Posted Jul 22, 2009, 05:10 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
The American Bar Association is prepared to sue if the Federal Trade Commission doesn't exempt attorneys from new regulations intended to safeguard against identity theft, ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. said.
Proskauer Rose will represent the ABA on a pro bono basis in the case if litigation becomes necessary, Wells tells Blog of Legal Times. The suit would be filed next week, presumably in federal court in Washington, D.C., if the FTC doesn't delay the scheduled Aug. 1 implementation of the new regs. More.
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Friday, July 24, 2009
Florida Bar objects to including lawyers under FTC’s new Red Flags Rule
"Bar President Jesse Diner has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission relating The Florida Bar’s opposition to including lawyers under the FTC’s proposed “Red Flags Rule” on protecting consumers from identity theft. Diner’s letter follows approval by the Bar Board of Governors of an ABA position opposing the FTC’s position that lawyers are covered by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), passed in 2003. The board acted at its July 17 meeting in Naples. The FTC’s Red Flags Rule requires creditors to adopt policies to identify risks and protect customers from possible identity theft. Its preliminary rules were drafted to include lawyers, although the agency agreed to delay implementation until August 1 after the ABA objected. (See story “Lawyers may have to comply with new FTC ‘Red Flags Rules’” in the June 1 News.) More.
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The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ignoring the Perils of Driving and Talking? You May Be Addicted, Prof Says
Talking on a cell phone results in an estimated 2,600 fatal car accidents every year, according to a 2003 Harvard study noted in the article.
Crashes are just as risky for those who use hands-free devices, researchers have found.
Scientists say people talk on cell phones despite the risks because of the pressure to stay in touch, the story says. And some people using digital devices show signs of addiction, making it difficult to give up the devices while driving, according to Harvard psychology professor John Ratey. More.
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Crashes are just as risky for those who use hands-free devices, researchers have found.
Scientists say people talk on cell phones despite the risks because of the pressure to stay in touch, the story says. And some people using digital devices show signs of addiction, making it difficult to give up the devices while driving, according to Harvard psychology professor John Ratey. More.
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Friday, July 17, 2009
Judge Allowed to Sue N.Y. Daily News, But Not a Lawyer Thought to Be a Source
Posted 3 hours, 30 minutes ago
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Manhattan judge has tossed another New York judge’s $10 million defamation claim against a lawyer thought to be the source of two critical newspaper columns in the New York Daily News.
But the plaintiff, Judge Larry Martin of Brooklyn, may still pursue his claim against the newspaper and the author of the columns, Errol Louis, the New York Law Journal reports. The columns addressed judicial corruption and claimed Martin presided over a case involving a lawyer who had represented him before the judicial conduct commission. More.
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By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Manhattan judge has tossed another New York judge’s $10 million defamation claim against a lawyer thought to be the source of two critical newspaper columns in the New York Daily News.
But the plaintiff, Judge Larry Martin of Brooklyn, may still pursue his claim against the newspaper and the author of the columns, Errol Louis, the New York Law Journal reports. The columns addressed judicial corruption and claimed Martin presided over a case involving a lawyer who had represented him before the judicial conduct commission. More.
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Chocolate mousse blended with attorneys fees, then the gym
Consumer Protection: LA FITNESS MEMBER: EARLY-TERMINATION FEES FORCED, UNREASONABLE, Abramowicz v. L.A. Fitness Int'l, 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 23, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 LA Fitness members must sign contracts that include early-termination fees that do not reflect the gym chain's costs and are meant to deter unsatisfied customers from canceling their personal training services, according to a California federal court suit. The Irvine, Calif.-based company charges customers an early-termination fee equal to half the cost of a full personal training contract, which can run from three to 12 months, if the contract is canceled after a 72-hour trial period
Employment: CHOICEPOINT ILLEGALLY REPORTS MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS, SUIT SAYS, Morgan v. ChoicePoint, 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 7, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A class-action lawsuit filed in California state court accuses consumer information broker ChoicePoint of reporting misdemeanor marijuana convictions that are more than two years old to current and prospective employers when doing background checks. Plaintiff Brandon Morgan says the company has repeatedly violated California laws that prohibit employers from asking about or using information about an employee's minor drug offenses that are more than two years old to make employment decisions.
