| TTLA Pioneers: Frank Abraham |
TTLA Founding Member Frank Abraham served in the Army during World War II. As his unit advanced in the European theatre, Frank liberated his brother from a German prisoner of war camp. Frank recounted this experience during a veteransâ?? event in Houston years ago. Thanks to TTLA Board member Daniel Horowitz for finding a video of Frankâ??s story and sharing it with TTLA. Click on the headline to learn more.
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Hundreds of Dams in Texas Could Fail in Worst-Case Flood |
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Several hundred substandard dams upstream of populated areas in Texas violate state law intended to guard against dam breaching, or failure in catastrophic floods, an investigation by the American-Statesman has found. Those include six city-owned dams in Austin, as well as others in Central Texas, a region that has experienced some of the heaviest rainfall events in the world. The adequacy of hundreds more dams that could put people in harmâ??s way is unknown because they havenâ??t been studied. All told, Texas has 7,229 dams, more than any other state.
Ralph K.M. Haurwitz , Austin American-Statesman 11/13/2017    |
| Read Article: Austin American-Statesman |
| U.S. Air Force Could Face Liability in Texas Shooting: Legal Experts |
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The U.S. Air Forceâ??s failure to report the criminal record of Devin Kelley, the man who shot dead 26 people and wounded 20 more at a Texas church, could expose the service to liability, legal experts said. The Air Force said on Monday it did not enter that information into a federal database used in background checks for firearms purchases, something it was legally required to do. Government officials and agencies are often immune to civil lawsuits on the grounds that they need to be able to make policy decisions without fear of liability, but several lawyers said that immunity would not apply to the Air Forceâ??s failure to report Kelley.
Tina Bellon, Reuters 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Rent-to-Own Complaints Spur Investigation by Federal Agency |
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Investigators for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the $8 billion rent-to-own industry and related companies over questions about unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, NerdWallet has learned. Investigators are asking specifically about Rent-A-Center, the nationâ??s largest rent-to-own enterprise with more than 2,400 stores selling furniture and appliances mostly to low-income Americans. A months-long investigation by The Texas Tribune and NerdWallet last month found that rent-to-own companies have used a little-known Texas law to press criminal charges against thousands of customers who fell behind in their payments in Texas and other states.
BRAD WOLVERTON, NERDWALLET, Texas Tribune 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| Disneyland Shuts Down 2 Cooling Towers After Legionnaires' Disease Sickens Visitors |
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Disneyland has shut down two bacteria-contaminated cooling towers after Orange County health officials discovered several cases of Legionnairesâ?? disease in people who had visited the Anaheim theme park, authorities said. Twelve cases of the bacteria-caused illness were discovered about three weeks ago among people who had spent time in Anaheim and included nine people who had visited Disneyland in September before developing the illness, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Their ages ranged from 52 to 94.
TONY BARBOZA, LA Times 11/13/2017
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| Read Article: LA Times |
| City Council to Vote on $61M Settlement in Back Pay Lawsuits |
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The Dallas City Council will vote this week to pay $61 million to settle four of six back pay lawsuits from police officers and firefighters â?? lawsuits that the mayor says could help bankrupt Dallas if allowed to proceed. City Attorney Larry Casto said the settlement will be paid using the city's current bonding capacity and will not require voter approval. Some of the financial details still have to be ironed out, but financing it will not require a tax increase.
TRISTAN HALLMAN, The Dallas Morning News 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| AL Jury Finds for Veteran in Lawsuit Against Walmart |
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Army veteran Henry Walker was trying to buy a watermelon at a Walmart in Alabama when his foot got stuck in a wooden pallet. When he turned, the 59-year-old fell, breaking his hip. Walker sued Walmart over the 2015 incident, and an Alabama jury has ruled that he should be awarded $7.5 million. Jurors reviewed security footage from the store and saw that Walker wasnâ??t the only person to get his foot stuck in the side openings of a wooden pallet on the floor.
Ellie Silverman, The Washington Post 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| How Did a 9-Year-Old Disabled Boy Buy a $240K House? |
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Haiden Rivera is a 9-year-old boy with severe physical and mental disabilities. Since shortly after birth, he has had brain damage, cerebral palsy and other health problems. As his attorneys wrote in court documents, he "will never work, live independently, have a family, or even have the capacity to care for himself." Three years ago, Haiden paid $240,000 for a house on the outskirts of Charlotte. Now, one or both of his parents could face criminal charges and be held liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars drained from his estate.
