DMV In Connecticut Won’t Give Info to Marshals Anymore

Sucks to be them.

Up until last month, state marshals made heavy use of a small room in the Department of Motor Vehicles in Wethersfield when they phoned the Law Enforcement Communications office for people’s last known addresses.

Marshals, and the lawyers they serve papers for, needed to have fresh addresses to make legal service on defendants in civil cases, and to properly execute domestic restraining orders.

But in an Oct. 2 letter to the State Marshal Commission in Hartford, DMV Commissioner Robert M. Ward announced that his agency “will no longer be providing telephone access to the State Marshals for department information.”

The letter stated that marshals would have to send in a written form and a $20 fee to check defendants’ last known addresses. Ward suggested that marshals obtain addresses through commercial Internet databases “such as Choice Point and R.L. Polk services.”

Source: Connecticut Law Tribune: Lawyers May Find It Harder To Serve Papers

The Worst Epithet Ever? Trial Lawyer!

At least if you’re a Republican.  I got this in an email from the AAJ:

We defeated the motion to recommit, [the healthcare bill passed by the house] thanks to many champions of the civil justice system like Congressman Bruce Braley, and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer , who stood up to these baseless remarks, even though some of their colleagues taunted Bruce with chants of "trial lawyer, trial lawyer..."  Bruce was incredible; we are all in his debt.

If I were Braley, I would have said something like, “You’re goddamned right I’m a trial lawyer!  I fight for the rights of average everyday Americans every day of my life.  I’m not some bootlicking corporate sock puppet who takes his orders from a group of amoral moneymen who have run our economy into the ground!”  Then I’d have started shouting “Sock puppet!  Sock puppet!”  And that’s why I’m not in the House of Representatives.

How can you be smart enough to get into Harvard Law, but dumb enough to set fire to a 9/11 memorial in NYC?

Yeah, I’m late on this one.  But it’s still worth bringing up.  Clearly, GPA and LSAT scores don’t determine your intelligence, your fitness to practice, or your worth as a human being:

Updated: The law firm Sidley Austin has rescinded an employment offer to a Harvard law graduate who has turned himself in to police for allegedly setting fire to a Sept. 11 memorial in Manhattan.

The suspect, 26-year-old Brian Schroeder, is a 2009 graduate of Harvard Law School, the Harvard Law Record reports. He was a 2008 summer associate at Sidley Austin; a permanent offer of employment has been rescinded, Sidley Austin partner Bill Conlon told the ABA Journal.

Schroeder turned himself in for the blaze at the Memorial Park chapel housing the remains of unidentified Sept. 11 victims on Saturday evening, according to the New York Post and the New York Times. The remains were unharmed, but mementos such as photos and flowers were either damaged or stolen. Sources told the Post that the Saturday morning fire may have been set as part of a drunken dare.

Source: Sidley Austin Rescinds Offer to New Hire Suspected of Setting Fire to 9-11 Chapel | ABA Journal - Law News Now

On a related note, wouldn’t you hate to be on trial in NYC for trying to burn down a 9/11 memorial?  If I were a judge, I’d seriously consider granting a change of venue motion… then deny it because anyone this stupid gets whatever the jury gives him.

How can a grant be both fantastic, and a needless waste?

If it’s this one:

A group of law schools will help expand an online U.S. Supreme Court database so that it reaches back to the court's first recorded decision in 1792.

The schools received an $874,000 National Science Foundation grant in September to begin the four-year project, which will add 19,675 cases to a database that now extends from the Court's 1953 term through 2008, said Lee Epstein, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law. The group will post 4,400 cases by next summer and add more in installments each year, she said.

The other schools involved are the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Washington University Law School, Michigan State University College of Law and the political science departments at Princeton University and Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y.

Source: Law.com - Law Schools Help Extend U.S. Supreme Court Database to 1792

It’s fantastic that this grant was awarded.  It’s a needless waste because the government should have set this up already.

That said, I noted that my very own Michigan State University is involved.  Go Spartans!  (But why the hell haven’t I heard about it from the school?)

Are 6,000 Seroquel trials on the way?

If so, I foresee a lot of money being spent by both sides to retain local counsel…

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- AstraZeneca Plc may face as many 6,000 trials of lawsuits claiming its antipsychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes after a judge said she will recommend sending the cases back to their home courts.

U.S. District Judge Anne Conway in Orlando, Florida, who is overseeing pre-trial proceedings in federal Seroquel litigation, said yesterday she’ll urge a panel of judges to return all of the cases to courts across the U.S. for possible trials.

