Today I am in Memphis to participate in the evaluations of our appellate judges. A couple years ago Lt. Gov. John S. Wilder appointed me to the Judicial Evaluation Commission. The Commission has the responsibility of evaluating judges and composing a summary statement about each judge for publication in newspapers…
Anna Ayala ain’t got nothin’ on these folks. You remember Anna – she gave Wendy’s the finger – in a bowl of chili – and then said that Wendy’s gave it to her. She is going to prison. Now, a food supplier – of chili – has given the finger…
The Bush Administration is pushing forward with new trucking rules, even though the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found a similar set of rules “arbitrary and capricious” and “a threat to driver’s health” just last year. The rules come into effect October 1, 2005. Here is a summary of the…
Anna Ayala, the woman who claimed that she found a finger in a bowl of Wendy’s Chili, has plead guilty to filing a false claim and attempted grand theft. Her husband has also plead guilty for his part in the scheme. The finger turned out to be that of a…
As reported here early earlier, Guidant has a problem with some of its defibrillators and has know about it for over three years. Now, it appears that it disclosed at least a part of what it knew to the FDA in February but the FDA did not act until June.…
The Supreme Court of South Dakota has ruled that in a civil action arising out of the decedent’s death by suicide the jury should have been instructed to “evaluate the effect of [the decedent’s] mental incapacity in judging [the decedent’s] contributory negligence.” Because the jury was instructed to use the…
Those of you who read the Tennessee Tort Law Letter know that I depise Tennessee’s limitations on the liability of governmental entities. I think a limb or life of a person should be worth the same regardless of whether the tortfeasor is a person, an entity, or a governmental entity.…
I know some of you may be sick of reading about the Texas Vioxx trial, but this piece – a Q & A with Mark Lanier with questions posted by readers – is different and very interesting. Note the resources Lanier poured into this trial.
The NYT has reported that Ford has recalled almost 4,000,000 trucks and SUVs, saying that a problem with the cruise control could cause the vehicle to catch fire. There have been almost 1200 reports of fire to date. Ford had earlier recalled almost 800,000 for a simliar concern. The model…
A new study reports that doctors should not give clot-busting drugs to patients who are going to receive angioplasty. Doing so increased the death rate by 40%. The results were so surprising that the study was stopped before it was complete.