| | | | | 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 | | | Appeals Court Approves Religious Discrimination Suit | | An appeals court has ruled that a former Easter Michigan University graduate student who was kicked out of the counselor training program can have her suit tried before a jury. According to the lawsuit, the woman was expelled from the program after refusing to counsel homosexuals about their lifestyle because she said it violated her Christian beliefs. The woman says her rights to freedom of religion were violated by the university. David Ashenfelter, Detroit Free Press 01/28/2012 | Read Article: Detroit Free Press | Privacy Suit Filed Against FDA | | Current and former employees of the Food and Drug Administration have filed a lawsuit against the agency claiming the FDA monitored their private e-mail accounts after concerns were raised over the safety of approved medical devices. The plaintiffs claim in their suit that they were "legally protected whistle-blowers" and that the agency violated their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs said they were admonished by the agency and some were terminated. Wire Report, LA Times 01/31/2012 | Read Article: LA Times | Suit over Leaked Crash Pictures Settled | | The California Highway Patrol has agreed to settle a lawsuit with an Orange County family over the dissemination of "grisly" photographs of their teenage daughter, who was killed in a 2006 car wreck. The photos, taken for the investigation, were leaked by two CHP dispatchers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The case was originally thrown out, but in 2010 an appeals court ruled, for the first time in the state, "that surviving family members have a right to sue for invasion of privacy in such cases." Rick Rojas, LA Times 01/31/2012 | Read Article: LA Times | Suit With NFL over 'Who Dat?' Phrase Settled | | The National Football League has reached a settlement with Who Dat? Inc. over the use of the catchphrase "Who Dat?" on merchandise. The lawsuit claimed the company had trademarked the catchphrase in the 1980s and were owed royalties for any merchandise sold with the phrase on it. The company agreed to drop the lawsuit against the NFL, and the two parties said they will make merchandise available to fans containing both the NFL and "Who Dat?" brands. Mark Schleifstein, New Orleans Times-Picayune 01/31/2012 | Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune | With Trial Pending, BP Asks Judge To Cut Experts ? | | With a trial over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill looming, BP PLC is asking a federal judge to block two plaintiffs' experts from testifying about an alleged disregard for safety throughout the energy company that those experts say led to the nation's largest offshore oil spill. BP's legal maneuver to limit the two California experts from testifying about the alleged lack of a safety culture at BP was made public Monday after U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan unsealed 30 court motions to limit and block expert testimony. BP filed 17 of the motions, seeking to block expert testimony on a number of issues behind what happened to cause BP's well to blow out. The trial begins Feb. 27 in federal court in New Orleans. It will determine the division of responsibility for the disaster that began with the explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010, which killed 11 men about 50 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast. Associated Press, New Orleans Times-Picayune 01/31/2012 | Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune | Doctor Can be Sued for Emotional Distress Despite Lack of Physical Negligence | | A physician can be sued for allegedly causing a patient emotional distress, even when no physical impact led to the distress, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled. The case centers on a mother's accusation that her physician failed to prepare her for the shock of her newborn's deformities. The court's decision creates a claim for noneconomic damages and opens the door for more lawsuits against physicians, legal experts say. Alicia Gallegos, American Medical News 01/31/2012 | Read Article: American Medical News | Healthcare | | | Ear Doctors Performing Face-Lifts? It Happens | | With declining insurance reimbursements, more doctors, regardless of specialty, are expanding their practices to include lucrative cosmetic procedures paid for out of pocket by patients. It’s now common to find gynecologists offering breast augmentation, ophthalmologists doing liposuction, even family practice physicians giving Botox injections. The result, according to certified plastic surgeons, is an increasing number of dissatisfied, even disfigured, patients. KATE MURPHY, The New York Times 01/31/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times | Physicians Subject to Increasing Scrutiny | | The federal government has been making moves to open up more physician decision-making to review by both officials and the public. Prepayment claims reviews, sunshine requirements and doctor report cards are some examples of recent policy changes designed to put more checks on physicians, whose decisions have a sizable impact on health spending and quality. American Medical News looked into some of the ways the government is taking a closer look. Staff, American Medical News 01/31/2012 | Read Article: American Medical News | | | | | | Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers 5113 Southwest Parkway, Suite 285, Austin, TX 78735 You received this email because you are subscribed to this service from your trial lawyers association. • Unsubscribe • Search National Litigation Bank • 800-443-1757 | |