Source: AstraZeneca Judge to Urge Return of Seroquel Cases to Courts - Bloomberg.com

Trial Lawyers Recover $2.4 Billion Dollars for Taxpayers

For those of you who think that trial lawyers don’t do anything but line their own pockets, consider the fact that trial lawyers are behind many if not most of these cases:

The Justice Department has secured $2.4 billion in settlements and judgments through False Claims Act cases through the end of September, marking the second-largest annual recovery of civil fraud claims in history.

"It's no secret that health care fraud is a top priority of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the administration," Assistant Attorney General Tony West, head of the Civil Division, told reporters Thursday. West said $1.6 billion represents cases that involve health care fraud recovery.

West said Justice is using the "full panoply" of tools to combat health care fraud both on the civil and criminal front. Last week, West and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, who leads the Criminal Division, said the department is stepping up Foreign Corrupt Practice Act enforcement against the pharmaceutical industry.

Source: Law.com - DOJ: $2.4 Billion Recovered From False Claims Act Cases

Also consider that the fact that $1.6 billion dollars were recovered from the healthcare industry means a lot of doctors and insurers are ripping off the taxpayers.

Georgia Judge Throws 2 Lawyers in Jail

Personally, I’m all for judges holding lawyers in contempt when they show disrespect for the Court.  Otherwise, those who play by the rules suffer.

It may not be a good time for Georgia practitioners to try the patience of Matthew Simmons, the chief judge of Clayton County Superior Court.

Within two business days he has jailed two lawyers for contempt in unrelated cases, according to a Daily Report article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).

Source: Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Dear Trial Lawyers – Try Telling the Public About These “Defensive Medicine” Facts

I just saw that 54% of Americans support medical malpractice “reform” as a way to lower healthcare costs. Trial lawyers need to start spending money to spread the following messages:

If a doctor orders a test he or she feels isn’t medically necessary, that doctor is breaking the law.

Many doctors who run these unnecessary tests receive compensation for these tests.  For example, some doctors own shares in lab companies.  Every test the doctor orders puts money in the doctor’s pocket.  Do you think that the real reason those doctors order unnecessary tests is because they’re afraid of being sued?

Many doctors also own equipment such as MRI machines.  These machines are very expensive, and only get paid off if the doctor uses the equipment to run tests.  Do you think that a doctor who is facing a large monthly bill for his MRI machine is likely to run unnecessary tests out of fear of being sued, or out of fear of not making the payments?

Some hospitals illegally hire doctors because they know that hiring them will lead to more business for them.  Here’s how it goes: Doctor Smith sends 50% of his patients to hospital A, and 50% to hospital B.  Hospital A offers the doctor a job with a big salary increase with the understood expectation that the doctor will start sending more patients to hospital A.  This sort of thing is illegal, but common.  Point out all the qui tam lawsuits over it.

The only way – THE ONLY WAY – we’re going to win this battle is by talking about crooked doctors.  Yes, it’s important to point out all the medical errors out there, but that’s not enough because (a) some people don’t care about others, and (b) some people still think that lawyers make too much money.  Point out how doctors, HMO’s, and insurers game the system and make A TON OF MONEY by doing illegal and unethical things.

Point out how Tenet healthcare – JUST ONE COMPANY – had to pay the government $900 million dollars because of its conduct. 

Work with healthcare lawyers to explain what the corrupt practices in the healthcare industries are, and how much those cost American taxpayers.

Medical malpractice lawsuits cost taxpayers mostly indirectly.  Healthcare fraud cost us directly.  It’s complete and utter bullshit to say that we need to figure out how to stop medmal lawsuits, but not figure out a way to stop doctors from upcoding and other overbilling practices.

Get your act together and start pushing the right messages, or med mal lawsuits will be thrown under the bus to pass healthcare reform.  Mark my words.

Calling 911 because your parents took away your Xbox – not a good idea

I think today is the day I officially became old, because I read this and thought “what the hell is wrong with kids today?”

A Buffalo Grove teen was having fun, fun, fun until his parents took his video game system away.

So the unhappy 15-year-old dialed 911 around 12:50 p.m. Sunday to complain to police about his parents confiscating his Microsoft Xbox 360 as punishment.

Source: Daily Herald | Teen calls 911 after parents take away Xbox

In other news, I’ll be telling kids to stay off my lawn this weekend.

Was this a County health department, or a high school?

Get this – grown adults were wearing ribbons to show their membership in an “I Hate Teena Club,” with Teena being a coworker.  What kind of childish asses start “I hate so-and-so” clubs at work?

