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Texas Trial Lawyers Association


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  January 28, 2013

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The Plaintiff's Resource

Upcoming Online CLE

29
Jan

How the Defense Values a Case

30
Jan

Medicare Secondary Payer Workshop: 2012 Update

6
Feb

Cutting Edge Damages

7
Feb

Legal Apps for the iPad - From Preparation to Trial

14
Feb

Mouse-trapping with Phil Miller

19
Feb

BP Horizon Economic Claims: Understanding Your Client’s Settlement Option

Announcements


 

 

What's better than Vegas? Hearing the legendary Jim Perdue, Sr. in Vegas on Friday, Feb 22!

2013 Vegas CLE, February 21-23,Bellagio Hotel,Las 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. Our most popular destination CLE, Sin City plays host to legendary TTLA speakers, including Jim Perdue, Sr. and Jim Perdue, Jr. in a special joint presentation. Click on the headline to learn more.  

 

Laws/Cases


 

 

Hearing in Va. Tech Shootings Case Set

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A hearing before three Virginia Supreme Court justices to consider appeals in the wrongful death case of two women slain at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, will be heard next month. The hearing, set for Feb.12 in Richmond, is the first step back to court for the case, which was filed in 2009 and came to trial last year. The three justices will hear oral arguments and vote on whether the full court will take the case. The case was brought against the state by the parents of the late Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson. In March, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury awarded the Pryde and Peterson families $4 million each, finding that Tech officials violated a duty to warn the campus that an unidentified gunman was on the loose. The awards were later reduced to $100,000 under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, which caps civil damages levied against the state.
Tonia Moxley (The Roanoke Times), Virginian Pilot 01/28/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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San Francisco to Settle Strip Search Lawsuit

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The city of San Francisco will settle a $465,000 lawsuit filed 10 years ago over strip searches conducted by the Sheriff's Department. Filed in 2002, the plaintiff, a former political activist, claimed she was forced into a visual body cavity search and locked in a cold cell for 24 hours after being arrested during an anti-war protest. The lawsuit targets the department's policy of strip-searching every arrestee brought into the jail, regardless of the charges.
Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner 01/27/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Suit Filed over Girl Shot in Head by Boyfriend

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A Waco, Texas, woman has filed a lawsuit against her 15-year-old daughter's former boyfriend and his grandparents after he shot the girl in the head. The boy shot the girl in 2011 during an argument at his grandparent's ranch. The lawsuit accuses the grandparents of negligently failing to supervise their grandson and allowing him access to a gun. The boy has been sentenced to 30 years after pleading guilty to aggravated assault-dating violence.
Tommy Witherspoon, Waco Tribune Herald 01/28/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Judge: Death Suits Against Cinemark Should be Tossed

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A federal magistrate judge has declared that negligence and wrongful death claims against Cinemark USA over the shooting in Aurora, Colo., should be thrown out. The judge said that Colorado law "bars people wounded in the shooting and family members of those killed from bringing claims of negligence and wrongful death" against the movie theater. The judge said that injury claims against the theater can only be brought under the Colorado Premises Liability Act, which also governs slip-and-fall lawsuits.
John Ingold, Denver Post 01/28/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Florida Residents File Suit over Lack of Electricity

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Four residents of No Name Key, Fla., have filed a lawsuit against Monroe County, claiming the county has, for years, "denied the Lower Keys island commercial power without proper cause." The lawsuit points to a circuit court judge's ruling in 2011 that says that the state Public Service Commission has jurisdiction over the issue, not the county. The suit also claims county officials have revoked electrical building permits in the past for no other reason than the buildings were to be built on No Name.
Staff Report, Miami Herald 01/28/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Issues


 

 

Foes Team Up Over Prompt Pay

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Trial lawyers and doctors have a long history of acrimony at the Texas Capitol, much of it due to the years-long tort reform debate. But lately, many doctors and hospitals are putting aside hard feelings and are hiring trial lawyers to fight another Capitol powerhouse: insurance companies. Doctors are being forced to align with people who can champion their cause, and strangely enough, it’s their former nemesis: the plaintiffs’ bar, said Kim Ross, the former chief lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association and a current health care consultant. The unifying force is the state’s “prompt pay” law — a 2003 measure that requires health insurance companies to pay claims to medical providers and pharmacies within strict timelines, usually 30 days, or face having to pay interest and often serious penalties.
Tim Eaton, Austin American Statesman 01/28/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Wrongful Death


 

 

Suit to Come over Fatal Los Angeles Police Shooting

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The family of a man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles County deputies in November plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the department. The family says the victim was shot more than five times by officers during a routine stop for speeding. Police say it appeared the man was reaching for what could have been a weapon, but multiple witnesses on scene say the man was simply putting his hands behind his head as ordered by the officers.
Wesley Lowery , LA Times 01/27/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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