Product Liability: DENTURE CREAM SUITS OVER HIGH ZINC LEVELS HEAD TO FLA. FED. COURT, In re Denture Cream Prods Liab. Litig., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 13, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A Florida federal court will be the forum for a dozen suits filed against two denture adhesive cream manufacturers over allegedly high levels of zinc in the creams that can cause neurological problems. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the suits from 11 different districts to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. An additional seven tag-along actions also were transferred to the court under U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.
Product Liability: MICROWAVE OVENS WON'T SHUT OFF, CLASS ACTION ALLEGES, Hennigan v. Gen. Elec. Co., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 14, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A class-action lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court accuses General Electric and Samsung Electronics America of negligently making and selling microwave ovens that operate without prompting and pose a fire hazard because they smoke, spark and cannot be shut off. Timothy Hennigan filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He says that in June 2008, his six-year-old GE microwave "began operating on its own accord." The oven sparked and emitted smoke.
Securities Fraud: RAYMOND JAMES, EXECS HIT WITH $2B SUBPRIME MORTGAGE FRAUD SUIT, Woodard v. Raymond James Fin., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 20, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 Florida-based Raymond James Financial defrauded shareholders to the tune of $2 billion by touting conservative lending practices while secretly amassing risky subprime residential mortgages, according to an investor's lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court. The class-action suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, says RJF failed to disclose the risks taken on by a subsidiary, Raymond James Bank, and failed to set aside enough cash to cover the inevitable.
Corbitt v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. ,(C.A.11 (Ala.))
Labor and Employment - Male supervisor's flirtatious comments to male employees did not constitute sexual harassment.
A male supervisor's complimentary and/or flirtatious comments to male employees did not constitute sexual harassment under Title VII, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Although a supervisor telling an employee that he liked how the employee dressed, that he liked the employee's pants, that the employee's hair was beautiful, and that he liked the employee's green eyes may not have been appropriate workplace conversation, it was not actionable conduct under Title VII. Flirtation is part of ordinary socializing in the workplace and should not be mistaken for discriminatory conditions of employment, the Court of Appeals stated. Although the plaintiffs may have been subjectively more uncomfortable because a presumably gay man made the flirtatious comments, this did not factor into the objective component of the Title VII analysis.
Embry v. Ryan ,(Fla.App. 2 Dist.)
GLBT - Trial court was required to give full faith and credit to same-sex couple adoption judgment from another state.
A Florida trial court was required, in an adoptive mother's action to determine parental responsibility, contact and support, to give full faith and credit to a Washington adoption judgment under which the adoptive mother had adopted a child while engaged in a same-sex relationship with the child's biological mother. Regardless of whether Florida had a public policy prohibiting same-sex couple adoptions, there were no public policy exceptions to the full faith and credit requirement. Furthermore, Florida statutes specifically provided that adoption decrees from other states were to be recognized.
Employment: CHOICEPOINT ILLEGALLY REPORTS MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS, SUIT SAYS, Morgan v. ChoicePoint, 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 7, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A class-action lawsuit filed in California state court accuses consumer information broker ChoicePoint of reporting misdemeanor marijuana convictions that are more than two years old to current and prospective employers when doing background checks. Plaintiff Brandon Morgan says the company has repeatedly violated California laws that prohibit employers from asking about or using information about an employee's minor drug offenses that are more than two years old to make employment decisions.
Product Liability: DENTURE CREAM SUITS OVER HIGH ZINC LEVELS HEAD TO FLA. FED. COURT, In re Denture Cream Prods Liab. Litig., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 13, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A Florida federal court will be the forum for a dozen suits filed against two denture adhesive cream manufacturers over allegedly high levels of zinc in the creams that can cause neurological problems. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the suits from 11 different districts to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. An additional seven tag-along actions also were transferred to the court under U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.
