News from November 2008
Software workers claim no exemption from overtime, file class action against employers
MARSHALL � Workers at two software companies have filed a class action suit against their employers, alleging the companies violated federal law by failing to pay them overtime.
League City woman claims contractor failed to make handicapped renovations at residence
GALVESTON � In an attempt to properly care for her severely disabled son, League City resident Glenda Willis hired an independent contractor to remodel her home.
Quadriplegic's suit against GM alleges Camaro defectively designed
MARSHALL -- When driving his 1995 Camaro, Christopher Reddick's vehicle left the highway and overturned after he lost control. Reddick was severely injured and rendered a quadriplegic.
Appeals court affirms continuation of lead paint suit against Beaumont Housing Authority
Beaumont justices looked at a 10-year-old case last week and affirmed a lower court's ruling to allow a lead paint suit against the Beaumont Housing Authority to continue.
Legally Speaking: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The civil cases that get the most media attention, it would seem, are those that reside at the opposite ends of the spectrum: the very good ones, where liability is obvious (think of the doctor amputating the wrong leg sort of situation); and the highly questionable ones that give the legal system a bad name and make you wonder if the concept of personal responsibility has completely eroded.
This Just In: Recent civil suits filed in Jefferson County District Courts
Recent civil suits filed in Jefferson County District Courts, Oct. 28 - 31, 2008
Recent patent infringement cases filed in U.S. District Courts
Recent patent infringement cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Oct. 29-Nov. 3, 2008
Ike's flood waters fail to stop deluge of Galveston voters
Cox GALVESTON � Hurricane Ike's floodwaters may have damaged numerous residences and businesses and rendered thousands of residents homeless a couple of months ago, but they did not impede the surge of voters at the polls on Election Day.
Restrained former coin company employees can start selling coins again, appeals court says
A pair of former coin company employees who had been enjoined from doing business in the U.S. can start again, ruled the Texas' Ninth Court of Appeals last week.
Broken truck step leads woman to sue three companies
A Beaumont woman and her husband have filed suit against three corporations, alleging her neck and back were severely and permanently injured after she fell through a step on the side of a truck that two of the companies manufactured and another company sold to her.
Class action alleges Pilgrim's Pride misrepresented financial condition
MARSHALL � Alleging Pilgrim's Pride violated the Securities Exchange Act, investors are seeking to recover millions from the poultry producer.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (11:30 p.m.) -- Texans reelect Republican justices to state Supreme Court
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson With 65 percent of statewide votes counted, Texas voters have reelected three incumbent Republicans to seats on the state Supreme Court over Democratic challengers.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (11 p.m.) -- Democrats, Republicans gather at popular hang outs to watch election coverage
Democrats gathered at the Neches Room at Crockett Street erupted and chanted "Obama" once the presidential nominee captured California around 10 p.m.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (9 p.m.) -- Orange County early votes support Republican candidates
While Democrats have pulled ahead in early voting results for Jefferson County, it is a Republican victory by early voters in Orange County.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (8:30 p.m.) -- Dems sweep challengers in Jefferson County early voting
Early voting results for Jefferson County are in, and Democrats have swept the ballots in every race where they face a Republican challenger.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (6:30 p.m.) -- Young voters make their mark at Lamar polling site
Wisheka Lomax walked out of the Health & Human Performance Complex at Lamar University clutching her voter's registration card in her hand and with a big smile on her face.
Tort reformers wary of Obama presidency
Barack Obama (D) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-Efforts to restore fairness and balance to the nation's courts could take a step backward if Democrat Barack Obama is elected president today, tort reform advocates said Tuesday.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (5 p.m.) -- Votes pick up at Marshall
At one polling place in Beaumont, more than 700 people had voted as of about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (12:15 p.m.) - Voters trickle in to West End sites
The anticipated flood of voters was more like a trickle at many of the polling places Tuesday morning on Beaumont's West End.
ELECTION DAY UPDATE (11 a.m.) -- Voting confusion at the courthouse
There were no lines to vote Tuesday morning at the Jefferson County Courthouse, save for the voters who turned up at the wrong precinct and were waiting for election officials to tell them where to go.