News
The U.S. Supreme Court has begun its new term in consensus. In a case involving a California woman who lost her legs while trying to board a state owned train in Innsbruck, Austria, most of the justices doubted that the lawsuit could proceed in U.S. courts since the only contact with the U.S was a travel agent in Massachusetts. This consensus isn’t expected to last as the court will be handling some very divisive social issues such as abortion, religious objection to birth control, race in college admissions, and the the power of public-sector unions in the next nine months.
Federal attorneys have announced that they plan to appeal a ruling that the U.S. government is responsible of some of the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. The suit argued that the construction of the navigation canal known as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet contributed to the conditions of catastrophic flooding in St. Bernard and New Orleans's Lower 9th Ward and that the damage caused by the flooding was an illegal taking of private property without adequate compensation.
Fantasy sports companies Fanduel and Draftkings are being accused by a Kentucky player of negligence and fraud. Adam Johnson of Jefferson County’s suit claims that the players were “fraudulently induced” into putting money into Draftkings because the game is not fair. Allegedly, employees of the two companies have won by using insider information only accessible to them because of their positions in the company.
In spite of tremendous potential that comes with new car safety technology, many Americans are simply turning these features off because they don’t understand how to use them. The lack of knowledge about these features is attributed to a lack of education, outdated driver’s ed materials, and overlooked instructional CDs or DVDs.
Delaware's annual pumpkin flinging event has been canceled for the second year in a row due to a lack of insurance. After an incident where a woman was injured by an ATV, organizers of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin have stated, “[W]e have been unable to locate a willing insurer to adequately protect our host venue, our organization, our fans, and our spectators.” The annual event began in 1986 and allows contestants to use homemade contraptions to launch the pumpkins into the air.
In the state of Nevada, you have to be able to show proof of insurance before you can register your vehicle at the DMV. The DMV also requires proof of insurance before reinstating a suspended or revoked license. If drivers are suspended for a DUI, they are required to bring in a SR-22 Proof of Insurance certificate. New state policy requires insurance companies to notify both the insured and the DMV 10 days prior to cancellation if the insured has a SR-22 policy.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama has determined that Browns Ferry Nuclear Planed which is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority violated worker safety regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in a case against an asbestos victim. James Bobo began working for the plant after the asbestos insulation was installed. At night, his wife Barbara would shake out his clothes and sweep the dust off the floor. She died from malignant pleural mesothelioma a rare lung cancer caused by asbestos in 2013.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a Texas court’s ruling granting Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation summary judgement in an employee discrimination case. After 20 years of employment at Cargill with no disciplinary history, Marcelino Salazar’s employment was terminated for insubordination after he shrugged his shoulders in response to a supervisor's question.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a Mississippi court’s decision in an employment discrimination case. Robert McCollum brought charges against Puckett Machinery Company claiming the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by terminating his employment because his prostate cancer procedures would increase the cost of his employee health-care plan. Puckett asserts that McCollum was terminated because he showed up intoxicated to a sales meeting that happened a week before his second procedure.
Webb Sanders & Williams is proud to announce an early and critical victory on behalf of one of our clients, Singing River Health System (SRHS), in Federal Insurance Company v. Singing River Health System. The case is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Under a new federal court ruling, “features and functions” of software programs are not trade secrets, especially in cases where those with access do not have to sign a confidentiality agreement. Warehouse Solutions Inc., which has developed tracking software for UPS and Fedex, sued Integrated Logistics after its owner, a former employee of Warehouse, created and sold own software that based its visual features directly on Warehouse’s software.
The Department of Justice has issued a memorandum outlining “six key steps” it plans to take in order to hold individuals accountable for corporate fraud or misconduct. While some of these guideline are already practiced by the DOJ, some are new and reflect the DOJ’s focus on individual liability in white-collar prosecution. Click here to learn more about these “six key steps.”
When Jeremy Alcede’s company was forced to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the court ordered him to hand over control of the Facebook and Twitter pages he had created for the company along with the passwords. Alcede refused stating that, since he created the pages, they were his personal property. The court ruled that, since the accounts bore the company’s name and linked directly to the company's website, they were property of the company under the Bankruptcy Code. Read more.
According to the National Safety Council, the number of traffic deaths for the first six months of 2015 is 14% higher than the number of deaths for the first six months of 2014 which has resulted in $152 billion ininjuries and property damage and the loss of 19,000 lives. Experts are claiming that lower gas prices and cell phone usage are to blame.
A New Jersey state appeals court has ruled that the Borgata casino can regulate the weight of its cocktail waitresses, but is returning part of the lawsuit brought by the 21 servers to a lower court to determine if 11 of the women were subjected to a hostile work environment due to the standard. The waitresses at the Borgata also know as “Borgata Babes” are not allowed to gain 7% of their body weight without being fired.
The Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals has affirmed a jury’s decision that St. Paul Surplus Lines must pay Weiser-Brown Operating Company $ 2,290,457.03 in damages for the costs associated with the “loss of control” of an oil well Weiser- Brown operated in Lavaca County, TX. The Court said that St. Paul breached its policy when it failed to either accept or deny Weiser-Brown within 15 days. St. Paul claimed that it did not receive invoices and other necessary documents from Weiser-Brown and was unable to make a decision before the 15 day deadline.
In a recent opinion, the Nevada Supreme Court responded to certified questions from a federal district court judge, and stated that a conflict of interest requires insurers to provide independent counsel for their insured. In the case of Hansen v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2013 WL 6086663 (D. Nev.), the court aligned itself with the majority view, applying the California rule laid out in San Diego Navy Fed. Credit Union v. Cumis Ins. Soc'y, Inc., 162 Cal. App. 3d 358, 208 Cal. Rptr. 494 (Ct. App. 1984).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Mississippi’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Mississippi State University (“MSU”) in a recent employment discrimination action. The action was brought by plaintiff, Dr.
The Mississippi Rule 12(b)(6) standard, and not the Federal 12(b)(6) standard, should be used when analyzing whether a state-court petition contains a sufficient pleading in a remand context. An order released by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in New Horizon Church Int’l v. Philadelphia Ins. Co., et al.
Allstate Insurance Company sued a consortium of telemarketing companies, chiropractic clinics, and affiliated law offices spanning several states, contending they had in sought accident victims to make fraudulent claims in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). Particularly, Allstate alleged that the defendants used aggressive telemarketing to recruit car accident victims and then groomed them to file false claims.