| TTLA Sustaining Membership Drive, September 20 in Dallas |
The August 30 Membership Drives in Austin, Dallas and San Antonio brought in 30 new members and helped many of you raise your 2017 Board dues. Thank you to everyone who helped grow the family last week!
And now� Another opportunity to raise your Board dues: We have scheduled a Sustaining Membership Drive on September 20 at Payne Mitchell in Dallas. Click on the headline to learn more.
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| Check Out the TTLA Hurricane Harvey Support Page |
TTLA Hurricane Harvey Support Page has information on our relief efforts, Harvey-Related Emergency Orders from the Texas Supreme Court and from the Texas Department of Insurance-Division of Workers' Compensation Commissioner. Click on the headline to learn more.
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Flooded Houston-Area Homeowners Might Have Been Spared Ruin â?? But Only if They Read the Fine Print |
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In the finest of fine print, Fort Bend County warned in 1997: "This subdivision is adjacent to the Barker Reservoir and is subject to extended controlled inundation under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers." In other words, during a major storm, the Army Corps could choose to flood the subdivision in an effort to protect greater Houston.
Which is exactly what happened during Hurricane Harvey. Now, as Houston begins a massive recovery effort projected to cost as much as $180 billion, it is increasingly clear that government officials at every level did little to warn residents in some of the hardest hit areas that they were buying into risk -- living in areas designed to flood.
NAOMI MARTIN, Houston Chronicle 09/20/2017   
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Houston Chronicle
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| Harvey Caused Sewage Spills |
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Nearly 31.6 million gallons of raw sewage spilled across southeast Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, pouring into neighboring communities and waterways as dozens of wastewater treatment plants were hit by high winds and flooding, according to state records. Most of the sewage spilled in Harris and Fort Bend counties, with 65 separate releases dumping 20.7 million gallons of sewage in Harris County and 11 spills dumping 9.5 million gallons in Fort Bend.
Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle 09/20/2017
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Houston Chronicle
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| Family Sues Fort Bend Officials |
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Fort Bend County was already on official notice for what a lawyer called "an atrocious record" of preventing jail suicides when Eugene Ethridge Jr. was found in November 2015 in his cell hanging from a bed sheet. Less than three weeks before Ethridge died, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards had warned the sheriff that the jail was at risk for being out of compliance with state law because it failed to check cells at regular intervals on the day in September 2015 when another inmate committed suicide, officials said. Now, Ethridge's father, Eugene Ethridge Sr. is suing in federal court on behalf of himself and his son's four minor children, contending the county, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and other officials associated with the jail are responsible for deliberate, unconstitutional acts that led to his son's wrongful death.
Gabrielle Banks, Houston Chronicle 09/20/2017
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Houston Chronicle
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| Former Hockey Player who Battled the NHL Over Concussions Dies at 53 |
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Former Buffalo Sabres player Jeff Parker, who became a plaintiff in the concussion lawsuit filed against the NHL in 2015, has died. The former hockey player passed away last week at the age of 53, said the Hennepin County medical examinerâ??s office. According to Parker's partner of 10 years, the athlete's brain will be donated to researchers at Boston University. Parker was one of 16 athletes involved in a brain injury lawsuit against the NHL.
Mike Harrington, Buffalo News 09/14/2017
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Buffalo News
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| Pharmacy Solely Liable For Meningitis Outbreak, Clinic Says |
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A Maryland surgical centerâ??s role in a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak is superseded by that of the pharmacy that made the tainted products, Box Hill Surgery Center LLC told a Massachusetts federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation Monday.
Box Hill urged the court to grant summary judgment in the litigation, which is headed for a late October bellwether trial, saying that the liability belongs to New England Compounding Center Inc. and its former owner and head pharmacist Barry Cadden. Cadden has been convicted of criminal racketeering and fraud charges related to the outbreak, but was cleared of second-degree murder.
Dani Kass, Law360 ($) 09/20/2017
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Law360 ($)
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| Power Company Facing Lawsuit Over Irma Outages |
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Florida Power & Light is facing a lawsuit over power outages in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Two Miami-Dade County law firms have filed a lawsuit alleging that the power company charged its customers a storm restoration fee but failed to strengthen the power grid. The lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on Monday and seeks class-action status on behalf of about 4.4 million FPL customers who lost power during Irma.
Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post 09/19/2017
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Palm Beach Post
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| Sporty Driving Could Disable Chrysler Minivan Seat Belt |
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Fiat Chrysler is recalling almost 50,000 Pacifica vans in the U.S. and Canada from the 2017 and 2018 model years, all with an eight-passenger seating option. The automaker says that during sporting driving, the center buckle could hit the release button on the left buckle and cause it to unlatch.
The company says it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries from the problem. It says in documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that dealers will install a shorter second-row seat belt buckle in a recall that is expected to begin on Oct. 20.
Associated Press, Houston Chronicle 09/20/2017
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Houston Chronicle
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| Investigation: The Garage Science of Tasers |
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Taser International won over police by touting research it said was as rigorous as FDA-style testing. But claims about early studies - which began with a pig, five dogs and some willing cops - were overstated.
Reuters, Reuters 09/20/2017
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Reuters
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| Ohio Nursing Home Settles Fatal Overdose Lawsuit for $375K |
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An Ohio nursing home will pay $375,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who died from an overdose at the facility. The lawsuit was filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court after the woman died of an overdose when nurses mistakenly gave her 20 times the prescribed dosage of oxycodone. The family of the 83-year-old woman has accepted the settlement, which is now awaiting a judge's approval. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 2 in Cuyahoga County Probate Court.
John Caniglia & Jo Ellen Corrigan, Cleveland.com 09/18/2017
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Cleveland.com
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