| Next in the Harvey Insurance Series: Windstorm Insurance Claims on Oct 31st. |
The Texas Trial Lawyers Association presents a 4-part CLE webinar series to give you the information you need to assist families and businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey with their insurance dispute. Each of these webinars is presented by experts in first party insurance.Each installment of the series is $50. Get the Bundle for $150 and save. Click on the headline to learn more and register.
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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Editorials/Columns/Letters
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| Kristof: Damaged Brains |
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The EPA banned chlorpyrifos for most indoor residential use 17 years ago and was preparing to ban it for agricultural and outdoor use this spring, but the Trump administration rejected the ban. That was a triumph for Dow Chemical, but the decision stirred outrage among public health experts. â??This was a chemical developed to attack the nervous system,â?? notes Virginia Rauh, a Columbia professor who has conducted groundbreaking research on it. â??It should not be a surprise that itâ??s not good for people.â??
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times 10/30/2017    |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Kicking in Doors and Crushing Credit: How a Texas-based Retailer Torments Customers |
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In most American industries, harassment over unpaid bills sets off alarms with regulators. But Rent-A-Center relies on exceptions carved out for the entire rent-to-own industry, allowing it to operate outside many consumer protection laws. Between January 2016 and June 2017, 674 people filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission about problems with Rent-A-Centerâ??s subsidiary, Acceptance Now. Nearly one-third had asked Acceptance Now for verification they owed money. The company failed to provide it, former customers said. Ten percent of those 674 customers said errors ended up on their credit reports. Rent-A-Center shareholders filed a federal lawsuit against the company in December 2016 over problems with its system for tracking customer payments. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Texas, said Rent-A-Center had difficulty starting a new point of sale system in 2015, causing â??severe harmâ?? to company operations.
BRAD WOLVERTON, NERDWALLET, Texas Tribune 10/30/2017
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| Read Article: Texas Tribune Texas Tribune |
| States Push Equifax to Explain Why It Took 6 Weeks to Disclose Hack |
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Attorneys general in at least five states are looking into why credit-reporting firm Equifax Inc. didnâ??t tell the public for nearly six weeks about the massive data breach that potentially compromised the personal information of 145.5 million Americans. As the broader investigation into the Equifax breach continues, some state officials want to know why Equifax didnâ??t say something sooner. The inquiries are aimed at determining whether Equifax might have violated state laws.
Michael Rapoport and AnnaMaria Andriotis, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) |
| LuLaRoe Hit with $1 Billion Lawsuit |
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A class action lawsuit seeking $1 billion has been filed in California against the LuLaRoe company, sought by former consultants alleging they were coaxed into a pyramid scheme. The lawsuit has been filed by three Sacramento area plaintiffs on behalf of LLR consultants between 2013 until the present. The suit alleges recruits were offered part-time and full-time pay for extra cash and pulled in through misinformation into a business model that was not profitable, amongst other claims. LuLaRoe is known for its vibrant printed leggings and other assorted womenâ??s clothing. The company relies mostly on women, to buy their merchandise and sell it out of their own homes.
Giacomo Luca and Alexa Renee, KING, WFAA.com 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: WFAA.com |
| GM Settles California Lawsuit Over Ignition Recall |
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General Motors has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a recall of faulty ignition switches tied to nearly 400 deaths and injuries. The lawsuit, filed by California prosecutors, alleged that GM intentionally concealed serious safety defects including those involving the faulty ignition switches. The settlement of the lawsuit, which alleged violations of unfair competition and false advertising laws for some vehicles recalled in 2014, was approved by an Orange County superior court judge late Friday. Several weeks ago GM agreed to a separate $120 million settlement with 49 states and the District of Columbia over the recalled safety switches and its auto safety practices.
David Shepardson, Reuters 10/29/2017 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Former Priest Says Revered Colleague Was a Predator |
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In August, Mr. Ryan-Vuotto was awarded a $500,000 settlement for sexual abuse by Father Lott. The money was from a program being run by the Archdiocese of New York to compensate those sexually abused by priests. In an interview, Mr. Ryan-Vuotto said he was abused more than 50 times between 1975 and 1985, in acts ranging from fondling to sodomy. But he kept silent, in part because after the abuse ended, he became a priest. Mr. Ryan-Vuotto, who was known as Father Ryan for nearly 20 years, is one of 181 victims who have been awarded settlements by the New York Archdiocese for sexual abuse by priests or deacons in claims reaching back to the 1950s. The deadline for victims to apply is Wednesday.
SHARON OTTERMAN, The New York Times 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Woman Says Her Identity Was Stolen 15 Times After Equifax Breach |
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Katie Van Fleet of Seattle says sheâ??s spent months trying to regain her stolen identity, and says it has been stolen more than a dozen times. â??I kept receiving letters saying â?˜thank you for your application,'â?? she said to CNN affiliate KCPQ. But she says sheâ??s never applied for credit from any of those places. Instead, Van Fleet and her attorney say they believe her personal data was stolen during the massive Equifax security breach. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Equifax, saying the company was negligent in losing private information on more than 140 million Americans.
NBC4 Staff, NBCNewYork.com 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: NBCNewYork.com |
| Facebook Users Say Biometric Data Mining Causes Real Harm |
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Facebook Inc. users suing the social media giant over its alleged collection of their biometric data told a California federal court Thursday that the company canâ??t duck their suit by suggesting they lack standing, arguing that under Illinois privacy laws they suffered a concrete harm when they lost control of their private information.
Christopher Crosby, Law360 ($) 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Nursing Homes Struggled with Choice to Evacuate in Hurricane |
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The deaths of elderly residents at Lake Arthur Place and other Texas and Florida facilities after hurricanes made landfall in August and September have heightened scrutiny of the evacuation procedures at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. â??A lot of things went wrong, and went very tragically wrong,â?? said a lawyer representing families who have filed civil lawsuits against two Port Arthur nursing homes.
Claudia Lauer and Terry Spencer?|?AP , The Washington Post 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| Judge Bars Emergency Rules On Nursing Home Generators |
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A Florida judge blocked emergency rules implemented after Hurricane Irma requiring nursing facilities to install backup generators, finding on Friday the state failed to prove a qualified emergency situation and the remedies could not be implemented by the Nov. 15 deadline. Gov. Rick Scott issued the emergency rule requiring generators on Sept. 16 after several residents from the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills LLC in Broward County died due to dangerously high temperatures in the nursing home caused by power loss when Hurricane Irma made landfall.
Nathan Hale, Law360 ($) 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: Law360 ($) |
| Family of Marine Who Died at VA Hospital Gets $2.3M Settlement |
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The government has reached a $2.3 million settlement with survivors of a Marine Corps veteran who died of a drug overdose at the troubled VA medical center in Tomah, Wis. Court papers filed Friday say about $1.65 million would go up-front to the widow and daughter of Jason Simcakoski, of Stevens Point, Wis., who was 35 when he died in 2014 at the Tomah VA facility. Another $659,000 would go into annuities for Simcakoski's widow, Heather, and their daughter, Anaya. The rest would go to attorney fees and expenses.
Associated Press, Yahoo News 10/30/2017 |
| Read Article: Yahoo News |
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