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| | Announcements | |
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| | 2012 Annual Conference Discover TTLA, June 6-8 at the Hyatt Lost Pines, Bastrop | |
| | Join TTLA for our biggest event of the year, complete with 2 days of CLE programs, parties, receptions, committee meetings, Board of Directors meeting and our annual awards luncheon. Nestled in the tranquil Central Texas countryside, this year's Annual Conference also offers family-friendly activities, a golf tournament, tennis tournament and more! Click on the headline to learn more! | | TTLA is accepting nominations for the Making a Difference Award. | |
| | TTLA, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, presents the Making a Difference Award to recognize and honor those clients whose cases demonstrate the critical role of the civil justice system in protecting the rights of Texas families. Any client (past or present) of a current TTLA member is eligible for this award. Click on the headline to learn more and download the nomination form. | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | Boston Settles Suit Over Wrongful Arrest | |
| | The city of Boston has agreed to settle a $170,000 lawsuit with a local man who was arrested while video taping police activity with his cell phone. In his lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed he was arrested and prosecuted in 2007 for recording police who "allegedly used force while arresting a man on Boston Common." He was accused of violating state wiretapping laws, but the charges were dismissed because he had not been making the recording in secret. Wire Report, Boston Globe 03/27/2012 | | Read Article: Boston Globe | | U.S. Judge Upholds TX Cap on Med Mal Awards | |
| | A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Texas law limiting noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases to $250,000 is constitutional. The decision, applauded by tort reform advocates and denounced by trial lawyers and victims of medical malpractice, ends a four-year legal battle over whether the Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform Act of 2003 violated the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall decided it did not. In a one-page order, the judge simply accepted an earlier recommendation by a magistrate judge that the law be upheld. MARK CURRIDEN, The Texas Law Book (http://texaslawbook.net), The Dallas Morning News 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | | Class Action | |
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| | Restaurant Settles Identity Theft Lawsuit | |
| | A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against a Des Moines restaurant chain over the failure to comply with federal anti-identity theft laws. According to the suit, Palmer's Deli & Market printed receipts with full credit card expiration dates on them, increasing the risk of identity theft for its customers. The majority of the settlement's $170,000 will go to legal costs, while the plaintiffs will receive drink coupons from the restaurant. Jeff Eckhoff and James Heggen , DesMoines Register 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: DesMoines Register | | Labor/Employment | |
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| | Suit: YMCA Pays Men More than Women | |
| | A group of female managers at the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh have filed a lawsuit against the organization, saying male employees are paid more than their female counterparts. The plaintiffs claim in their suit that despite equal or higher scores on the YMCA's tool used to determine pay grade, the women were still paid less than men. The suit is seeking back payment as well as compensatory and punitive damages. Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | |
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| | Amarillo Court of Appeals: Health Law | |
| | Appellant Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center brings this interlocutory appeal to challenge the trial court's denial of its claim of sovereign immunity filed pursuant to election of remedies provisions of the Texas Tort Claims Act. A governmental unit cannot use subsections 101.106(b), 101.106(e) and 101.106(f) seriatim to dismiss claims against both the governmental unit and its employees, thereby effectively dismissing a claimant's entire suit. The trial court's denial is affirmed. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center v. Villagran, Amarillo Court of Appeals, No. 07-11-0257-CV, 03-22-2012. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts | |
| | In this suit for damages for an on-the-job-injury, Big Bird Tree Services appeals a judgment granted in favor of its former employee Julian Gallegos. Allowing a negligent tortfeasor to avoid liability for medical expenses born by a charity program designed to benefit indigent patients not only results in a windfall to the tortfeasor, it rewards the tortfeasor for injuring an indigent plaintiff. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. Big Bird Tree Service v. Gallegos, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-10-00923-CV, 03-22-2012. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Houston's 1st Court of Appeals: Health Law | |
| | CHCA Woman's Hospital contends that the trial court erroneously denied its motion to dismiss in this health care liability suit because the appellee's non-suit did not toll the 120-day time period, and, thus, the expert report, served more than two years after the appellee first filed an original petition against it, was untimely. The claimant's non-suit, filed prior to the expiration of Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §74.351's 120-day time period for serving expert reports, tolls the running of the 120-day period until the claimant re-files his claims, at which point the claimant has the time remaining from the 120-day period to serve the defendant with his expert report. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. CHCA Woman's Hospital L.P. v. Lidji, Houston's 1st Court of Appeals, No. 01-11-00879-CV, 03-22-2012. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts | |
| | The appellant was injured while working for an independent contractor hired by appellee Oiltanking Houston L.P. The trial court granted summary judgment in the negligence suit for Oiltanking. The right to direct when to start, stop or resume work, or to prescribe alterations and deviations is not the type of supervisory control that would impose liability on the general contractor or premises owner. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. Johnston v. Oiltanking Houston L.P., Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-11-00537-CV, 03-22-2012. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Malpractice | |
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| | Nurse Cut Off Infant's Finger, Suit Claims | |
| | A Florida mother has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Regional Medical Center and a nurse there who accidentally cut off her 3-month-old daughter's finger. The girl had been taken to the hospital with a high fever, the suit says, and when she was about to be sent home the nurse accidentally cut off one of her fingers instead of the IV tube. The finger was not able to be reattached. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Nina Mandell , New York Daily News 03/28/2012 | | Read Article: New York Daily News | | Wrongful Death | |
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| | Suit Filed Over Death of Man in Immigration Custody | |
| | A Mexican woman has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the U.S. federal government after her husband died while being held by immigration authorities in Georgia. The suit claims the man, who died from myocarditis, was not properly reviewed by a physician, as is required by federal law. Immigration records show the man had x-rays taken and that the results were "abnormal," but nothing was done to help him. Jeremy Redmon , Atlanta Journal-Constitution 03/27/2012 | | Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | |
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