Product Liability: MICROWAVE OVENS WON'T SHUT OFF, CLASS ACTION ALLEGES, Hennigan v. Gen. Elec. Co., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 14, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 A class-action lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court accuses General Electric and Samsung Electronics America of negligently making and selling microwave ovens that operate without prompting and pose a fire hazard because they smoke, spark and cannot be shut off. Timothy Hennigan filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He says that in June 2008, his six-year-old GE microwave "began operating on its own accord." The oven sparked and emitted smoke.
Securities Fraud: RAYMOND JAMES, EXECS HIT WITH $2B SUBPRIME MORTGAGE FRAUD SUIT, Woodard v. Raymond James Fin., 16 No. 6 Andrews Class Action Litig. Rep. 20, Andrews Class Action Litigation Reporter July 15, 2009 Florida-based Raymond James Financial defrauded shareholders to the tune of $2 billion by touting conservative lending practices while secretly amassing risky subprime residential mortgages, according to an investor's lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court. The class-action suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, says RJF failed to disclose the risks taken on by a subsidiary, Raymond James Bank, and failed to set aside enough cash to cover the inevitable.
Corbitt v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. ,(C.A.11 (Ala.))
Labor and Employment - Male supervisor's flirtatious comments to male employees did not constitute sexual harassment.
A male supervisor's complimentary and/or flirtatious comments to male employees did not constitute sexual harassment under Title VII, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Although a supervisor telling an employee that he liked how the employee dressed, that he liked the employee's pants, that the employee's hair was beautiful, and that he liked the employee's green eyes may not have been appropriate workplace conversation, it was not actionable conduct under Title VII. Flirtation is part of ordinary socializing in the workplace and should not be mistaken for discriminatory conditions of employment, the Court of Appeals stated. Although the plaintiffs may have been subjectively more uncomfortable because a presumably gay man made the flirtatious comments, this did not factor into the objective component of the Title VII analysis.
Embry v. Ryan ,(Fla.App. 2 Dist.)
GLBT - Trial court was required to give full faith and credit to same-sex couple adoption judgment from another state.
A Florida trial court was required, in an adoptive mother's action to determine parental responsibility, contact and support, to give full faith and credit to a Washington adoption judgment under which the adoptive mother had adopted a child while engaged in a same-sex relationship with the child's biological mother. Regardless of whether Florida had a public policy prohibiting same-sex couple adoptions, there were no public policy exceptions to the full faith and credit requirement. Furthermore, Florida statutes specifically provided that adoption decrees from other states were to be recognized.
This decision may not yet be released for publication.
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Sunday, July 12, 2009
Lawyer’s Lucky Shoes Spur Motion to Compel Appropriate Footwear
Posted Jul 10, 2009, 01:41 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Florida plaintiffs lawyer who doesn’t like the holes in his opponent’s tasseled loafers has filed a “motion to compel defense counsel to wear appropriate shoes at trial.”
The motion, filed in Palm Beach County, was denied, the Palm Beach Post reports. More.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Florida plaintiffs lawyer who doesn’t like the holes in his opponent’s tasseled loafers has filed a “motion to compel defense counsel to wear appropriate shoes at trial.”
The motion, filed in Palm Beach County, was denied, the Palm Beach Post reports. More.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Coming Soon to ABAJournal.com: Sotomayor Hearings
Sotomayor received a unanimous rating of “well-qualified” from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary based on its analysis of her integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., says the rating should rebut critics who say Sotomayor has been harsh or bullying on the bench.
ABAJournal.com will have live gavel to gavel coverage of the hearings beginning Monday. That coverage and related nomination posts can be found at this link.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
ABAJournal.com will have live gavel to gavel coverage of the hearings beginning Monday. That coverage and related nomination posts can be found at this link.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fraud, false claims act, arbitration, nursing homes, medical negligence and tossed oriental vegetables with garlic croutons
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES 'COMMUNITY LIVING' INITIATIVES, 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 3, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009
The Obama administration has proclaimed this the "year of community living" by launching initiatives to help disabled Americans find home- and community- based alternatives to institutionalization in nursing homes. The announcement came on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), which held that the unnecessary institutional segregation of disabled people constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act
UNSEALED SUIT TOSSED IN FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASE, United States v. LHC Group, 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 8, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed with prejudice a whistle-blower suit against a home health care business because the plaintiff's attorney failed to file the complaint under seal as required by the False Claims Act. U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. said his decision to toss the case was supported by the plain language of the FCA, 31 U.S.C. 3729, and by case law, including United States ex rel. Erickson v. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 716 F. Supp. 908, 910
UNAVAILABLE FORUM VOIDS ARBITRATION PACT, Grant v. Magnolia Manor-Greenwood, 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 6, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 An arbitration agreement between a nursing home and a resident is not enforceable because the organization designated to handle the proceedings no longer accepts such cases, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled. The high court unanimously ruled that the American Health Lawyers Association as the arbitration forum was an "integral part" of the agreement.The ruling means James O. Grant may continue to litigate his wrongful-death lawsuit
NURSING HOME MORTGAGOR CHEATED HUD ON LOANS; SUIT SEEKS $77 MILLION, United States v. Capmark Fin., 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 9, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A mortgage banking company allegedly lied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on loan insurance applications for two nursing home customers, causing the government to lose nearly $26 million when the homes defaulted. The government is seeking $77 million in treble damages from Capmark Finance Inc. under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729. The company was one of the nation's largest originators of HUD-insured loans, according to the complaint.
PARENTS WIN FIRST VERDICT AGAINST DUPONT IN PEDIATRIC HEART SURGERY CASES, Svindland v. Nemours Found., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 1, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009 A federal jury in Philadelphia has returned a $650,000 verdict for parents who say a cardiac surgeon at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children committed malpractice when he performed experimental surgery on their infant son, causing his death. The verdict was the first in favor of any plaintiffs in some 20 cases filed against the Delaware hospital and former chief cardiac surgeon William I. Norwood since 2004. Ten of the cases remain pending.
VERMONT TIGHTENS RULES ON GIFTS FROM DEVICE, DRUG COMPANIES, 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 3, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas has signed into law a bill that will tighten state regulations involving gifts to health care providers by makers of "prescribed products" like drugs and medical devices. The state Legislature approved the measure, S. 48, with strong bipartisan support, by a 99-40 House vote and a 137-4 tally in the Senate. It took effect July 1. The new law removes loopholes in the state's current physician gift reporting system.
MOM ADDS ER NURSE, ILLINOIS HOSPITAL TO CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT, Lopez v. Village of Carpentersville, 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 4, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
An Illinois hospital and a registered nurse have been added as defendants in a federal lawsuit alleging paramedics refused to take a baby to the emergency room because he is Hispanic. The delay in care left the boy with permanent brain damage, plaintiff Gloria Lopez says. Lopez amended her complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to name Sherman Hospital and ER nurse Jenny Lentz.
NURSES CAN GIVE EXPERT MEDICAL OPINIONS, PA. HIGH COURT SAYS, Freed v. Geisinger Med. Ctr., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 5, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
Noting it is "loath to reverse our own prior decisions," the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has done just that after finding an earlier ruling that precluded nurses from offering medical opinions when testifying as experts conflicted with the state's "liberal standards" for expert testimony. The June 15 decision means that a paralyzed man can have his day in court in a lawsuit alleging inadequate nursing care led to his bedsores.
COURT UPHOLDS JUDGMENT ON 'REASONABLE' MEDICAL CHARGES, Strawn v. Farmers Ins. Co., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 7, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
An Oregon appeals court has upheld a multimillion-dollar jury award in a class action over personal injury protection payouts, finding that the insurance companies' method of determining "reasonable" medical charges breached the policies. According to the opinion, Mark Strawn filed the underlying class-action lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Co. of Oregon, Mid-Century Insurance Co. and Truck Insurance Exchange.Strawn alleged the insurers used cost-containment software to determine "reasonable" medical charges.
Fees incurred in non-binding arbitration -- Party is not required to plead entitlement to attorney's fees incurred during court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration conducted pursuant to section 44.103 because it is only after case has been terminated that a party can determine whether fee-shifting provision of statute has become effective and, if so, file an appropriate motion seeking entitlement to fees -- Even if law had required defendants to plead claim for attorney's fees pursuant to section 44.103, plaintiff waived that argument by not objecting, either before or after entry of final judgment, although defendants sent plaintiff a proposed final judgment stating that trial court would reserve jurisdiction to consider defendants' motion to tax fees and costs pursuant to section 44.103, filed a motion for entitlement to attorney's fees based upon plaintiff's rejection of arbitrator's decision, and sent plaintiff a proposed order granting the motion
Reported at 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1344a
Hospital consent form indicating that surgeons were independent contractors did not, standing alone, conclusively refute apparent agency relationship between hospital and surgeons -- Further, trial court erred in failing to require hospital to properly lay predicate for business records exception to hearsay before admitting consent form into evidence -- Remand to provide hospital with opportunity to attach affidavit laying proper predicate for business records exception -- Parties may submit additional record evidence in support of or in opposition to summary judgment under apparent agency theory, and thereafter, trial court may reevaluate whether genuine issues of material fact exist on this issue
Reported at 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1349a
ACE, AIG FACE SUIT FOR REFUSING TO COVER FULL SETTLEMENT COSTS, Experian Info. Solutions v. Ill. Union Ins. Co., 19 No. 39 Andrews Ins. Coverage Litig. Rep. 6, Andrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A credit reporting agency has sued its insurers for refusing to cover costs and attorney fees incurred in connection with the settlement of two class- action lawsuits against it. Experian Information Solutions, which specializes in consumer and business credit reporting and marketing services, says ACE and American International Group are in breach of contract by refusing to pay for any settlement that includes an attorney fee award and related costs.
Subprime: AIG CAN'T MAKE CO-CONSPIRATORS HELP PAY FOR FRAUD, AIG Consol. Derivative Litig., 19 No. 39 Andrews Ins. Coverage Litig. Rep. 8, Andrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009
Troubled insurance titan AIG cannot sue brokers and reinsurers that allegedly helped it defraud investors of $5 billion with bid-rigging, phantom deals and fake reinsurance schemes, a Delaware state court judge has ruled. Vice Chancellor Leo Strine said the in pari delicto doctrine bars AIG and its former officers and directors from trying to force insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. and other alleged co-conspirators to help pay for any future judgment or settlement that shareholder plaintiffs.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
The Obama administration has proclaimed this the "year of community living" by launching initiatives to help disabled Americans find home- and community- based alternatives to institutionalization in nursing homes. The announcement came on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), which held that the unnecessary institutional segregation of disabled people constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act
UNSEALED SUIT TOSSED IN FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASE, United States v. LHC Group, 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 8, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A federal judge in Tennessee has dismissed with prejudice a whistle-blower suit against a home health care business because the plaintiff's attorney failed to file the complaint under seal as required by the False Claims Act. U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. said his decision to toss the case was supported by the plain language of the FCA, 31 U.S.C. 3729, and by case law, including United States ex rel. Erickson v. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 716 F. Supp. 908, 910
UNAVAILABLE FORUM VOIDS ARBITRATION PACT, Grant v. Magnolia Manor-Greenwood, 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 6, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 An arbitration agreement between a nursing home and a resident is not enforceable because the organization designated to handle the proceedings no longer accepts such cases, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled. The high court unanimously ruled that the American Health Lawyers Association as the arbitration forum was an "integral part" of the agreement.The ruling means James O. Grant may continue to litigate his wrongful-death lawsuit
NURSING HOME MORTGAGOR CHEATED HUD ON LOANS; SUIT SEEKS $77 MILLION, United States v. Capmark Fin., 12 No. 1 Andrews Nursing Home Litig. Rep. 9, Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A mortgage banking company allegedly lied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on loan insurance applications for two nursing home customers, causing the government to lose nearly $26 million when the homes defaulted. The government is seeking $77 million in treble damages from Capmark Finance Inc. under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729. The company was one of the nation's largest originators of HUD-insured loans, according to the complaint.
