Charla Nash, the woman who was severely mauled on February 16,2009, by a friend’s pet chimpanzee, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. The chimpanzee weighed 200 pounds when it brutally attacked Nash, and left her face completely destroyed. Nash appeared on the talk show wearing a black veil. After talking with Oprah for a bit, Oprah asked if she would be willing to remove the veil. Nash had no objections and stated she was much stronger now and did not care what people saw. When she removed the veil, Oprah explained to her that her face would be all over the media. Nash’s face is extremely disfigured. She lost both of her hands, her eyelids, nose, lips and the bony structure of her middle face. Nash says she is not in any pain, and does not remember the attack at all. Her family has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the chimp for 50 million dollars, and the state of Connecticut for 150 million dollars. Scott Drake interviews Nash's attorney Matt Newman.
A jury has awarded the families of two men killed when their Cirrus SR-22 crashed in Minnesota in January 2003 a total of $16.4 million in damages. The families of the men argued in their lawsuit that Cirrus Aircraft and the University of North Dakota provided training that should have made pilot Gary Prokop proficient in his plane and that the SR-22 was marketed as easy to fly.
Scott Drake interviews Dan OFallon and Phil Sieff counsel for the family of the Passenger James Kosak. O'Fallon and Sieff of counsel with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in Minneapolis.
A Sacramento jury set an eye-popping standard Thursday on the cost of radio station contests that kill and the resulting loss of a mother's love and a wife's companionship. The tab for Entercom LLC came to $16,577,118 in the water-intoxication death of Jennifer Strange in a contest put on by Sacrament radio station KDND "The End" (107.9 FM).
Charla Nash, the woman who was severely mauled on February 16,2009, by a friend’s pet chimpanzee, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. The chimpanzee weighed 200 pounds when it brutally attacked Nash, and left her face completely destroyed. Nash appeared on the talk show wearing a black veil. After talking with Oprah for a bit, Oprah asked if she would be willing to remove the veil. Nash had no objections and stated she was much stronger now and did not care what people saw. When she removed the veil, Oprah explained to her that her face would be all over the media. Nash’s face is extremely disfigured. She lost both of her hands, her eyelids, nose, lips and the bony structure of her middle face. Nash says she is not in any pain, and does not remember the attack at all. Her family has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the chimp for 50 million dollars, and the state of Connecticut for 150 million dollars. Scott Drake interviews Nash's attorney Matt Newman.
A jury has awarded the families of two men killed when their Cirrus SR-22 crashed in Minnesota in January 2003 a total of $16.4 million in damages. The families of the men argued in their lawsuit that Cirrus Aircraft and the University of North Dakota provided training that should have made pilot Gary Prokop proficient in his plane and that the SR-22 was marketed as easy to fly.
Scott Drake interviews Dan OFallon and Phil Sieff counsel for the family of the Passenger James Kosak. O'Fallon and Sieff of counsel with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in Minneapolis.
A Sacramento jury set an eye-popping standard Thursday on the cost of radio station contests that kill and the resulting loss of a mother's love and a wife's companionship. The tab for Entercom LLC came to $16,577,118 in the water-intoxication death of Jennifer Strange in a contest put on by Sacrament radio station KDND "The End" (107.9 FM). Scott Drake interviews the family's attorney Roger Dreyer (Dreyer Babich Buccola Callaham & Wood)
Rob Wood writes in a recent edition of 'Tax Notes" ..."Claims for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and various forms of discrimination (especially race, gender, age, and disability) have burgeoned over the last few decades. To a lesser (but still significant) extent, litigation over the tax treatment of the resulting settlements and judgments has also been active." The IRS has released a memorandum titled ‘‘Income and Employment Tax Consequences and Proper Reporting of Employment-Related Judgments and Settlements." Tax Law Channel host and Wood and Porter partner Rob Wood comments
Rob Wood writes in a recent edition of 'Tax Notes" ..."Claims for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and various forms of discrimination (especially race, gender, age, and disability) have burgeoned over the last few decades. To a lesser (but still significant) extent, litigation over the tax treatment of the resulting settlements and judgments has also been active." The IRS has released a memorandum titled ‘‘Income and Employment Tax Consequences and Proper Reporting of Employment-Related Judgments and Settlements." Tax Law Channel host and Wood and Porter partner Rob Wood comments
A lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco County on behalf of Katherine Aschero (Katie) and Rob Aschero. The case involves the destruction of viable embryos without the Ascheros’ consent by a San Francisco fertility clinic. The embryo destruction is shocking in several respects and demonstrates the need for regulation of these clinics.
The complaint alleges that Laurel Fertility Care and its medical and clinical personnel harmed the plaintiffs by fertilizing many of Katie’s harvested eggs with a stranger’s sperm, rather than that of her husband Rob. The Aschero’s were informed of this after the fact, but Laurel Fertility Care and its personnel destroyed the resulting viable embryos without the Aschero’s consent and in violation of the contract entered into by the parties.
LB Network Commentator and surrogacy lawyer Theresa Erickson comments.
A lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco County on behalf of Katherine Aschero (Katie) and Rob Aschero. The case involves the destruction of viable embryos without the Ascheros’ consent by a San Francisco fertility clinic. The embryo destruction is shocking in several respects and demonstrates the need for regulation of these clinics.
