| 
| | | 
| Announcements |
|
|
STUDY: REASONS FOR REVERSAL IN THE TEXAS COURTS OF APPEALS |
| The study published in the Houston Law Review (www.houstonlawreview.org/) conducted by Lynne Liberato and Kent Rutter who are partners in the Houston office of Haynes and Boone, reviewed 1,832 opinions issued from Sept. 1, 2010 to Aug. 31, 2011. The appellate law experts read each case and determined who had won and why. Unlike the Texas Supreme Court, which has discretion to hear appeals, the lower appellate courts must consider all that are filed. Click on the headline to access the study. |
"1K Pays Your Way" TTLA Annual Conference |
| Earn your registration fee for the 2012 TTLA Annual Conference by recruiting new TTLA members! Simply recruit $1,000 worth of new TTLA memberships, and earn free registration to the Annual Conference CLE at Hyatt Lost Pines – an $875 value. Clip on the headline to learn more. |
Laws/Cases |
|
|
Suit over Fatal LAPD Police Shooting Tossed Out |
| A federal judge in California has tossed out a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department over the fatal shooting of a former college football player. Lawyers for the victim argued police used excessive force in shooting the man, but the judge said the department was entitled to "qualified immunity." Officers said the man viciously attacked them and attempted to grab one of their guns. Andrew Blankstein, LA Times 05/01/2012 | Read Article: LA Times |
Sexual Assault Suit Against Strauss-Kahn to Proceed |
| A Bronx judge has declined Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s claim of international protection in the sexual lawsuit brought against him by a hotel maid. The state Supreme Court justice based the decision on the fact that the U.S. never agreed to a United Nations regulation from 1947 that granted immunity to the executives of agencies such as the International Monetary Fund. In addition, the judge wrote, "If Mr. Strauss-Kahn was entitled to absolute immunity, as he contends, there was ample opportunity before now to assert it." Daniel Beekman, New York Daily News 05/01/2012 | Read Article: New York Daily News |
City Won't Pay When Poles Crash on Property |
| Joyce Thompson had just been diagnosed with breast cancer when her only method of transportation was destroyed. Thompson thought the city would take responsibility for the falling pole, which photographs show was clearly rotted at the core. When the City of Austin officials made clear they would not take responsibility for the damage to Thompson's Buick Roadmaster, she filed a lawsuit where the justice of the peace ruled that the city was not liable for the damage. The reason is because lawmakers, as part of the Texas Tort Claims Act, have said that cities are not liable for damage caused while performing certain government functions, such as providing lighting for safety. Shannon Wolfson, KXAN Austin News 05/02/2012 | Read Article: KXAN Austin News |
Labor/Employment |
|
|
Mortgage Co. Settles Discrimination Lawsuit |
| Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. has agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from accusations the company discriminated against women on maternity leave. According to the suit, MGIC "required women on maternity leave to return to work before the company would insure their mortgages." As part of the settlement, the company established a $511,000 fund to compensate the plaintiffs. Staff Report, Kansas City Info Zine 05/01/2012 | Read Article: Kansas City Info Zine |
Wal-Mart Fined $4.8 Million for Denying Overtime Pay |
| Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back pay and damages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that the company avoided paying certain employees overtime by incorrectly considering them exempt from overtime requirements. The back wages will affect nearly 3,700 employees and range from $290 to $2300 each. Martinne Geller, Reuters 05/02/2012 | Read Article: Reuters |
Studies/Reports |
|
|
Pesticide Exposure Linked to Brain Changes: Study |
| When pregnant women are exposed to moderate levels of a common pesticide, their children may experience lasting changes in brain structure linked to lower intelligence, a US study said Monday. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined New York City pregnant mothers who were tested for exposure to chlorpyrifos, or CPF, which is widely used for pest control in farms and public spaces. AFP, Yahoo News 05/02/2012 | Read Article: Yahoo News |
Texas Appellate Courts Often Reverse Civil Jury Verdicts, Study Finds |
| Appeals court judges in Texas are increasingly hostile to jury verdicts in civil cases, especially when the jurors rule in favor of plaintiffs, according to a new study. The report, which examined a full year of decisions in 2010-11 by the state’s 14 courts of appeals, found that the judges reverse more than one-third of all civil jury verdicts and that they are more likely to overturn jury verdicts that favor plaintiffs than verdicts favoring defendants. Even in nonjury cases, the Texas appellate court reversal rate of lower court judgments favoring plaintiffs was double that of decisions favoring defendants. The study, conducted by two appellate lawyers at Haynes and Boone, found the Texas appellate judges have an overall reversal rate of 49 percent when they review cases that the plaintiff won in the trial court and the defendant appealed. But those same judges reversed only 25 percent of the cases in which the defendant prevailed at trial and the plaintiff appealed. JANET ELLIOTT, The Texas Law Book (http://texaslawbook.net), The Dallas Morning News 05/02/2012 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
Business Litigation |
|
|
Pfizer Settles with BYU over Celebrex Royalties |
| Drug company Pfizer has settled a lawsuit $450 million with Brigham Young University over alleged unpaid royalties to the university. In the lawsuit, school officials claimed a BYU professor in 2006 was an integral part of the development of the drug Celebrex. But Pfizer arbitrarily canceled their contract with the professor and "misappropriated his work to create the drug." Tom Harvey, The Salt Lake Tribune 05/01/2012 | Read Article: The Salt Lake Tribune |
|
|
| |
| 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 |
|