Morgan Adams recently pointed out that this site has the codes for reading crash reports from most states. Great tip, Morgan.
Electronic Court Filing
Lawyers have a lot to worry about. It’s an occupational hazard. Want one more stressor on your plate? If you’re filing electronically, and the court’s website runs so slowly that you start before the filing deadline but finish an hour after the deadline, your filing may not count. Read about it over at our Tennessee Business Litigation blog.
ATLA Convention Update
Well, I am still in Toronto at the ATLA Convention. The Covention has been great; it is wonderful to see old friends and meet new ones.
The word here is that the Vioxx trial in Texas is going great for the plaintiff. I have been receiving daily transcripts and from my review it seems like plaintiff’s lawyer Mark Lanier is scoring a lot of good points.
That being said, the first few trials in a products case usually result in defense verdicts. If this one does, people with “good” cases should not lose faith.
Probate Litigation Blog
Here is a link to an interesting blog about probate litigation.
We were involved in a significant will contest several years ago that ended up going to the Tennessee Supreme Court (Rule 11 denied) and then, believe it or not, to the United States Supreme Court (cert. denied). It was interesting work and, quite frankly, alot of fun.
The blog looks good, too!
Produce Emails or Go to Jail
Over at our Tennessee Business Litigation blog, read about an Arkansas state judge’s decision to order sanctions against a nursing home chain in a class action suit. The sanctions arise from failure to produce emails and other electronic documents, and include $25,000 in attorney’s fees and possible jail time.
GM Black Boxes
General Motors has been the leader in putting event data recorders, or so called “black boxes,” in its passenger vehicles. These devices record a vehicle’s speed, brake systems, seat belt status, and other information in the seconds before an airbag is deployed. Since 1990, GM has been progressively increasing the amount of information that the devices store. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration published a paper analyzing GM’s event data recorders, including some great detail on the information stored in each variation of the devices and a technical explanation for how that information is recorded. Other manufacturers are following GM’s lead, so black box data can be an issue in any case involving a late model car.
Federal Website with Transportation Research Papers
The U.S. Department of Transportation maintains a website with journal articles, research papers, and other published research on transportation. There are articles covering a massive number of topics. It’s a good starting point if you’re looking for information about a roadway problem, the adequacy of signs and pavement markings, or temporary work zone issue.
ERISA Subrogation
Each one of us deals with it almost every day – subrogation or reimbursement.
Many of those plans are covered by ERISA. This post by John Wood on our ERISA blog may be of assistance to you.
Applications for Insurance Coverage
Have you ever got the feeling that the insurance company trying to sell you life insurance did not want you to tell the truth? Have you ever had an agent say “you don’t have to put that down?”
The questions on many applications are very difficult to understand. For instance, “Do you smoke?” I don’t consider myself a smoker in any shape, form or fashion, and no other sane person would. ( I have plenty of other vices, to be sure, but not this one.)
Nevertheless, I made the mistake of answering that question “Yes” 6 years ago because 2 or 3 times a year I used to smoke a cigar with the guys. I use the term “smoke” lightly – it would be more accurate to say that I allowed the cigar to burn between the index and middle finger of my hand while using my right hand to raise a Bombay Saffire on the rocks (two olives) to my parched lips.
Colin Farrell’s Right to Privacy
Colin Farrell does not want Nicole Narain, a former Playboy Miss January, to distribute a 15-minute video tape showing the two of them engaged in sexual activity.
They entered into an oral agreement to keep it private.
He alleges that she was about to market the tape, so he filed suit against her and her alleged potential co-distributors. Here is some (but not all) of the complaint. You can see a photograph of the defendant there, too.