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Texas Trial Lawyers Association


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  January 4, 2013

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The Plaintiff's Resource

Upcoming Online CLE

16
Jan

Utilizing a Qualified Settlement Fund: what are they, how they work, and when they should be considered

23
Jan

Power Tips, Tricks and Tools for Unleashing the Value of Your List Server

29
Jan

How the Defense Values a Case

30
Jan

Medicare Secondary Payer Workshop: 2012 Update

Announcements


 

 

FDIC Capping Amount of Money Insured in IOLTA Accounts Starting Jan. 1, 2013

Excerpt from Texas Lawyer: Starting on Jan. 1, lawyers need to take extra steps to protect clients’ money in their Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA). Lawyers holding more than $250,000 for a client in such an account need to research the bank to ensure it won’t fail or consider depositing the cash in multiple IOLTA accounts at separate banks. For the past two years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has insured an unlimited amount of money in IOLTA accounts, but starting in the New Year, the FDIC will only insure up to $250,000 per client per bank, says Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the administrator of the IOLTA program in Texas. Click on the headline to learn more.  

 

Laws/Cases


 

 

Rig Owner Will Settle With U.S. in Gulf Spill

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The driller whose floating Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew out in 2010, causing a massive oil spill, has agreed to settle civil and criminal claims with the federal government for $1.4 billion, the Justice Department announced. While this settlement resolves the government’s claims against Transocean, that company and the others involved in the spill still face the sprawling, multistate civil case, which is scheduled to begin in February in New Orleans.
JOHN SCHWARTZ, The Washington Post 01/04/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: The Washington Post    

 

Georgia Farm Settles Employee Lawsuit

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A Georgia vegetable farm has agreed to settle a $500,000 lawsuit with a group of former employees who were allegedly discriminated against because of their race. The lawsuit claimed the defendant "fired most of its seasonal African-American workers between 2009 and 2011 and kept most of its Mexican employees."
Wire Report, Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12/13/2012   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution    

 

Pittsburgh TV Station Settles Lawsuit

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A Pittsburgh television station has settled a lawsuit with a local woman whose photo was wrongly displayed on a local newscast in a story about a kidnapping. In 2010, the station improperly identified the plaintiff as the woman charged with kidnapping, when in fact it was her daughter who was facing charges. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Rich Lord , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 01/02/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette    

 

Products


 

 

Subaru Recalls 630,000 Vehicles

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This week, Subaru auto makers issued a recall of more than 630,000 vehicles due to a light fuse that can short circuit and lead to fires. The recall covers Subaru Legacy, Outback, Tribeca and Forester vehicles of varying model years from 2006 to 2012. The company said there have been no reports of fires associated with any of the recalled vehicles.
David Undercoffler, LA Times 01/03/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: LA Times    

 

Issues


 

 

Survey: Distracted Driving on the Rise

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A new survey by insurance company State Farm finds the number of people driving distracted by their smart phones has increased dramatically since 2009. The online survey of 1,000 drivers nationwide found drivers between the ages of 18-29 used the internet 48 percent of the time while driving. That is up from 29 percent in 2009. 21 percent of drivers in the same age group read social media sites while driving in 2009. That number jumped to 36 percent in 2012.
Shannon Wolfson, KXAN Austin News 01/04/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: KXAN Austin News    

 

TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES


 

 

El Paso Court of Appeals: Torts

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Because §74.251(b) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code effectively cuts off a minor's cause of action before the minor is legally able to assert it, thereby requiring the minor to satisfy an impossible condition, and fails to provide an adequate substitute remedy, that section violates the open court provision of the Texas Constitution as applied to minors injured before their eighth birthday. The trial court's summary judgment in favor of the medical providers is reversed and remanded. Rivera v. Compton, et al., El Paso Court of Appeals, No. 08-11-00279-CV, 12-28-2012
Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 01/04/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)    

 

El Paso Court of Appeals: Workers' Compensation

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Morales, who suffered a work-related injury in 2003, won a judgment that his injury fell into the narrow class of injuries/conditions that entitle injured workers to receive lifetime income benefits. The jury verdict is not so against the great weight of the evidence as to be clearly wrong and unjust. The trial court's judgment is affirmed. Dallas National Insurance v. Morales, El Paso Court of Appeals, No. 08-11-00197-CV, 12-27-2012
Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 01/04/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)    

 

Wrongful Death


 

 

California Child Care Facility Sued over Boy's Death

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a former child care facility in San Rafael, Calif., over the death of a 4-month-old boy last fall. In the suit, the boy's parents accuse the facility owner and two employees of failing to properly supervise the children and provide necessary medical care. Criminal charges have also been filed against the defendants.
Gary Klien, San Jose Mercury News 01/04/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: San Jose Mercury News