STATEWIDE TTLA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE THURS. JAN. 29, 2015 | Austin - Dallas - Houston - San Antonio, work half a day or the full day lunch is included! Click on the headline to learn more! TTLA Board Members, this is an opportunity to raise your 2015 Board Dues. Click on the headline for more info. | Texas Tribune Daily Brief | | Lawsuit: Disguised Debt Collectors Tricked Woman Into Car Repo | | A woman from Milwaukie, Oregon has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was tricked into having her car repossessed and towed away. According to the lawsuit, two men came to her door wearing orange vests and claiming to be TriMet workers who needed access to her driveway. The woman alleges in her lawsuit that after she asked the men to come back another day when her husband was home, they broke into her car and moved it out of the driveway. After moving the first car, they repossessed and towed away another car sitting in her driveway. The plaintiff alleges that she never had an account with the company which repossessed the car to collect on a debt. The lawsuit was filed against Rivermark Community Credit Union and American Asset Recovery in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon. Maxine Berstein, The Oregonian 01/26/2015 | Read Article: The Oregonian | Million Dollar Excessive Force Lawsuit Against TX Police Dept. | | A million dollar lawsuit has been filed against the police department of Round Rock, Texas by a disabled veteran who alleges that police used excessive force against him. The plaintiff was confronted by police officers after reports that the plaintiff was driving his motorcycle while drunk. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was left bloodied and bruised following his arrest. The lawsuit was filed against the seven officers involved along with the city and seeks over a million dollars. Tom Miller, KVUE-TV 01/26/2015 | Read Article: KVUE-TV | Homeowners File Suit Against Insurance Provider Over Fire Claims | | The owners of a home in Indian Hill, Ohio have filed a $60 million lawsuit against their insurance provider after their mansion burned down last year. The lawsuit alleges that the insurance provider failed to cover the fire under the couple's contract. According to the lawsuit, the company failed to honor the couple's insurance claims "without reasonable justification." The fire took place a year ago on January 10 and took seven hours to extinguish. Keith BieryGolick, The Cincinnati Enquirer 01/27/2015 | Read Article: The Cincinnati Enquirer | Former NFLers Appeal Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Painkillers | | Lawyers representing 1,300 former NFL players filed notice Tuesday that they plan to appeal a federal judge's dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that teams damaged the players' health by routinely â?? and often illegally â?? dispensing painkillers. The notice was filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The original lawsuit was dismissed in December by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. Northern District in California. He ruled that the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association was the appropriate forum to resolve those claims â?? and not the court. Associated Press, Missoulian 01/28/2015 | Read Article: Missoulian | San Francisco Pays $3M to Family of Patient who Died in Hospital Stairwell | | The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved a payment of nearly $3 million to the family of a woman who was found dead in a stairwell 17 days after she disappeared from her hospital room. Lynne Spaldingâ??s body was found by a building engineer checking the locked stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital in September 2013. The 57-year-old woman was being treated for a bladder infection and was described as disoriented when she left her room. An autopsy found Spalding died of dehydration and liver problems related to alcoholism. Associated Press, San Francisco Examiner 01/28/2015 | Read Article: San Francisco Examiner | Hospital Must Pay $3 Million on Punitives in Patient's Stabbing Death | | A Los Angeles jury decided that Pacifica Hospital of the Valley should pay $3 million in punitive damages to a man whose son was stabbed to death by a fellow psychiatric patient in 2012. The jury held the Sun Valley hospital responsible for the death of Dean Camacho, who was stabbed to death by his roommate, Jerry Romansky, in 2011. Jurors had previously awarded other damages against the hospital, bringing the total to $5.26 million. STEPHEN CEASAR, LA Times 01/28/2015 | Read Article: LA Times | Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Over Death of Joan Rivers | | The daughter of comedienne Joan Rivers, who died last year, has filed a malpractice lawsuit against the clinic where her mother died during a routine endoscopy. The lawsuit contends that the staff at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic in New York did not properly take care of Rivers when she came in due to a raspy throat. According to an autopsy report, the 81-year-old died of brain damage due to lack of oxygen after she stopped breathing during an endoscopy at the clinic. A federal investigation into the incident found that the clinic made several errors, including failing to keep proper medication records and taking cellphone photos of Rivers while she was unconscious. Maria Puente, USA Today 01/27/2015 | Read Article: USA Today | Teen Sued Over Fatal Drunk Driving Accident | | A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a teenager who killed a Kansas man while allegedly driving drunk. The lawsuit was filed by the children of the man who was killed in the crash that took place on August 7 of last year. The lawsuit contends that the victim was standing near his car when the 17-year-old defendant drove by and struck him. The teenage has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery in connection with the incident. The lawsuit names the teen and his parents as defendants. Tony Rizzo, Kansas City Star 01/27/2015 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | | |