| | | | | Announcements | | | TTLA Annual Conference has moved to June 1-3 in Austin | | We’ll be hosting all the events you’ve come to expect from our December conference. Between the 2-day CLE, parties, meetings, legislative update & special events. Check out the CLE program agendas for Wednesday and Thursday, which include a live video presentation with David Ball plus family friendly events to make this a true vacation opportunity. Register now! | Products | | | Ford Expands Recall of F-150 Pickups | | Under pressure from government safety regulators, Ford Motor Co. is expanding a recall of the popular F-150 pickup truck to include nearly 1.2 million vehicles that may have defective air bags. The additional recall, announced Thursday by the NHTSA, covers trucks from the 2004 through 2006 model years. An electrical short can cause the air bags to deploy unexpectedly, in some cases injuring drivers. TOM KRISHER, AP, Houston Chronicle 04/14/2011 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Laws/Cases | | | Miami Nun Sexually Abused Boy, Suit States | | A south Florida man has filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami and a Dominican nun, claiming she sexually abused him while he was in the first grade. The lawsuit alleges the nun used to tuck the boy's shirt in and reach down the front of his pants while doing so, groping him. The plaintiff, now 38 years old, claims he filed the lawsuit because his own son is about to enter the first grade. Christina Veiga, Miami Herald 04/13/2011 | Read Article: Miami Herald | School Could Have Prevented Suicide, Suit Says | | A Florida couple have filed a lawsuit against the Hillsborough County School Board over the 2009 suicide of their 13-year-old daughter. The girl had been picked on for months after she texted a topless photo of herself to a boy and the photo got out into the community. The lawsuit alleges the school did not do enough to prevent the girl from committing suicide after she showed obvious signs of wanting to take her life. Staff Report, Reuters 04/13/2011 | Read Article: Reuters | Issues | | | FAA Ends Single-Controller Overnight Shifts | | The air traffic control system has come under scrutiny by the NTSB and Congress after a year in which the number of operational errors recorded by controllers increased by 51%. Those errors were failures to keep aircraft at a safe distance while in flight. Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post 04/14/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Naming Culprits in the Financial Crisis | | A report, “Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse,” was released Wednesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and cites internal documents and private communications of bank executives, regulators, credit ratings agencies and investors. The report describes business practices that were rife with conflicts during the mortgage mania and reckless activities that were ignored inside the banks and among their federal regulators. GRETCHEN MORGENSON & LOUISE STORY, The New York Times 04/14/2011 | Read Article: The New York Times | Healthcare | | | Study Finds Drop in Deadly V.A. Hospital Infections | | An aggressive four-year effort to reduce the spread of deadly bacterial infections at VA hospitals is showing impressive results and may have broad implications at medical centers across the country, according to the first comprehensive assessment of the program. The Veterans Affairs strategy employs a “bundle” of measures that include screening all patients with nasal swabs, isolating those who test positive for MRSA, requiring that staff treating those patients wear gloves and gowns and take other contact precautions and encouraging rigorous hand washing. The results may not be easily replicated in the private sector, but they are likely to step up pressure by further undercutting the notion, prevalent at many hospitals not long ago, that infections are an unavoidable cost of doing business. Kevin Sack, The New York Times 04/14/2011 | Read Article: The New York Times | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | | | Fort Worth Court of Appeals: Torts - interlocutory appeal | | This is an interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order denying appellant TDIndustries Inc.'s (TDI) motion to dismiss appellee Citicorp North America Inc.'s case involving negligence against TDI. In three issues, TDI argues that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to dismiss it from this case. Because the negligence claims alleged against TDI are both claims for damages arising out of the provision of professional services by a licensed or registered professional and claims for negligent acts, errors or omissions arising out of the provision of those services, Citicorp was required to file a certificate of merit with its claims against TDI. Having failed to do so, Citicorp's claims against TDI should have been dismissed. The trial court abused its discretion by denying TDI's motion to dismiss Citicorp's claims against TDI. The trial court's order is reversed and remanded. TDIndustries Inc. v. Citicorp North America Inc., Fort Worth Court of Appeals, No. 02-10-00030-CV, 04-07-2011 , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 04/14/2011 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | | | | | Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers You received this email because you are subscribed to this service from your trial lawyers association. • Unsubscribe • Search National Litigation Bank • 800-443-1757 | |