Announcements | | | Best Kept Trial Secrets: What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas | | Don't gamble with your cases. 48 hours in Vegas can change your practice forever! Join some of TTLA's battle-tested veterans and emerging superstars in Las Vegas for a CLE experience that'll change your luck in the courtroom. February 23-25, 2012, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, 8 hrs. MCLE w/ 1 hr. Ethics | Laws/Cases | | | American Shareholders Sue Lloyds Banking Group | | Shareholders of the Lloyds Banking Group have filed a lawsuit against the company over alleged "misleading" information regarding the bank's financial rescue of HBOS in 2008. American shareholders claim in their suit that the bank called the takeover a "fantastic opportunity," but had to turn to the British government for its own bailout weeks later. Shareholders are accusing Lloyds of concealing information about HBOS's finances. Staff Report, The New York Times 01/02/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times | Muslim Man Files Suit Against County Employer | | A Muslim man, employed by Sacramento County, has filed a lawsuit against his employer, claiming he has experienced religious and racial discrimination at work ever since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In his lawsuit, the plaintiff claims co-workers call him names such as "Osama Bin Laden," "Taliban," and "Al-Qaida." The suit also states that managers not only failed to stop the harassment, but mocked the plaintiff's concern. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Brad Branan, The Sacramento Bee 01/04/2012 | Read Article: The Sacramento Bee | Suit: Contaminated Fruit Led to Man's Death | | A man who recently filed a lawsuit over contaminated cantaloupe that made him sick has died, turning his damages lawsuit into a wrongful death lawsuit. The plaintiff's attorney has amended the lawsuit against Jensen Farms, claiming the contaminated fruit lead to the man's death. There have been at least 30 deaths linked to the contaminated cantaloupe, the Kansas City Star reports. Alan Bavley, Kansas City Star 01/03/2012 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | Waco Life Insurance Firm Accused of Systematic Fraud | | Waco-based Life Partners Holdings and three of its top executives were accused Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission of "systematically and materially" misleading investors about the life expectancy of people whose life insurance policies it traded.The scheme inflated the value of the company's stock, according to a suit that the SEC's Fort Worth office filed in federal court in Waco.Investigators say CEO Brian Pardo sold about $11.5 million of Life Partners stock at inflated prices while having information not available to the public about the company's dependency on short-lifespan estimates. Barry Shlachter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 01/04/2012 | Read Article: Fort Worth Star-Telegram | Issues | | | State Fires Doctor for Violation of Job Ban | | State health officials fired a hospital psychiatrist last week after learning that he failed to disclose a decade-old legal settlement that banned him from ever working again at a state mental health facility. Dr. Alejandro Munoz, who had worked for the Terrell State Hospital since June 2006, was terminated Friday, according to a letter from the facility's superintendent. Because Terrell is a state mental health facility, "you failed to abide by the settlement agreement," Joe Finch wrote. Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Department of State Health Services, which oversees state psychiatric hospitals, said the discrepancy was discovered when officials reviewed Munoz's employment records after he was named in a Statesman article as one of several state hospital psychiatrists with a history of sexual improprieties with their patients. Andrea Ball and Eric Dexheimer, Austin American Statesman 01/04/2012 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman | | | | |