Articles Posted in Miscellaneous

Is this the worst lawyer ad of the year?

I hope so.

Here is the owner of  the offending law firm. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Nashville on June 5, 6 and 7.  Here is a list of the tort cases which will be heard and the issues to be determined in each case:

* Simpson Strong-Tie Company v. Stewart, Estes, & Donnell – Rule 23 Middle District Court of TN – Certified Question

1. Does the absolute litigation privilege apply to communications made preliminary to a proposed judicial procedure, where such communications are directed at recipients unconnected with the proceeding in hopes of soliciting them to become parties to it?

Each year the Chamber of Commerce surveys corporate general counsel and "senior litigators" to "to explore how reasonable and balanced the tort liability system is perceived to be by U.S. business. "

The bottom line from the executive summary:  "There has been an improvement in how the senior attorneys surveyed view the state court liability system, with a net increase of 25 percentage points between 2003 and 2007 in those indicating the system is excellent or pretty good. Further, a majority (57%) report that the litigation environment in a state is likely to impact important business decisions at their company, such as where to locate or do business." 

And how did Tennessee rank?  Number 7, enough to earn it a "Best" ranking. 

Florida’s Supreme Court has put its foot down on judges and clerks that seal records.  It has adopted  interim amendments to Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.240 to articulate the circumstances under which court fiings can be kept secret from the public.

The Court describes the amendments as requiring the following:

1. A request to make court records in noncriminal cases confidential must be made by written motion.  [Note: an Agreed Order will not work.]
2. A public hearing must be held on any contested sealing motion and may be held on certain uncontested sealing motions.
3. A sealing order issued by a court must state with specificity the grounds for sealing and the findings of the court that justify sealing.
4. All sealing orders must be published to the public.
5. A nonparty may file a motion to vacate a sealing order.
6. A public hearing must be held on any contested motion to vacate a sealing order and may be held on certain uncontested motions to vacate.
7. A court may impose sanctions on any party who files a sealing motion without a good-faith basis and without a sound factual and legal basis.
8. Most significant for our purposes here, by mandating that the case number, docket number, or other identifying number of a case cannot be made confidential, the removal from public view of all information acknowledging the existence of a case is expressly not allowed.

I have been in Destin the last few days.  KATA and TTLA had a joint seminar at the Hilton.  I spoke Tuesday morning, had dinner with friends last night, and came back today.

Back to work!

Slate has published this article about Monica Goodling and the Regent University School of Law. 

Did you know that "[u]nder Ashcroft, career lawyers were systematically fired or forced out and replaced by members of conservative or Christian groups or folks with no civil rights experience. In the five years after 2001, the civil rights division brought no voting cases on behalf of African-Americans. It brought one employment case on behalf of an African-American. Instead, the division took up the "civil rights" abuses of reverse discrimination—claims of voter fraud or discrimination against Christians."

Poor Comcast.  With its blood-sucking monopoly threatened by pending legislation it (a) decides to lower prices; (b) promise that all future employees will have no less than a room temperature IQ; or (c) have technical problems and not broadcast the Lady Vols National Championship basketball game in Williamson County?

It chose (c).

Apparently the Bush Administration has nationalized Comcast and is bringing all of its management skills to bear in running the organization.  The good news is I now know where to address my complaint letter.

The Beasley Allen law firm summarized a report on the number of civil jury trials in Alabama.  Here is my summary of their summary concerning civil jury trials in 2006:

Motor Vehicle Negligence Cases:  126 trials    Verdict for plaintiff – 59

Products Liability Cases:  6 trials         Verdict for plaintiff – 3

The highest court in Maryland has ruled that the economic loss doctrine did not bar a lawsuit against General Motors alleging that their front seats were unsafe because they collapsed rearward in rear-impact collisions.  The claimants sought recovery of the cost of repairing the seats.

A quick summary of the 69-page opinion:  "Maryland has joined those jurisdictions that recognize an exception to the rule which bars economic loss in tort. As we have seen, the reasoning behind the exception is that the likelihood is so great that severe bodily harm or death will result from the product defect, that we substitute actual present injury or product malfunction with the cost to repair the problem. Assuming that plaintiffs can adequately prove the substantive elements of their claims and objectively quantify the measure of their damages, Maryland has determined that the exception to the economic loss rule advances the practical goal of providing a remedy before the significant loss of life o r limb. To b e sure, in light of the general distaste for aw arding eco nomic losses in tort, if a petitioner has presented enough facts to qualify for the exception to the rule, then he or she has surmounted the grea test hurdle for pleading injury and this court cannot fathom why such economic losses would not qualify as a sufficient injury, or in the case of the Consumer Protection Act, loss for the purpose of pleading those claims."

The case is Lloyd v. General Motors Corp., No. 10 (Md. Ct .App.Feb. 8, 2007).  Read it here.

Watch this story  from the Washington Post increase the heat on the Justice Department, folks.  There will be hearings on this, without a doubt.

A sample:  "The leader of the Justice Department team that prosecuted a landmark lawsuit against tobacco companies said yesterday that Bush administration political appointees repeatedly ordered her to take steps that weakened the government’s racketeering case.

Sharon Y. Eubanks said Bush loyalists in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales’s office began micromanaging the team’s strategy in the final weeks of the 2005 trial, to the detriment of the government’s claim that the industry had conspired to lie to U.S. smokers.