PARENTS WIN FIRST VERDICT AGAINST DUPONT IN PEDIATRIC HEART SURGERY CASES, Svindland v. Nemours Found., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 1, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009 A federal jury in Philadelphia has returned a $650,000 verdict for parents who say a cardiac surgeon at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children committed malpractice when he performed experimental surgery on their infant son, causing his death. The verdict was the first in favor of any plaintiffs in some 20 cases filed against the Delaware hospital and former chief cardiac surgeon William I. Norwood since 2004. Ten of the cases remain pending.
VERMONT TIGHTENS RULES ON GIFTS FROM DEVICE, DRUG COMPANIES, 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 3, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas has signed into law a bill that will tighten state regulations involving gifts to health care providers by makers of "prescribed products" like drugs and medical devices. The state Legislature approved the measure, S. 48, with strong bipartisan support, by a 99-40 House vote and a 137-4 tally in the Senate. It took effect July 1. The new law removes loopholes in the state's current physician gift reporting system.
MOM ADDS ER NURSE, ILLINOIS HOSPITAL TO CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT, Lopez v. Village of Carpentersville, 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 4, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
An Illinois hospital and a registered nurse have been added as defendants in a federal lawsuit alleging paramedics refused to take a baby to the emergency room because he is Hispanic. The delay in care left the boy with permanent brain damage, plaintiff Gloria Lopez says. Lopez amended her complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to name Sherman Hospital and ER nurse Jenny Lentz.
NURSES CAN GIVE EXPERT MEDICAL OPINIONS, PA. HIGH COURT SAYS, Freed v. Geisinger Med. Ctr., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 5, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
Noting it is "loath to reverse our own prior decisions," the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has done just that after finding an earlier ruling that precluded nurses from offering medical opinions when testifying as experts conflicted with the state's "liberal standards" for expert testimony. The June 15 decision means that a paralyzed man can have his day in court in a lawsuit alleging inadequate nursing care led to his bedsores.
COURT UPHOLDS JUDGMENT ON 'REASONABLE' MEDICAL CHARGES, Strawn v. Farmers Ins. Co., 5 No. 3 West's Medical Malpractice Law Report 7, West's Medical Malpractice Law Report July 2, 2009
An Oregon appeals court has upheld a multimillion-dollar jury award in a class action over personal injury protection payouts, finding that the insurance companies' method of determining "reasonable" medical charges breached the policies. According to the opinion, Mark Strawn filed the underlying class-action lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Co. of Oregon, Mid-Century Insurance Co. and Truck Insurance Exchange.Strawn alleged the insurers used cost-containment software to determine "reasonable" medical charges.
