News from April 2009
Woman awarded medical expenses, but nothing for mental anguish over wreck with school bus
A Jefferson County jury found that a Beaumont Independent School District bus driver caused a collision with another automobile and ordered BISD to pay the medical expenses of the other driver.
Developer claims Groves reneged on permit for small apartment complex
A Jefferson County man says he lost money after the city of Groves reneged on its authorization of a permit that would have allowed him to build a fourplex apartment building.
Business, trial bar at odds over pending Texas asbestos bills
Blevins A battle between trial lawyers and business leaders is heating up in Austin over two pending bills in the Texas legislature that could affect who could be named as a defendant in a malignant mesothelioma case.
Man sues Entergy after power line falls on car
A Jefferson County man has filed suit against Entergy Texas, alleging he received severe injuries after a power line fell on his vehicle.
Suit blames Texaco for man's asbestos exposure, illness
Two Texas women have filed an asbestos suit against Texaco and Chevron on behalf of their recently deceased husband and father, claiming he wrongly died of pulmonary asbestosis and lung cancer.
$60M oil and gas case on appeal, defense seeks home court venue
Next month, justices seated on Texas' Ninth Court of appeals will entertain oral arguments in a $60 million oil and gas lawsuit � which the defendants argue belongs in Harris County.
Abbott sues travel company
Abbott AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline)-The Texas attorney general is seeking restitution for about 5,000 consumers he says were duped by two Florida-based travel agencies into buying worthless travel-related software.
Murnane tapped to chair American Tort Reform Association
Ed Murnane WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-Ed Murnane of Illinois, a nationally recognized figure in the U.S. legal reform movement, has been tapped to help lead the American Tort Reform Association.
The asbestos bar targets Austin
It seems reasonable that someone who sues claiming sickness from asbestos should, in fact, be sick from asbestos.
Texas Supreme Court reaffirms liability ruling in Entergy case
Paul Green (R) AUSTIN(Legal Newsline)- Industrial plants, including refineries, are protected against some types of liability claims filed by injured contract workers, the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed Friday, drawing praise from a legal reform group.
Appeals court hears oral arguments from UP to reverse $8.2M verdict
Jefferson County Chief District Judge Gary Sanderson conducted a trial he should have transferred and upheld a jury verdict he should have overturned, Union Pacific Railroad argued before the Ninth District appeals court in Beaumont on April 2.
Attorney, reformers fear pending Texas legislation would reverse asbestos litigation standards
Behrens Two bills pending in the Texas legislature could open the floodgates to mesothelioma plaintiffs with only a minimum amount of exposure to asbestos, said a Washington, D.C., attorney speaking in Austin recently.
58th 5/09
CARLENA RENEE FRIDDLE VS CHARLES PATRICK KELLEY
Sexual harassment suit against Laminack dismissed
Laminack In July 2008, the Record reported that a former paralegal at one of Houston's power-house law firms claimed she was wrongfully terminated for rejecting the sexual advances of superstar attorney Richard Laminack.
This Just In: Recent civil suits filed in Jefferson County District Courts
Recent civil suits filed in Jefferson County District Courts, March 23-27, 2009
Suit alleges Target employees pushed boxes on top of customer
TEXARKANA, Texas � While shopping at Target in December 2007, Bowie County resident Mystee Bennett says she was hit in the head by boxes falling off a shelf. Bennett alleges that on the other side of the shopping aisle, Target employees pushed the large boxes off the shelf onto her.
New business licenses/assumed names issued in Jefferson County
New business licenses/assumed names issued in Jefferson County, March 26 - April 2, 2009
Court rulings usher in new era of patent reform
Paul Janicke A ruling last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the latest in a series of similar rulings that patent professionals believe is swinging the pendulum toward cleaning up frivolous patents and reducing the amount of litigation that results.
Suit alleges auto dealer failed to honor warranty claim
GALVESTON � A Galveston County physician says the Ford Motor Co. and a Galveston dealership refused to honor a warranty claim after his vehicle experienced a major breakdown in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in August 2008, recent court documents say.
Families of teens in collision file suits against allegedly drunk driver
GALVESTON � A two-car collision in La Marque which killed a 17-year-old Texas City girl and seriously hurt three other young women during the early morning hours of March 21 has spawned two lawsuits.