| | Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Video: A New Bid to End Texting While Driving | | 
| | Texas lawmakers will consider bills proposing a statewide ban on texting while driving. There’s more momentum than ever to get it passed, but a difference of opinions among the state’s new leadership could stand in its way.
Alana Rocha and Justin Dehn, Texas Tribune 01/20/2015    | | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| Dallas Doctor’s $10.7M Jury Verdict Overturned on Appeal | |
| | The Texas 5th District Court of Appeals has overturned a $10.7 million jury verdict in a case in which a North Dallas neurologist (Dr. Erwin Cruz) accused a fellow physician (Dr. Michael Taba) and a business associate (Mehrdad Ghani) of intentionally deceiving him about the finances of two medical imaging centers in Plano. The Dallas appeals court ruled that the trial judge made critical errors that unfairly and negatively affected the jury’s decision. Members of the medical and legal communities have closely monitored the litigation because, they say, there are scores of similar business disputes pending throughout Texas that pit doctors against doctors after their jointly owned medical centers struggled financially.
Mark Curriden (Texas Lawbook), The Dallas Morning News 01/20/2015 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| BP Fighting $13B Additional Penalties in 2010 Gulf Oil Spill | |
| | Lawyers for the government and BP head to federal court today for a trial in that could add more than $13 billion in penalties to the billions BP already has paid out as a result of 2010 Gulf oil spill. Federal lawyers say BP should pay Clean Water Act penalties as high as $4,300 per barrel spilled after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion at BP's Macondo well. Based on a court finding that 3.19 barrels polluted the Gulf, the penalties could reach $13.7 billion.
Associated Press, AL.com 01/20/2015 | | Read Article: AL.com |
| 26 Settle Suit in Midland Veterans Parade Crash that Killed 4 | |
| | 26 people who were hurt or had family members killed when a freight train struck a veterans parade float in Midland two years ago have settled their lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad, both sides said. A trial involving 17 plaintiffs who are not part of the settlement is set for Jan. 26.
BETSY BLANEY, AP, The Dallas Morning News 01/17/2015 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Volunteer Who Broke His Back During Search Party Settles Lawsuit | |
| | A man who broke his back while volunteering to help search for two missing hikers has reached a settlement in his lawsuit. The plaintiff fell from a 110-foot cliff and broke his back during the search for the two hikers who were later found dazed and dehydrated in a massive five-day search by sheriff's deputies, firefighters and volunteers. The lawsuit was filed against the hikers and alleged that they began their hike unprepared, with the intention of using hallucinogenic drugs. The plaintiff's injuries required two titanium rods and 11 metal screws in his back. The plaintiff is due back in court on February 27 to dismiss the case.
Kelly Puente, Orange County Register 01/19/2015 | | Read Article: Orange County Register |
| Apartment Management Company Sued Over Sexual Assault of Three Boys | |
| | A lawsuit has been filed over the sexual assault of three Florida boys by a Florida property manager who was hired despite being a previous sex offender. The lawsuit was filed by the families of the boys who were assaulted and alleges that the South Florida Property Management Company was negligent in hiring the man the year he was released from prison. The man served time in prison for possessing child pornography. According to the lawsuit, he befriended three boys between 6-14 years of age and lured them to his home where he drugged and sexually assaulted them.
Adam Goldberg, Miami Herald 01/20/2015 | | Read Article: Miami Herald |
| Tip-Sharing and Wages Lawsuit Filed Against Hooters | |
| | A lawsuit has been filed against a Hooters restaurant franchise location in Alabama over tip-sharing and wages. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham earlier this month by two servers at the restaurant location. The lawsuit alleges that servers were forced to tip-share with non-waitstaff and that they were not adequately compensated for performing cleanup or prep work. The lawsuit alleges a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks to recover unpaid wages and overtime owed to the two women and other servers employed by the restaurant.
Kent Faulk, AL.com 01/19/2015 | | Read Article: AL.com |
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