A New York appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a county worker who helped organize an on-the-job "club," dubbed the "I Hate Teena Club," to show her disdain for a co-worker.

The 4-0 Appellate Division, 3rd Department, panel found that a hearing officer reasonably concluded that Penny Sindoni had created a "hostile, intimidating, disruptive" and "uncomfortable" work environment by showing animosity for co-worker Christeenia Cargill.

Source: Law.com - Organizer of 'Club' Deriding Co-Worker Properly Fired, N.Y. Court Concludes

How Long Will The Chamber of Commerce Fight To Protect Rapists?

I got this email today, and was surprised that the Chamber of Commerce would be so opposed to letting a rape victim have access to the courts.  Food for thought if you’re considering supporting the organization.

In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was working for a private contractor in Iraq when she was brutally gang-raped by coworkers. Four years later, Jamie is still being denied justice.

Jamie can't file U.S. criminal charges because the rape took place overseas, and a fine-print clause in her contract takes away her right to file a lawsuit in the U.S.

Congress is working to protect the rights of rape victims like Jamie. But, shockingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting it. They say that it would "set a dangerous precedent" to allow rape victims into court.

Organizations endorsing the petition include the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Public Citizen, Consumer Action, Workplace Fairness, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Take Back Your Rights PAC, Alliance for Justice, and the Jamie Leigh Foundation.

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue.

http://pol.moveon.org/chamber/rape/

I hope that the Chamber sees the light on this issue and stops fighting to protect rapists.

Defense Lawyers Getting Twice As Much As Victims

Remember this the next time someone complains that plaintiffs’ lawyers get all the money.

The St. Louis Archdiocese has released financial figures showing it spent $352,000 last fiscal year on payments to victims of predator priests -- and more than twice that amount on lawyers.

Numbers released by the archdiocese Friday show more was paid in legal fees than to victims for five of the past 10 fiscal years.

Source: Law.com - St. Louis Archdiocese Spending More on Lawyers Than on Sex Abuse Victims

Damage Caps Decisions Forthcoming in Four States

You know the best part about blogging?  I can make “golden rule” arguments here.  So I ask you, how much would YOU want to be awarded if you lost an arm, a leg, or an eye due to medical negligence?  Or if you had a loved one die?  I’m guessing it would be more than these four states would allow you to recover.

Georgia ($350,000 cap), Illinois ($500,000 cap), and Oklahoma ($400,000 cap unless willful misconduct is proven) all have decisions pending regarding whether to do away with limits on damages. A fourth case, in Maryland, will be argued in November, and only addresses whether state caps on damages should apply to cases that are resolved via arbitration. Arguments against the caps generally focus on whether a state legislature's decision to put an arbitrary limit on a plaintiff's monetary recovery interferes with the plaintiff's constitutional right to a trial, since the jury's decision as to damages is effectively nullified by the cap.

Source: Courts to decide legitimacy of malpractice award caps - The Clinical Advisor

How long till lawyers start advertising for these erectile dysfunction cases?

I’m dreading the lawyer commercials for this one.

Bisphenol-A, better known as BPA, is the building block of polycarbonates and epoxy resins, plastics that have facilitated modern life. (They're in microwave containers, baby bottles, laptops, and even canned foods.) Tiny amounts circulate in the bodies of more than 90 percent of Americans. And now a team of Chinese and U.S. scientists says it has linked the stuff to sexual dysfunction in men. Even before today's news, plenty of people were getting the willies about BPA. Should this news make you feel less virile? Let's take a closer look.

Source: Sex and BPA Don't Mix, Say Researchers - On Men (usnews.com)

Lawsuit filed against Citibank for raising interest rates on cardholders in good standing

Credit card companies aren’t happy about some changes in federal law that will make it harder for them to screw their customers.  So, they’re screwing customers now by raising interest rates on individuals who make their payments on time.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Rhode Island woman is suing Citibank, claiming the financial giant is trying to squeeze money out of its credit-card customers in advance of changes in federal law due to take place in February 2010.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court earlier this week by Providence lawyer Peter N. Wasylyk on behalf of Portsmouth resident Michol K. Murphy states that Citibank has violated the terms of her credit-card agreement by jacking up the annual percentage rate on her account without cause. Wasylyk is asking the court to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit.

Source: Lawyer seeks class action for credit card rates lawsuit - Projo 7 to 7 News Blog | Rhode Island news | The Providence Journal

Next time you think trial lawyers don’t do anything beneficial to consumers, remember this lawsuit.