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Defamation Suit Tests Texas' Anti-SLAPP Statute |
| In Sept 2010, two Democratic SBoE candidates posted a YouTube video satirizing the work of the board’s “right-wing extremist” members in revising Texas curriculum focusing on David Barton. A year later, Barton filed suit, and his defamation case against Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Judy Jennings has become an early test of new tort reform legislation intended to protect free speech. The law, passed in 2011 with bipartisan support, provides a process for the early dismissal of meritless legal claims filed to intimidate critics — so-called SLAPPs. It is aimed at plaintiffs who use the court system to try and quiet their opponents by drowning them in legal fees and paperwork, often with no expectation of winning their cases. MorganSmith , Texas Tribune 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Review Libel Law |
| The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a libel case that could substantially affect the way news media report on controversies. At issue is whether Texas courts recognize the "third-party allegation rule," which can shield reporters and media companies from defamation lawsuits if an allegation is accurately reported, even if the claim itself is untrue or mistaken. The case involves onetime Austin neurosurgeon Byron Neely, the subject of a story aired by KEYE-TV in a 2004 newscast. Neely sued the station and reporter Nanci Wilson, alleging that he was defamed by reports of disciplinary action taken by the Texas Medical Board and in interviews with former patients who had sued Neely. Chuck Lindell, Austin American Statesman 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
Fired Psychiatrist Indicted on Child Sex Charges |
| Dr. Charles Fischer, a long-serving psychiatrist at the Austin State Hospital fired last year amid allegations that he abused boys in his care, has been indicted by a Travis County grand jury on multiple child sex crime charges. According to an 11-page indictment filed with Travis County courts Thursday, Fischer is accused of sexually abusing five boys in his care. He now has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, nine counts of sexual assault of a child, seven counts of indecency with a child by contact and five counts of indecency with a child by exposure, according to the document. Patrick George & Andrea Ball, Austin American Statesman 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
50K Sue BP Over Air Emissions Event |
| More than 50,000 people have sued BP over a 2010 emissions event at its Texas City refinery that sent more than 500,000 pounds of chemicals into the air. From April 6 to May 16, 2010, a problem with a compressor on the refinery’s ultracracker unit resulted in increased flaring for 40 days as the unit continued to operate. During that time, more than 500,000 pounds of chemicals, including carbon monoxide and benzene, were released into the air. A state investigation and subsequent lawsuit found that BP’s decision to keep operating the unit and flare led to a violation of the state’s air quality laws, and the company paid a $50 million fine in a comprehensive settlement with the state that included past air emission violations. T.J. Aulds, Galveston County - The Daily News 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Galveston County - The Daily News |
Bat Rescuer Awarded $6.1M in Libel Suit |
| A former intern accused of cyberstalking a Mineral Wells bat sanctuary and its president was ordered to pay about $6.1 million in damages Thursday for what a judge called egregious, malicious and intentional defamatory statements she spread across the Internet, court documents say. The lawsuit, filed in state District Court in Tarrant County, centered on accusations that Mary Cummins, who said she lives in the Los Angeles area, made libelous statements and videos about Amanda Lollar and the Bat World Sanctuary, which she founded and runs. Darren Barbee, Star Telegram 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Star Telegram |
AZ Man Blames Son's Death on Local Diocese |
| An Arizona man has filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Phoenix and a local priest, claiming the priest's "abusive relationship" with the man's son resulted in the man's death. In his suit, the plaintiff says the priest abused his son as a child, causing him to "experience a sense of betrayal, losing trust in adults, especially those who should have kept him safe." In June 2010, the plaintiff was attacked by his son, who was under the influence of narcotics, and killed him in self-defense. Michael Clancy, Arizona Republic 06/14/2012 | Read Article: Arizona Republic |
Oregon Supreme Court Opens Boy Scouts’ Files |
| The Oregon Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to approve the release of 20,000 confidential Boy Scouts of America documents will give the public its deepest look at people flagged by the organization as suspected child molesters and show how Scouts kept them out of leadership. The ruling also could make it easier for other secret Boy Scout files to be used in pending and future lawsuits from former scouts who claim they were molested by troop leaders. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/18/2012 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit on '40s US STD Experiments |
| A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against U.S. officials by Guatemalans who had been subjected to sexually transmitted diseases by U.S. researchers in the 1940s. The suit, on behalf of the victims and their heirs, came after revelations that Guatemalan prisoners, mental patients, soldiers and orphans had been deliberately infected without their consent. The researchers were studying the effects of penicillin, then a relatively new drug. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that federal law bars claims against the U.S. based on injuries suffered in a foreign country and granted a motion by the U.S. government to dismiss the suit. Frederic J. Frommer, AP, Bloomberg Business Week 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Bloomberg Business Week |
Government Seeks Dismissal of Ex-Airman's Suit Over Botched Surgery |
| The U.S. government has asked a federal judge in Fort Worth to dismiss a lawsuit filed this spring on behalf of a retired Air Force airman who had both legs amputated when a routine surgical procedure went horribly wrong in a military hospital in California three years ago. Colton Read and his wife are challenging a 60-year-old Supreme Court precedent that bars service members from collecting damages from the government for wrongful death, medical malpractice or any other typical tort claims. Chris Vaughn, Star Telegram 06/18/2012 | Read Article: Star Telegram |
Issues |
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Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits |
| While the first criminal trial of a Roman Catholic church official accused of covering up child sexual abuse has drawn national attention to Philadelphia, the church has been quietly engaged in equally consequential battles over abuse, not in courtrooms but in state legislatures around the country. The fights concern proposals to loosen statutes of limitations, which impose deadlines on when victims can bring civil suits or prosecutors can press charges. LAURIE GOODSTEIN and ERIK ECKHOLM, The New York Times 06/15/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Insurance |
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Loya Insurance Fined $300,000 for Deceptive Practices |
| Loya Insurance Co., a leading auto insurer in Texas, has been fined $300,000 by the TDI for unfair and deceptive business practices and for failing to file accurate information on the rates it charges its customers. A consent order issued by the state Insurance Commissioner directed the company to submit to the department a report detailing how it determines its rates and discounts for the 210K drivers it insures in Texas. TERRENCE STUTZ , The Dallas Morning News 06/18/2012 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
Labor/Employment |
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Store Requires Employees to be Christian, Suit Says |
| An Oklahoma man has filed a lawsuit against a lighting store in Tulsa, claiming store owners require all potential employees to be Christian. During his interview, the plaintiff said he was asked numerous times about "his religious activity and beliefs.” He was allegedly denied employment because his religious beliefs did not align with store owners. Douglas Stanglin, USA Today 06/14/2012 | Read Article: USA Today |
Business Litigation |
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Suit Filed Against California Blue Shield |
| A consumer group in California has filed a lawsuit against Blue Shield, claiming the company has been increasing prices to force "older and sicker" patients into low-benefit plans. The suit claims the insurer has been closing certain policies to new members, and at the same time hiking the rates of those policies to those remaining in the plans. Blue Shield is accused of violating a California law aimed at curbing this practice. Sandy Kleffman, San Jose Mercury News 06/13/2012 | Read Article: San Jose Mercury News |
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