking unspecified damages. Josh Kegley, Lexington Herald-Leader 06/14/2011 | Read Article: Lexington Herald-Leader |
Suit Blames Fire Department for Boys' Drownings |
| Two lawsuits have been filed against the Gwinnett County fire department in Georgia over the deaths of two teenage boys in January 2010. The boys drowned after falling through the ice on a frozen neighborhood pond. The suit says when firefighters arrived on scene, they waited for a boat to come instead of rescuing the boys immediately, who were alive at the time. While waiting for the boat, both boys drowned, the suit claims. The lawsuits are seeking $10 million each in damages. David Wickert , Atlanta Journal-Constitution 06/10/2011 | Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
Issues |
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VA Says it will Make Improvements to Prevent Rapes |
| A Veterans Affairs official told a congressional panel on Monday the agency is making improvements to protect patients from rape in treatment facilities after Congress’ investigative arm found nearly 300 reports of sexual assaults in the centers over three years. Clinicians have expressed concern about the safety of female veterans housed near veterans who had committed sexual crimes, which prompted the Government Accountability Office review, Randall B. Williamson, director of health care with GAO, testified. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/14/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
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