TTLA EClips | | | April 14, 2008 |
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| | | | | The TTLA 2008 Mid-Year Conference w/ Advanced Personal Injury Course & Board Meeting is scheduled for April 30th - May 2nd at the Driskill Hotel (800-252-9367) in Austin, TX. You can register online at www.ttla.com/register or for more information contact rhonda@ttla.com. |
| | The recent lending industry crisis has many law firms preparing for a deluge of work representing consumers caught in the middle of the housing meltdown. However, changes in the legal environment since the collapse of Enron will make it more difficult for many claims to succeed. At least one legal expert predicts that allegations of predatory lending practices and mismanaged investments will keep attorneys occupied well into the next decade. Gina Keating, Reuters 04/14/2008 | |
| | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation-themed toy kits allegedly contain carcinogenic asbestos, a lawsuit filed last week says. According to the lawsuit, fingerprint dusting powder contained in the kits tested positive for a lethal form of asbestos. The manufacturer of the kits, Planet Toys, recalled the kits last year but maintains that it could not detect any traces of asbestos. The lawsuit seeks an order to stop the sale of the kits and unspecified damages. Gina Keating, Reuters 04/14/2008 | |
| | The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a spectator who was struck by a puck during warm-ups for a minor league hockey game. In a 4-3 decision, the court found the arena had complied with its limited duty to protect spectators. Dissenting justices argued that the arena should have posted warnings about the potential for pucks to leave the playing area. The case is Sciarrotta v. Global Spectrum. Michael Booth, Law.com 04/14/2008 | |
| | More than 125 San Diego-area residents who lost property in three October 2007 fires filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that San Diego Gas & Electric Co. was negligent in the blazes. According to the lawsuit, the company failed to adequately maintain power lines that are suspected of starting the fires. One attorney involved in the case expects an additional 30 to 40 plaintiffs to join the suit in the next month. J. Harry Jones, San Diego Union Tribune 04/13/2008 | |
| | Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has asked a Texas judge to return a document produced in discovery that details the company’s knowledge of toxic substances used at various railroad tie-treatment plants. The document, written in 1984 by a vice president for legal affairs, shows that the company failed to educate employees about the dangers associated with chemicals used at its Texas plant locations, according to an attorney involved in the matter. BNSF argues that because the document was handed over in error, Texas law provides for its return. Max B. Baker, Ft. Worth Star Telegram 04/09/2008 | |
| | A Montana judge has ordered a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City to pay $622,739 to a Navy veteran who was left permanently disabled after a series of operations there. In the lawsuit, James L. Lamb claimed that doctors botched a routine hernia operation that ultimately led to at least nine more operations. The original $1.2 million award was capped under Utah medical malpractice law. AP, Billings Gazette 04/12/2008 | |
| | The release of hundreds of thousands of pages from Allstate’s so-called McKinsey documents have provided little insight to those who hoped the papers would provide a window to the insurer’s handling of catastrophe claims. The documents, produced during the 1990s by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., have become a touch point for those who planned to show that Allstate had engaged in widespread bad faith in its handling of claims arising from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some believe that documents related to catastrophe claims were purposely omitted from the release because of ongoing litigation against the insurer. Rebecca Mowbray, New Orleans Times-Picayune 04/12/2008 | |
| | A new insurance company practice is putting the squeeze on insured consumers who must take medications to treat serious illnesses. Instead of charging policyholders a fixed co-payment amount, insurers are starting to charge from 20 to 33 percent of a drug’s price for costlier medications. The resulting bill for many consumers can equal thousands of dollars per month. Gina Kolata, The New York Times 04/14/2008 | |
| | Tax audits of the nation’s largest companies are at a 20-year low, a newly released study claims. According to the report, conducted by a Syracuse University-affiliated research group, Internal Revenue Service investigations of companies with assets of $250 million or more have dropped from three of four companies in 1990 to one in four today. The IRS contends that it has shifted its focus to audits of private partnerships and other entities often used in tax fraud. Lynnley Browning, The New York Times 04/14/2008 | |
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