News from April 2007
Bar Association plans events for Law Day
Martha Dickie, president of the State Bar of Texas, will be guest speaker at the Jefferson County Bar Association annual Law Day program on May 4. Lawyers in Jefferson County will recognize the best in their profession next week, and then take some time away from the courtroom to come together for fun and festivities during Law Day 2007 events.
Harris County man sues 39 companies for father's benzene exposure
George Oliver Tanner of Harris County accuses 39 chemical companies of maliciously killing his father with benzene.
Justices of the Peace: Just what do they do?
Justices of the peace in Texas, perching on the lowest rung of the judicial ladder, normally don't attract attention.
Chem worker's family seeks punitive damages in benzene suit
Alfred Jeanis worked 38 years and lived 26 years more, and now his widow and son seek damages for his untimely death.
Trial against State Farm begins in Beaumont
Numerous lawsuits against State Farm Lloyds surfaced after Hurricane Rita whipped through the Golden Triangle. On April 24, one of those suits went to trial.
PA seeks $178,040 for unpaid garbage bill
After several cities in the U.S. rejected the incineration of neutralized nerve gas in their communities, the city of Port Arthur has been making local headlines for allowing the process there as a way to bring revenue to the city.
Collapsed scaffold results in personal injury lawsuit
Christopher Dean Encarnacion Perez Jr., a Total Petrochemicals Refinery employee, is suing United Scaffolding Inc. for improperly constructing the scaffold that collapsed while he was dismantling it.
Former Chevron employee suing for benzene exposure
Keith Hyde Senior citizens Gary and Fern Congram are suing Chevron U.S.A and numerous other petrochemical companies for exposing Gary, Fern's husband, to benzene.
Safety of public, employees topic of courthouse security workshop
After the recent shootings at Virginia Tech and the Johnson Space Center, the county's workshop on courthouse security could not have been more timely.
Foreclosure filed on Nederland family
JP Morgan Chase Bank submitted an application for order for foreclosure against Francis and Maria Tran, and their Nederland home, located at 2704 D Ave., Nederland Texas, 77627.
Couple says lender unfairly foreclosed home
Ronald Benoit and his wife Judith are suing the Never Co., Citi Mortgage and Brian Vogt for unfairly foreclosing on their home and trying to evict them.
County takes PA to court over housing prisoners
After nearly three years of fruitless squabbling, Jefferson County finally figured the only way to squeeze any money out of the city of Port Arthur for housing its prisoners was with a litigation grip.
Custody of postings, broadcasts topic of hearing in Gillam defamation suit
Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam III was surrounded by friends and family after a recent hearing regarding a defamation lawsuit he filed against a local political commentator. Amid talk of sex, lies and videotapes, a case involving a justice of the peace and a political commentator took another step forward this week with a hearing regarding custody of Web postings and radio broadcasts.
Coon asks court to force journalists to let him question them
Brent Coon has filed a motion for civil contempt against Southeast Texas Record editor Marilyn Tennissen and reporter David Yates for not appearing at a deposition last week.
Jefferson County v. Free Speech
The hearing comes unprecedented. In 21st Century America, at least.
Texas court dismisses claim of VIOXX user who said Merck failed to properly warn of the alleged risks
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., April 20, 2007 - Merck & Co., Inc. said today that a Texas court overseeing the Texas litigation rejected a plaintiff's claim that she was not properly informed of the medicine's alleged risks because, in fact, the VIOXX label contained a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved warning. The court order in the case, Ledbetter v. Merck, could have an impact on most
W.Va. doctor at center of asbestosis, silicosis fracas gives up Texas license
Harron CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A West Virginia physician accused of making thousands of silicosis diagnoses for personal injury attorneys has surrendered his Texas medical license.
LU expresses sympathy to Virginia Tech community
Lamar University President James Simmons "On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of Lamar University, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Virginia Tech family," said President James Simmons. "We offer our heartfelt support as the community deals with this horrific and profound loss."
angie take this: Hearing set on Floyd order to grill journalists
A hearing has been set April 25 at 1:30 p.m. on a motion to quash the depositions of two Southeast Texas Record journalists accused of tampering with a jury.