| Statewide Membership Drives, Aug 30th - #GrowTheFamily |
Statewide Membership Drives will be held in Austin, Dallas, Houston & San Antonio on August 30th, beginning at 9:00 am (lunch provided) and a Happy Hour at 4:00 pm. Click on the headline to register. Let's Fill Every Corner of Texas with TTLA Members!
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Lawsuit: Bounty Hunters Assaulted & Pepper-Sprayed Family Without Reason |
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The Kasem family had no idea why two armed men showed up on the Fourth of July on the front lawn of their Humble home. The men had silver badges hanging around their necks and handguns on their hips, leaving the family to wonder if they were police officers. A cellphone video appears to show the pair drag a handcuffed young man to a sedan, punch him, hit him with metal batons and slam his leg in the car door. They seem to use pepper spray on the young man's wife and mother-in-law, who collapses motionless on the grass. The lawsuit identifies the two men as Demethrius Lister and Autry Haygood Jr. Haygood, 31, got his state license as a commissioned security officer less than two weeks before the Independence Day incident. Lister, 51, has been licensed since at least 2013 as a commissioned security officer, personal protection officer and private investigator.
Andrew Kragie , Houston Chronicle 07/18/2017    |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Mich. Tribe Wins $8.4M From Blue Cross In Hidden Fee Suit |
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A federal judge ruled Friday that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan owes the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan roughly $8.4 million for charging hidden fees while managing the tribe's employee health care benefits plan, but declined to hand the tribe a win on identical claims related to another plan. U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington ruled on competing motions for partial summary judgment concerning the remaining claims in the tribe's lawsuit against the insurer, which accuses it of breaching its fiduciary duty.
Christine Powell, Law360 ($) 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Jury: Railroad to Pay $3.9M for Train Death of Film Worker |
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CSX Transportation must pay $3.9 million to the family of a movie worker killed on a Georgia railroad trestle in 2014, a jury decided Monday in civil verdict that found the company shared in the blame for the deadly freight train collision even though the film crew was trespassing. The parents of Sarah Jones sued CSX Transportation in Chatham County State Court, saying the railroad shared blame for their daughter's death. The 27-year-old camera assistant died in the crash Feb. 20, 2014.
Russ Bynum?|?AP, The Washington Post 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| Oilfield Co. Wants Texas Justices To Lift Heavy Sanction |
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A Nabors Industries Inc. unit has asked the Texas Supreme Court to review a wrongful death case brought by the estate of one of its truck operators, arguing the company was hit with an unduly harsh sanction after mistakenly failing to turn over all the names of its hazardous materials drivers. Nabors Completion & Production Services Co., an oilfield services outfit that does business as C&J Energy Services, told the court Thursday it was wrongly held liable for the death of employee Suzzie Queue.
Jess Krochtengel, Law360 ($) 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Jury Orders Walmart to Pay Sinton Woman $43.6M |
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On Friday, a Nueces County jury found Walmart negligent in an accident that left 82-year old Adelaide Price seriously injured. In January 2014, she was hit by a truck driven by Joe Ray Cass at the Walmart at 3829 Highway 77 in Calallen. Price suffered several fractures to her skull and face which required reconstructive surgery. She also suffered fractures to her ankle, pelvis, clavicle and elbow. According to the jury, Walmart was negligent because its parking lot does not have enough markings, flags, and signs to make sure its customers can walk in and out of the store safely and ordered the co to pay $43.6 million.
Veronica Flore, KRIS TV Corpus Christi 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: KRIS TV Corpus Christi |
| Sergeant's Mortgage Not Shielded From Foreclosure: 4th Circ. |
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A Fourth Circuit panel on Monday ruled that Wells Fargo Bank NA did not need court approval to foreclose on and sell the Virginia home of an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant, finding the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act does not protect his mortgage because it originated when he was active in the Navy. The SCRA prohibits such non-judicial foreclosure sales on property owned by active-duty military personnel when the underlying mortgage was “originated before the period of the servicemember's military service.”
Jon Hill, Law360 ($) 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Uber Facing Class Action Over Disabled Discrimination Claims |
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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Uber alleging that it has discriminated against New York riders with disabilities. According to the lawsuit, Uber has not provided easy access to rides for individuals with wheelchairs. The lawsuit alleges that the UberWAV service, which includes vehicles with lifts and ramps for wheelchairs, account for 100 of the 58,000 for-hire cars dispatched by Uber in the five boroughs. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the limited number of cars with wheelchair access may be unavailable when required by disabled riders. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday morning in State Supreme Court in Manhattan by Disability Rights Advocates.
Winnie Hu, The New York Times 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates |
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Hospitals and pharmacies are required to toss expired drugs, no matter how expensive or vital. Meanwhile the FDA has long known that many remain safe and potent for years longer. ProPublica documented how hospitals often discard pricey new supplies, how nursing homes trash valuable medications after patients pass away or move out, and how drug companies create expensive combinations of cheap drugs. Experts estimate such squandering eats up about $765 billion a year — as much as a quarter of all the country's health care spending.
Marshall Allen (ProPublica), National Public Radio 07/18/2017 |
| Read Article: National Public Radio |
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