The complaint alleges that Laurel Fertility Care and its medical and clinical personnel harmed the plaintiffs by fertilizing many of Katie’s harvested eggs with a stranger’s sperm, rather than that of her husband Rob. The Aschero’s were informed of this after the fact, but Laurel Fertility Care and its personnel destroyed the resulting viable embryos without the Aschero’s consent and in violation of the contract entered into by the parties.
LB Network Commentator and surrogacy lawyer Theresa Erickson comments.
In Santa Monica, California, consumers have filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that the courts stop DIRECTV from pulling early cancellation penalty fees out of bank accounts or charging them to credit cards without the consumer's knowledge. Fees up of to $480 are being withdrawn from customer accounts without their permission, the injunction claims. Consumer accounts have been overdrawn by the action, while others have experienced bounced checks and over the limit fees. As a result, credit reports may have been harmed. The injunction hopes to stop the withdrawal of funds from current and previous DIRECTV customers until a court can determine if the action is lawful. The company charges an early cancellation penalty for customers who terminate their agreements before the term commitmentperiod has been met. This period is typically 18 to 24 months. The charge applies to anyone who cancels service during this period of time, no matter what the cancellation reason is. Harvey Rosenfieldwho is the founder of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog and Litigation Director Pamela Pressley are heading the case on behalf of consumers. They claim that customers have no notice of the early cancellation penalty prior to their accounts being charged.Jennifer Steinberg, another attorney working the case calls the actions of the company "unauthorized seizure of people's money" and claims the company has refused to stop collecting fees like this.
In Santa Monica, California, consumers have filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that the courts stop DIRECTV from pulling early cancellation penalty fees out of bank accounts or charging them to credit cards without the consumer's knowledge. Fees up of to $480 are being withdrawn from customer accounts without their permission, the injunction claims. Consumer accounts have been overdrawn by the action, while others have experienced bounced checks and over the limit fees. As a result, credit reports may have been harmed. The injunction hopes to stop the withdrawal of funds from current and previous DIRECTV customers until a court can determine if the action is lawful. The company charges an early cancellation penalty for customers who terminate their agreements before the term commitmentperiod has been met. This period is typically 18 to 24 months. The charge applies to anyone who cancels service during this period of time, no matter what the cancellation reason is. Harvey Rosenfieldwho is the founder of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog and Litigation Director Pamela Pressley are heading the case on behalf of consumers. They claim that customers have no notice of the early cancellation penalty prior to their accounts being charged.Jennifer Steinberg, another attorney working the case calls the actions of the company "unauthorized seizure of people's money" and claims the company has refused to stop collecting fees like this.
TotalAttorneys, a marketing association of attorneys that operates legal referral web sites, such as TotalDivorce and TotalBankruptcy , is being sued in multiple jurisdictions by Attorney Zenas Zelotes, a consumer bankruptcy attorney, based in Hartford, Connecticut and Nevada, for violation of bar referral rules that exist in every state. Zelotes talks to LBN host Scott Drake
TotalAttorneys, a marketing association of attorneys that operates legal referral web sites, such as TotalDivorce and TotalBankruptcy , is being sued in multiple jurisdictions by Attorney Zenas Zelotes, a consumer bankruptcy attorney, based in Hartford, Connecticut and Nevada, for violation of bar referral rules that exist in every state. Zelotes talks to LBN host Scott Drake.
The Google Book Search settlement
has its first significant objection. Author and attorney Scott Gant filed a 50-page objection with the court that claims the sweeping deal is an illegal expansion of class-action law.
Deborah Sheasby, Center for Arizona Policy legal counsel, addresses two lawsuits seeking to block enforcement of Arizona's new abortion laws. Planned Parenthood filed their lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court and Center for Reproductive Rights filed in U.S. District Court, Phoenix.
CAP supports the new laws that take effect Sept. 30th. The laws provide restrictions and waiting periods on abortions in Arizona.
Scott Drake talks with Deborah Sheasby
The Google Book Search settlement has its first significant objection. Author and attorney Scott Gant filed a 50-page objection with the court that claims the sweeping deal is an illegal expansion of class-action law.
Deborah Sheasby, Center for Arizona Policy legal counsel, addresses two lawsuits seeking to block enforcement of Arizona's new abortion laws. Planned Parenthood filed their lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court and Center for Reproductive Rights filed in U.S. District Court, Phoenix.
CAP supports the new laws that take effect Sept. 30th. The laws provide restrictions and waiting periods on abortions in Arizona.
Scott Drake talks with Deborah Sheasby
An unusual twist in the multibillion-dollar battle between the federal government and utility companies over spent nuclear fuel threatens to send more than 50 breach-of-contract lawsuits back to square one after a decade of litigation. Last week the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments on whether the government, for the first time, can argue "unavoidable delay" to excuse its failure to pick up and dispose of the industry's nuclear waste. Scott Drake interviewsJerry Stouck, a partner in Greenberg Traurig's Washington office who filed the first suit charging the government with failure to begin picking up his clients' spent nuclear fuel by Jan. 31, 1998, as required by contracts entered into in 1983.
Last week, the recording industry filed a lawsuit against The Ellen Degeneres Show for not getting permission to use more than a 1,000 songs as part of her regular dancing segment. Here to dissect the legal issues involved is lawyer, author and legal commentator, Sean Carter.