Christopher Haxel, Lansing State Journal , KHOU, WFAA.com 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: WFAA.com |
| Appeal Offers Hope for Newtown Families in Suit Against Gun Companies |
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This week, the families of the victims plan to be in Hartford, listening as lawyers lay out in state Supreme Court their case that the companies that manufactured and sold the military-style assault rifle used by the gunman bear responsibility for the attack in which 26 people, including 20 children, were killed. They are deploying a novel strategy that the families and their lawyers say could pierce the sweeping shield created by federal law that protects gun companies from litigation and has thwarted countless lawsuits after their weapons were used to commit crimes. Supporters believe that if the court clears the way for a jury trial, the gun companiesâ?? internal communications â?? which the companies have fought fiercely to keep private â?? would surface in discovery, a potentially revealing and damaging glimpse into the industry and how it operates. It could also chart a legal road map for the survivors and relatives of victims in other mass shootings as they pursue accountability.
RICK ROJAS and KRISTIN HUSSEY, The New York Times 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Keller family Sues TX ER Room Chain For Over $1M After Preschoolerâ??s Death |
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The lawsuit claims the freestanding facility run by Excel ER, among other things, failed to properly evaluate Oliviaâ??s condition and improperly discharged her instead of immediately transferring her to a hospital. An autopsy report from the Tarrant County medical examiner, done on Aug. 8, the day after the incident, found Oliviaâ??s primary cause of death was bacterial meningitis, a brain infection that can turn deadly in a matter of hours. The emergency doctor failed to detect the serious condition, the lawsuit says.
Sabriya Rice, The Dallas Morning News 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Texas Panel Told To Nix Deceased Judge's Asbestos Suit |
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Jefferson County on Wednesday pressed a state appeals court to sink a lawsuit brought on behalf of a district court judge who died of mesothelioma after spending his career inside a courthouse that had asbestos, with the county arguing the judgeâ??s estate should have instead brought an administrative claim for workersâ?? compensation benefits.
Michelle Casady, Law360 ($) 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Kappa Sigma Fraternity Facing Second Lawsuit Over Student Death |
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The Kappa Sigma fraternity is facing another lawsuit over the death of a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student. The student was fatally struck by a car operated by a fraternity pledge in November of last year. A lawsuit was previously filed against the fraternity by the mother of the student killed, but the most recent lawsuit was filed by the driver who struck the student. According to the lawsuit, the fraternity pledge was forced to stay awake for three days straight in an act of hazing by the fraternity. Toxicology reports following the incident indicated that the plaintiff was not impaired during the crash. The lawsuit alleges a â??persistent pattern of hazingâ?? by the Kappa Sigma members that the university should have been aware of and prevented.
Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News 11/10/2017 |
| Read Article: New York Daily News |
| Big Insurers Brace for Perilous Future as Climate Risks Escalate |
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After one of the worst Atlantic hurricane seasons in history, the worldâ??s biggest insurers say the industry needs to get its act together if it wants to survive climate change. Insuring against weather natural disasters could reach unaffordable levels for households and companies, while the potential damage is so unpredictable it may be impossible to model -- an unacceptable risk to insurers. â??Sometime in the future there will be the situation where people cannot afford any longer to buy catastrophe insurance -- this is what we want to avoid,â?? Ernst Rauch, the head of the Corporate Climate Centre at Munich Re. The worldâ??s largest reinsurer suffered a 1.4 billion-euro ($1.63 billion) loss after hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria sent claims soaring.
Jess Shankleman, Bloomberg 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: Bloomberg |
| Is Your Vehicle Under a Recall? |
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The steady stream of recalls masks the fact that about 30% of recalled vehicles remain unrepaired on America's roads, according to federal statistics. Last year was a record for U.S. vehicle recalls â?? more than 53 million in 927 separate recalls â?? but those numbers are only the latest, with the total number of recalls increasing in each year back to 2011 when the number stood at 13.6 million, according to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, USA Today 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: USA Today |
| Supreme Court Takes a Technological Step Forward |
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The court is making new legal filings available online starting Monday, years behind the rest of the federal court system. But advocates of court openness will take what they can get for now, especially because the Supreme Court will not charge for documents. The federal courtsâ?? PACER system does charge fees.
Mark Sherman, Associated Press, Yahoo News 11/13/2017 |
| Read Article: Yahoo News |
| PG&E Faces Wrongful Death Suit Over Couple's Death in Fire |
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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against PG&E over the deaths of a man and woman in the recent fire across California. The couple died in the wildfire in the Redwood Valley last month and the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday alleges negligence. According to the complaint, PG&E failed to maintain electrical equipment, trees and vegetation to prevent contact with electric power lines. There are currently 17 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The fires across Northern California have resulted in the deaths of 43 people.
Staff Report, CBS SF Bay Area 11/09/2017 |
| Read Article: CBS SF Bay Area |
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