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| | TTLA on Twitter: Do you Tweet? | |
| | You can now follow TTLA on Twitter and retweet posts with your followers. Social media tools offer an opportunity to cut through the noise of those groups working daily to dismantle the jury system. Let’s work together turn up the volume, join us today! | | TTLA on Facebook: Turn up the volume! | |
| | Spread the truth about the civil justice system and rise above the chatter of the so-called “tort reformers’” propaganda machine. Become a fan of TTLA by liking the TTLA Facebook page and one click of the mouse shares relevant posts with your Facebook friends. | | Products | |
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| | Stanley Black & Decker Settles Allegation | |
| | The CPSC said Wednesday that Black & Decker agreed to pay a $960,000 civil penalty to settle allegations it knowingly failed to report some safety problems with its Grasshog XP Weed Trimmer/Edger. In agreeing with the settlement, Black & Decker denies CPSC allegations that it knowingly violated the law. Associated Press, The Washington Post 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Cargill Recalling 36M Pounds of Ground Turkey | |
| | Cargill is recalling 36M pounds of ground turkey linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has killed one person in Ca and sickened at least 76 others. Illnesses in the outbreak date back to March and have been reported in 26 states coast to coast. All of the packages recalled include the code “Est. P-963” on the label, according to Cargill. The packages were labeled with many different brands, including Cargill’s Honeysuckle White. Associated Press, The Washington Post 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | Accuser's Dad Drops Cyberbullying Suit | |
| | A Houston man has dropped his defamation of character lawsuit against three Kingwood girls he accused of cyberbullying his daughter with a Facebook video. "There's been a settlement agreement between all parties," said the attorney representing the girl and her dad. "What we obtained were the apologies, a very small donation and assurances that this won't happen again. There are no continuing duties except not to engage in this kind of reprehensible behavior." The unusual method to stop and prevent bullying garnered international media attention, particularly in legal and child advocacy circles. CINDY GEORGE, Houston Chronicle 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | Wone Family Settles Suit Against Former Roommates | |
| | In a civil suit involving the stabbing death of Robert Wone inside his friends’ million-dollar townhouse near Dupont Circle, his wife settled her wrongful death lawsuit against three men: Joseph Price, Victor J. Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward who denied any involvement in the killing, and they were acquitted in the criminal case by a Superior Court judge. No one has ever been charged in the actual stabbing. Terms of the civil settlement were not disclosed. Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | US Court Finds Energy Company Made False Va Claims | |
| | An energy company made false claims in attempts to settle with southwest Virginia residents for coalbed methane drilled from their land, a federal magistrate judge ruled. The ruling is part of a potential class action involving thousands of landowners in six Virginia coalfields counties who attorneys claim were cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty payments. The five separate legal actions in U.S. District Court in Abingdon are aimed at EQT Production Co. and CNX Gas Co., Pittsburgh-area energy companies that have thousands of natural gas wells in Appalachia. Bloomberg, Bloomberg 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: Bloomberg | | Gun Association Files Suit Against New Sales Rule | |
| | The National Shooting Sports Foundation has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block a new rule that would require dealers to report sales of semiautomatic rifles to the federal firearms bureau. The lawsuit claims federal agencies are "exceeding [their] powers in demanding such information from dealers" The Obama administration announced the new rule last month in an attempt to halt gun-running to Mexican drug gangs. Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post 08/03/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Issues | |
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| | Report: EPA Concluded in 1987 Fracking Was Unsafe | |
| | According to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article published today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded in 1987 that hydraulic fracturing can contaminate groundwater and private wells. The Environmental Working Group unearthed an EPA finding that concludes that a gas well drilled and fracked by the Kaiser Gas Co. in 1982 did contaminate groundwater. “During the fracturing process,” EPA investigators wrote in the 1987 report, “fractures can be produced, allowing migration of native brine, fracturing fluid and hydrocarbons from the oil or gas well to a nearby water well. When this happens, the water well can be permanently damaged and a new well must be drilled or an alternative source of drinking water found.” Dan McGraw, Houston Chronicle 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | |
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| | Houston's 1st Court of Appeals: Torts | |
| | Before Deborah Downing resigned from her job as an assistant to realtor Don Burns, she allegedly copied several pages from the office policy and procedures manual she had written for him. After they learned of this, Don and his wife allegedly told several people that Downing stole from them, and that they would sue anyone who employed her if the material was not returned. When Downing was fired from her two subsequent jobs, she sued the Burns for tortious interference and defamation, and they countersued for theft of trade secrets. The jury found in Downing's favor on all three claims, but the trial court entered judgment in her favor on only the tortious-interference and theft claims. The Burns did not defeat Downing's recovery by conclusively proving their counterclaim for theft of trade secrets. Further, the evidence is legally and factually sufficient to support the jury's findings that the Burns are liable to Downing for defamation and for tortious interference with contract; however, the record does not support the full amount of damages awarded by the trial court on Downing's tortious-interference claim. The tortious-interference claim is not separable from the defamation and theft claims without unfairness to the parties. The judgment is reversed and remanded. Downing v. Burns, Houston's 1st Court of Appeals, No. 14-09-00718-CV, 07-28-2011. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 08/04/2011 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | |
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