| | TSC Order: Expedited Actions & Dismissals | | TTLA President-Elect, Brad Parker, sent an email to the TTLA membership this morning regarding the Texas Supreme Court's approval of rules on expedited actions and dismissals. To access the email click on the headline. | | Paralyzed Marine Mistreated at Airport, Suit Says | |  | | A former sergeant in the Marine Corps who was paralyzed while serving in Afghanistan has filed a lawsuit against officials at O'Hare International Airport after he was allegedly mistreated while at the airport. The man, who is confined to a wheelchair, says in his suit that United Airlines and Air Serv employees refused to assist him and that he was left alone to "drag his body" down the aisle of the airplane after boarding, tearing his catheter bag and spilling urine on himself. After landing, he also fell from his chair, hit his head and suffered a concussion. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.
Jennifer Delgado, Chicago Tribune 11/13/2012    | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | | Justices Say Lawyer Can’t Use Laws to Get Around Govt Immunity for Credit Card Mistake | | | | The US Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its first opinion of the new term, saying a lawyer cannot combine two laws to sue the federal government for violating identity theft protection laws banning the printing of credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts. The justices’ first such rendering of the term was unanimous, as the court turned aside lawyer James X. Bormes’ attempt to sue the United States using a combination of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Little Tucker Act.
Associated Press, The Washington Post 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | NY Woman Settles in Wrongful Conviction Suit | | | | A New York woman who spent more than 13 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing her teenage daughter has reached a $2.7 million settlement with the state, her attorney said Tuesday. Lynn DeJac Peters, whose conviction was overturned in 2007 on the basis of DNA evidence, initially sought more than $10 million in a written demand in 2009 but lowered the amount as time went on. Earlier this year, she accused the state of dragging its feet on her wrongful imprisonment claim, hoping to wear her down.
Associated Press, The Washington Post 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Jury Awards $850,000 in Police Beating Lawsuit | | | | An Illinois jury has awarded $850,000 to a local woman who was severely beaten by a drunken off-duty police officer in February 2007. Surveillance video showed the officer pushing the woman to the ground behind the bar and the "repeatedly punching and kicking her."
Wire Report, Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette | | Papa John's Faces Spam Lawsuit | | | | Popular U.S. pizza chain Papa John's faces a $250 million class-action lawsuit for blasting customers with illegal text messages. The plaintiffs allege that Papa John's franchises sent customers a total of 500,000 unwanted messages in early 2010. The spam texts offered deals for pizza, and some customers complained they were getting 15 or 16 texts in a row, even during the middle of the night, according to an attorney representing the class. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 bars companies from sending advertisements via text message without a consumer first opting into the service.
Olivia Smith, CNN 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: CNN | | Report: FDA Wanted to Close Mass Pharmacy in 2003 | | | | Nearly a decade ago, federal health inspectors wanted to shut down the pharmacy linked to a recent deadly meningitis outbreak until it cleaned up its operations, according to congressional investigators. About 440 people have been sickened by contaminated steroid shots distributed by New England Compounding Center, and more than 32 deaths have been reported since the outbreak began in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That has put the Framingham, Mass.-based pharmacy at the center of congressional scrutiny and calls for greater regulation of compounding pharmacies, which make individualized medications for patients and have long operated in a legal gray area between state and federal laws.
MATTHEW PERRONE, Associated Press, Yahoo News 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Yahoo News | | Many Hospital Patients Get Too Much Acetaminophen | | | | In a new study from two Boston hospitals, one in every 15 patients treated with acetaminophen got more than the maximum daily recommended dose at least once. Acetaminophen - sold as Tylenol - is a common painkiller on its own, but also an ingredient in stronger narcotics such as Percocet and Vicodin. So without careful monitoring, it's not always obvious how much a patient has taken. To protect against liver damage from an acetaminophen overdose, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sets the maximum daily dose at 4 grams for most people or 3 grams for people 65 and older and those with liver disease.
Genevra Pittman, Reuters 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Reuters | | After BP Spill, Information Trickled As Oil Gushed | | | | BP and the U.S. government portrayed in public a united front as a runaway well spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. But they privately sought to withhold potentially critical information from each other, possibly slowing efforts to solve the crisis, according to new testimony. Last month's closed-door testimony by Marcia McNutt, head of the U.S. Geological Survey, in the ongoing litigation over the disaster could complicate a Justice Department probe that has focused on whether BP and its partners obstructed justice by lying to investigators.
Harry R. Weber, Houston Chronicle 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES
| | | | Corpus Christi Court of Appeals: Torts | | | | The relators in this silica-related personal injury and wrongful death case challenge the trial court's order remanding the case to a county court at law. Although the 333rd District Court is a court of general jurisdiction by virtue of the statutes that created it, when the 333rd District Court is acting pursuant to the multi-district litigation panel's designation as a pretrial court under MDL rules and legislation, by reference to those rules, it is not a court of general jurisdiction. A third-party plaintiff is unable to invoke the jurisdiction of the silica Multi-District Litigation Court. The petition for writ of mandamus is denied. In Re Champion Industrial Sales, LLC, Corpus Christi Court of Appeals, No. 13-12-00505-CV, 10-29-2012.
Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Dallas Court of Appeals: Health Law | | | | This health care liability case involves providers' alleged failure to discover a pregnancy and alleged treatment with drugs contraindicated for pregnancy. The appellants challenged an expert's report on the issue of causation. The trial court denied the motions. The causation requirement is satisfied by one report that stated that the claim has merit, implicated appellants' conduct, and constituted a fair summary of his expert opinion on causation. The trial court's order is affirmed. Whitfield v. Henson, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-12-00033-CV, 11-06-2012.
Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Toyota Settles Investor Lawsuit for $25.5 Million | | | | Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to settle a $25.5 million lawsuit with shareholders who accused the company of failing to disclose safety issues related to 2010 recalls. Investors said in the suit that the recalls and Toyota's concealment of vehicle issues caused a "$30 billion drop in the company's stock market value."
Staff Report, Chicago Tribune 11/14/2012 | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | | Suit Filed over Man's Death in KY Prison | | | | The family of a Kentucky inmate who died in prison from severe seizures have filed a lawsuit against prison officials who allegedly contributed to his death. The suit says that while the man was suffering a seizure, officers "forcibly restrained and physically assaulted [the man] and ultimately handcuffed and shackled him." While shackled, the victim asphyxiated after choking on his vomit during the seizure, the suit says. The man was serving a 10-day sentence on a DUI charge.
Josh Kegley, Lexington Herald-Leader 11/13/2012 | | Read Article: Lexington Herald-Leader | | |
