Announcements |
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TTLA Annual Meeting & Advanced PI CLE December 1-2, Hotel ZaZa Houston |
| Formerly the TTLA Annual Conference, our December event is now the Annual Meeting & Advanced PI CLE! We've streamlined this event and we're now offering a one-day Advanced PI CLE, along with the Annual Membership & Board Meeting, President's Luncheon, and a spectacular Holiday Party at the home of Steve and Amber Mostyn. Topics include: Trucking, Immigration, Insurance Bad Faith, Discovery, Cross Examination And More! |
Laws/Cases |
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Facebook Settles FTC Privacy Complaint |
| Facebook has settled complaints by the Federal Trade Commission, which alleged the company allowed advertisers and others to access users’ personal information even though it promised to protect their privacy, the agency said Tuesday. The settlement over eight counts of privacy violations will force the the social network to obtain consent from consumers before changing its privacy policies. It also will be subject to regular, independent reviews of its practices for 20 years. Cecilia Kang, The Washington Post 11/30/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Marine Hero Sues Contractor |
| A U.S. Marine given the nation's highest award for valor is suing a military contractor he says ridiculed his Medal of Honor, called him mentally unstable and suggested he had a drinking problem, thereby costing him a job. In a defamation lawsuit filed in San Antonio, Meyer alleges that his former employer, BAE Systems OASYS Inc., ruined his chances at landing a new job by telling a prospective employer that he was a poor worker during a three-month stint earlier this year. A BAE Systems manager said Meyer “was mentally unstable, that Sgt. Meyer was not performing BAE tasks assigned and that Sgt. Meyer had a problem related to drinking in a social setting,” according to the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, BAE hired Meyer in March but the relationship quickly soured. Meyer said he became dismayed in April upon learning BAE had pursued sales of weapons systems to Pakistan, and sent an email to his supervisor expressing his disapproval. Meyer wrote that it was “disturbing” how U.S. troops were being issued outdated equipment when better, advanced thermal optic scopes were being offered to Pakistan. Staff/Wire Reports, San Antonio Express News 11/30/2011 | Read Article: San Antonio Express News |
College Athletes Move Concussions Into the Courtroom |
| A suit filed by recent college football players, and a former college soccer player in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois comes after a five-year flurry of awareness of brain injuries in contact sports and follows lawsuits filed this year by dozens of former N.F.L. players who claim the league was negligent in its handling of brain trauma. The issue has moved from science labs to Congress and now to courtrooms, where the financial exposure of the sport’s governing bodies may be tested. GEORGE VECSEY, The New York Times 11/30/2011 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Tronox Judge to Decide on Anadarko Cap in $15.5 Billion Suit |
| Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s request to limit damages claimed in a $15.5 billion pollution lawsuit brought by the U.S. and creditors of formerly bankrupt Tronox Inc. will be decided soon, a judge said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in Manhattan said he will issue a written ruling on whether The Woodlands, Texas- based Anadarko and its Kerr-McGee unit can cap the claims against them, after hearing more than two hours of arguments today. His ruling will determine whether Tronox creditors and the U.S. government can argue for billions to clean up thousands of polluted sites around the U.S. and pay people who claim they were harmed by Kerr-McGee’s toxins. Tiffany Kary, Bloomberg 11/30/2011 | Read Article: Bloomberg |
First Abuse Suit Filed Against Penn State, Sandusky |
| The first lawsuit has been filed against former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky by a man that claims he was sexually abused by Sandusky as a child. The plaintiff, who was not named in the grand jury report, names Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile Charity for underprivileged children as defendants. Sandusky is currently facing 40 counts of sexually abusing children. Teri Thompson , New York Daily News 11/30/2011 | Read Article: New York Daily News |
Government Pays $2.5 Million in Anthrax Death Suit |
| The federal government has settled a $2.5 million lawsuit with the family of the first man killed by anthrax during the letter attacks in 2001. The family claimed in their lawsuit that the U.S. Army had failed to properly secure its supply of anthrax and evidence pointed to the lethal letters coming from an Army lab. The man accused of sending the letters killed himself in 2008 before being indicted. Scott Shane, The New York Times 11/30/2011 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Fresno County Settles Farm Workers Wage Lawsuit |
| A judge in California has approved a $915,000 settlement in a suit filed against a Fresno County farm that allegedly underpaid workers. The lawsuit claimed the workers worked at least 60 hours a week but were not paid minimum wage and overtime wages as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. More than half of the settlement will be divided up between the 82 plaintiffs, the Fresno Bee reports. John Ellis, The Fresno Bee 11/29/2011 | Read Article: The Fresno Bee |
Merck to Pay $950 Million for Vioxx Off-Label Marketing |
| Drug company Merck will pay $950 million to settle accusations the company improperly marketed its drug Vioxx. The company was accused of "off-label marketing" and making false statements about Vioxx's safety. Studies of the drug show it increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks. Merck pulled the drug in 2004. Michael Winter, USA Today 11/22/2011 | Read Article: USA Today |
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