News
Counterfeit check scheme targeting U.S. law firms
The FBI continues to receive reports of counterfeit check scheme targeting U.S. law firms. As previously reported, scammers send e-mails to lawyers, claiming to be overseas and seeking legal representation to collect delinquent payments from third parties in the U.S. The law firm receives a retainer agreement, invoices reflecting the amount owed, and a check [...]
Contaminated House Dust Linked to Parking Lots with Coal Tar Sealant
Coal-tar-based sealcoat—the black, shiny substance sprayed or painted on many parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds—has been linked to elevated concentrations of the contaminants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in house dust. Apartments with adjacent parking lots treated with the coal-tar based sealcoat contained house dust with much higher concentrations of PAHs than apartments next to other [...]
Side Effects of Drugs Used During Pregnancy to be Studied
A collaborative study is being conducted by the FDA, Vanderbilt University, and a number of research centers across the country to examine the effects of prescription medication on pregnant women. The research program is using health care information on mothers and their children from 11 participating sites, which will give researchers a database of about [...]
Lawsuit Against BP Texas City Results in $100M Verdict
A federal jury has awarded more than $100 million to 10 workers who were exposed to toxic fumes at the BP Texas City, Texas oil refinery, mostly involving punitive damages after evidence was submitted about the company’s history of problems at the refinery. The case was the first of about 100 toxic tort lawsuits against [...]
CT Scan class action lawsuit
Patients who may have received high doses of radiation during routine brain scans filed a class action lawsuit in Alabama today, accusing the manufacturer, G.E. Healthcare, of poor safety features in the design of the scanner. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently found that that CT perfusion scans, which are used to check for [...]
Can judges and lawyers be friends on Facebook?
In the latest collision of cyberspace and justice, the state’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has ruled that it is unseemly for judges to be Internet “friends” with lawyers who could have cases in their court. “The committee believes that listing lawyers who may appear before the judge as ‘friends’ on a judge’s social networking page [...]
Purported Investments in Personal Injury Settlements – SEC Blocks Early-Stage Ponzi Scheme
Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today halted a Ponzi scheme involving a New York firm that solicited investments involving personal injury lawsuit settlements but instead shipped the money overseas. The SEC obtained a court order freezing the assets of the firm, its president, and several companies holding money from [...]
Texas Daycare Lawsuit Exposes Dangerous Loophole
A lawsuit filed against Woodbridge Day school may play an important role in changing laws and regulations related to daycare owners in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that two-year-old Isabella Estep died in 2008 after ingesting a rock in the classroom. The suit alleges that her teacher failed to attend to her while she lay on [...]
Former Memphis Police Officer Convicted of Excessive Force
WASHINGTON—Isaac White, formerly an officer with the Memphis Police Department, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to using excessive force and causing bodily injury. White faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation. White, 29, admitted in court that on Nov. 1, 2008, he struck a handcuffed arrestee [...]
Virginia State Bar Professional Guidelines To Be Published Online in Searchable Format
The Virginia State Bar Professional Guidelines for the first time are being published online in a searchable HTML format that will allow users to quickly access the sections they are looking for without flipping through pages or waiting for PDFs to download. Because the format will meet most VSB members’ needs, print copies of the [...]
