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  November 26, 2013

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Upcoming Online CLE

5
Dec

ETHICS -- Emerging Issues

10
Dec

Preparing a Plaintiff for Trial Testimony

12
Dec

ERISA Subrogation

17
Dec

CMS Jumps Into the Liability Arena: Addressing Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance in Liability Settlements

18
Dec

Broker Busting "B.A.S.I.C.'s"

Announcements


 

 

Annual Meeting & Advanced PI CLE December 5-6, Four Seasons, Austin

Don't miss this chance to attend the best Advanced PI CLE in Texas! TTLA's year-end event has been streamlined and we're now offering a one-day Advanced PI CLE, along with the Annual Membership & Board Meeting, President's Luncheon featuring guest speaker Evan Smith (Editor-in-Chief and CEO of the Texas Tribune), and a spectacular Holiday Party with dinner and dancing to the truly Texan sound of Joe Ely. Click on the headline to learn more & register.  

 

Laws/Cases


 

 

Delaware Refinery Owners Wins Insurance Lawsuit

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A Delaware judge has ruled for owners of the Delaware City oil refinery in lawsuit over insurance coverage involving the deaths of two workers who suffocated inside a tank. The judge granted summary judgment this week to Premcor Refinery Group, which sued various contractors and their insurance carriers following the refinery’s settlement of wrongful death lawsuits. Specifically, the judge said Maryland Casualty Insurance Company had a duty to indemnify Premcor for settlements with the families of 29-year-old John Ferguson and 57-year-old John Lattanzi. The two men died in 2005 after Ferguson tried to retrieve a roll of duct tape from inside the tank.
RANDALL CHASE , Claims Journal 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Jury Awards $39M in Fatal Wisconsin Garage Panel Fall

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A jury Thursday found manufacturer Advance Cast Stone mainly responsible for the collapse of a Milwaukee parking garage panel that killed a teenager and injured two others in 2010 and awarded $39 million in damages. The civil jury also found that Advance Cast Stone intentionally concealed and misrepresented a defect or deficiency in its installation of concrete panels at the Milwaukee County-owned O’Donnell Park parking garage.
Staff, Claims Journal 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Oil Spill Judge 'Deeply Disappointed' in BP

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On Friday, Judge Carl Barbier issued an unusual opinion calling the actions of the BP's enormous legal team “deeply disappointing†and lectured BP’s lawyers for changing their story and trying to “rewrite†the history of the landmark case. Barbier’s pronouncement came in response to an equally striking gesture by BP. On Thursday, the company filed what it called an “emergency motion†with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. BP accused Barbier of defying the appellate court’s directive to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement payments that BP alleges are flowing to undeserving claimants in the Gulf region.
Paul M. Barrett, Bloomberg 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Death of Premature Baby Fuels Latest Challenge to Feres Doctrine

 

The husband of an Army Reserve member soon will petition the Supreme Court to allow him to sue the military for allegedly forcing his wife, while pregnant, to perform physical activities against doctors’ orders in 2006, which he claims led to the death of their son minutes after birth. Jonathan Ritchie, the civilian husband of soldier January Ritchie, plans to petition the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision dismissing his lawsuit because of the Feres doctrine.
Jayna Omaye, Medill News Service, Army Times  11/26/2013  Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn icon

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Class-Action Suit over Treatment at Detention Center

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A Florida civil rights group has filed a class-action lawsuit over the alleged mistreatment of inmates at a juvenile detention center. According to the suit, the center misused pepper spray and provided inadequate mental health treatment that violated constitutional rights. Various inmates cite instances of juveniles being hit with pepper spray even after surrendering and others being placed in a cage for suicide watch. The lawsuit is now seeing its second week in a Tampa court.
Matthew Pleasant, The Ledger 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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City of Jasper Settles Suit

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The City of Jasper and five other defendants - including the two officers - have agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit by Keyarika Diggles, who was arrested in May on suspicion of unpaid traffic tickets. Police station video showed Diggles, 25, being wrestled to the ground by officers Ricky Grissom and Ryan Cunningham, while a dispatcher watched. The two officers then dragged her by the leg into a holding cell. According to a statement by Diggles' attorney, she was left on the floor for hours without medical attention and was subjected to a strip search.
Tim Monzingo, Houston Chronicle 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Parents Sue Deputy Who Shocked Cedar Creek Student with Taser

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The parents of a Cedar Creek High School student who was shocked with a Taser by a Bastrop County sheriff’s deputy last week have sued the officer, the county and the Bastrop school district. Noe Niño de Rivera, 17, has remained in a medically induced coma since Wednesday, when he fell and hit his head after Deputy Randy McMillan used his Taser against the teen, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court Monday.
Ciara O'Rourke, Austin American Statesman 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Lawsuit Blames DHS for Death of 6-Year-Old Girl

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A federal judge has approved a $350,000 settlement in a lawsuit which blames the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for the death of a 6-year-old girl. The mother filed the lawsuit, which "alleged DHS workers failed to remove her daughter and her son...from their abusive stepmother's home despite repeated reports of problems there." There were 17 referrals to the DHS office concerning the children that were ignored prior to the girl's death in 2009. In reviewing the case after the girl's death, the department found 25 violations of DHS policies and procedures. The stepmother, who had pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession in 2003, had two of her own children die under her care. She was convicted of two counts of child abuse and sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.
Nolan Clay, NewsOK.com 11/25/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Issues


 

 

Distracted Driving Killing More Pedestrians, Bicyclists

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Researchers say distracted driving is a serious public health threat. Though motor vehicle deaths have been declining nationally, a recent study by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found that deaths in pedestrians and cyclists are increasing. From 2005 to 2010, the national number of pedestrians struck and killed by distracted drivers went up from 344 to 500 – an almost 50 percent increase. For cyclists, the numbers killed went from 56 to 73 — a 30 percent increase.
Staff, Claims Journal 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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Injured Worker's Ex-Employer Denies Retaliation

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The former employer of a Honduran man injured on the job in Austin is disputing allegations that he was the victim of whistleblower retaliation. Wilmer Lopez Sanchez, 19, was injured on Nov. 8, when a load of reinforcing steel fell from a crane at an apartment project in downtown Austin. The Workers Defense Project, on behalf of Lopez Sanchez, told reporters this weekend he was terminated on Nov. 20, a day after speaking with federal authorities about the accident.
Jay Root, Texas Tribune 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

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In Montana Town, a Shut Mine Leaves an Open Wound

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After 14 years, and possibly many more to go, a total of 1,890 homes in Libby, Montana have been cleaned out, all in an effort to rid the town of a deadly substance: asbestos fibers. The fibers came from a local mining operation run by W.R. Grace & Co. The entire town and its surroundings have been designated a federal Superfund site and are being cleaned both outdoors and indoors, at a tab that has reached $400 million.
Dionne Searcey, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 11/26/2013   Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn Icon

Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($)    


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