Fees incurred in non-binding arbitration -- Party is not required to plead entitlement to attorney's fees incurred during court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration conducted pursuant to section 44.103 because it is only after case has been terminated that a party can determine whether fee-shifting provision of statute has become effective and, if so, file an appropriate motion seeking entitlement to fees -- Even if law had required defendants to plead claim for attorney's fees pursuant to section 44.103, plaintiff waived that argument by not objecting, either before or after entry of final judgment, although defendants sent plaintiff a proposed final judgment stating that trial court would reserve jurisdiction to consider defendants' motion to tax fees and costs pursuant to section 44.103, filed a motion for entitlement to attorney's fees based upon plaintiff's rejection of arbitrator's decision, and sent plaintiff a proposed order granting the motion
Reported at 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1344a
Hospital consent form indicating that surgeons were independent contractors did not, standing alone, conclusively refute apparent agency relationship between hospital and surgeons -- Further, trial court erred in failing to require hospital to properly lay predicate for business records exception to hearsay before admitting consent form into evidence -- Remand to provide hospital with opportunity to attach affidavit laying proper predicate for business records exception -- Parties may submit additional record evidence in support of or in opposition to summary judgment under apparent agency theory, and thereafter, trial court may reevaluate whether genuine issues of material fact exist on this issue
Reported at 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1349a
ACE, AIG FACE SUIT FOR REFUSING TO COVER FULL SETTLEMENT COSTS, Experian Info. Solutions v. Ill. Union Ins. Co., 19 No. 39 Andrews Ins. Coverage Litig. Rep. 6, Andrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009 A credit reporting agency has sued its insurers for refusing to cover costs and attorney fees incurred in connection with the settlement of two class- action lawsuits against it. Experian Information Solutions, which specializes in consumer and business credit reporting and marketing services, says ACE and American International Group are in breach of contract by refusing to pay for any settlement that includes an attorney fee award and related costs.
Subprime: AIG CAN'T MAKE CO-CONSPIRATORS HELP PAY FOR FRAUD, AIG Consol. Derivative Litig., 19 No. 39 Andrews Ins. Coverage Litig. Rep. 8, Andrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Reporter July 2, 2009
Troubled insurance titan AIG cannot sue brokers and reinsurers that allegedly helped it defraud investors of $5 billion with bid-rigging, phantom deals and fake reinsurance schemes, a Delaware state court judge has ruled. Vice Chancellor Leo Strine said the in pari delicto doctrine bars AIG and its former officers and directors from trying to force insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. and other alleged co-conspirators to help pay for any future judgment or settlement that shareholder plaintiffs.
The Law Lady. For more information, click here, where you can request to be placed on our Recent Decisions of Interest mailings, or subscribe (see left column).
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Juror Tweets in $12.6M Case Teach Lawyer a Lesson: Ask About Web Use
Posted Apr 8, 2009, 06:20 pm CDT By Martha Neil
"Juror Johnathan" may have been a bit of a twit, as the N.Y. Daily News said in a headline, for posting tweets on Twitter.com while awarding a $12.6 million verdict in an Arkansas case.
But his real-time brief posts to the Internet social networking site about his work as a juror don't require a mistrial, a judge in the Washington County Circuit Court case decided Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Upholding the late February verdict in a case brought by investors against Russell Wright and his Stoam Holdings building materials company, Judge Mark Lindsay said the tweets by Johtnathan Powell, 29, were in bad taste but didn't rise to the level of improper conduct, according to the news agency.
Although his client's verdict stands, attorney Greg Brown, who represented one of the plaintiff investors, says he has learned an important lesson from the case, the AP recounts. In the future, Brown says, he will ask potential jurors about cell phone and Internet use. More
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"Juror Johnathan" may have been a bit of a twit, as the N.Y. Daily News said in a headline, for posting tweets on Twitter.com while awarding a $12.6 million verdict in an Arkansas case.
But his real-time brief posts to the Internet social networking site about his work as a juror don't require a mistrial, a judge in the Washington County Circuit Court case decided Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Upholding the late February verdict in a case brought by investors against Russell Wright and his Stoam Holdings building materials company, Judge Mark Lindsay said the tweets by Johtnathan Powell, 29, were in bad taste but didn't rise to the level of improper conduct, according to the news agency.
Although his client's verdict stands, attorney Greg Brown, who represented one of the plaintiff investors, says he has learned an important lesson from the case, the AP recounts. In the future, Brown says, he will ask potential jurors about cell phone and Internet use. More
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