Lawyers.com Blog

What Information Will Your Medical Malpractice Attorney Need?

nospam@example.com (Gregg A. Stone) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:29:48 -0500

When you begin the process of filing a lawsuit for malpractice in Newark, your lawyer will need some information. Telling your side of the story is the first step. After that you will need to give your malpractice attorney a variety of documents and paperwork to help determine whether a medical malpractice case exists.

What to bring to your lawyer

The most crucial information for your lawyer pertaining to the malpractice case is your complete medical records. Your medical records are considered your personal property, and you have the right to get a copy from your doctor if you ask for it. The doctor may charge you a reasonable fee for making the copies.

Bring anything else that might seem relevant. Don’t limit yourself by thinking that something is not important. Every detail that you show to your medical malpractice lawyers will help them analyze your case.

Your Newark Medical Malpractice Law Firm

The Newark medical malpractice law firm of Kirsch Gelband & Stone provides complete assistance to you in medical malpractice litigation. We assure you that your case is handled confidentially and respectfully.

Kirsch, Gelband & Stone, P.A., 17 Academy Street, Suite 707 Newark, NJ 07102.

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FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Hindrances

nospam@example.com (Robert R. McGill) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:41:49 -0500

One would think that the Human Resources Department of the Agency from which a Federal or Postal employee is attempting to file a Federal Disability Retirement application, would be a "helpful" entity. It is indeed a baffling phenomena when one pauses and reflects upon it: What is the purpose of the Human Resources Department? Specifically, what existential purpose does a person serve, who has a positional designation of "Disability Retirement Specialist"? Let me attempt to answer the question in the way it is supposed to be answer: 1. The purpose of the Human Resources Department is to help the Federal and Postal employees of the Agency or Department of which they have been established. 2. The person who holds the designated job entitled, "Disability Retirement Specialist" is one who, theoretically, is there to assist in any way, within the legal confines established by the Agency, in as much as possible, to help the Federal or Postal employee to finalized and complete the disability retirement packet for submission to the Office of Personnel Management. Now, let me pose the following hypothetical: an H.R. person calls up and says, "I cannot forward the disability retirement packet because Box Number ___ on Standard Form _____ has not been checked." Does this sound like the Human Resources Department is fulfilling the existential purpose for which it was established? On the other hand, rhetorical questions are fun to ask, precisely because they are rhetorical, and allow one to expiate some build-up of frustrations on a Friday night, after a long week dealing with multiple agencies. Have a good weekend.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Divorce New York Style

nospam@example.com (Lee Rosenberg) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:06:55 -0500

Divorce New York Style

Drunk Driving Arrest: Now What?

nospam@example.com (Harry S. Steinmetz) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:46:31 -0500

Face it. A drunk driving arrest is a serious criminal matter that you should not treat lightly. If you are faced with a violation of DUI laws, you need a DUI defense attorney who knows the ins and outs of the laws. This is not the time to go it alone.

DUI can ruin your life

If you are convicted of DUI, you are in serious trouble. You face possible license suspension, fines, and in some cases, jail. Your insurance premiums may go up significantly, and you may have to attend classes. You may not be able to drive legally at all. In addition, your insurance company may deny you coverage for your accident if you are found to be guilty of DUI.

Think about the restrictions on your freedom. How will you drive your child to activities or school? How will you get to work? What happens if someone is injured and you cannot drive to the hospital? You face psychological and economic havoc that may take you years to correct. A knowledgeable DUI law firm can help you avoid or minimize these consequences

What to do after a DUI stop

After you are stopped for DUI:

Provide the officer with your driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance
Tell the officer you will not be answering any questions or making any statements
If you are asked to perform road side tests, you do not need to do so. Refuse. The results of these tests will be used against you. Everything you do and say becomes evidence. You can tell the officer that you will blow into a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) machine at the station if the officer has probable cause to arrest you.
Inform the officer that if you are not under arrest, you wish to leave immediately. If you are under arrest, tell the officer you wish to talk to your attorney immediately.

For those in southwestern Washington, always contact a Tacoma DUI law firm before you give a breath sample or refuse to give one. There are serious consequences to your decision and it is best to have a DUI lawyer in Tacoma involved to minimize the impact of what you are facing.

If you are seeking Tacoma DUI attorneys, contact the Law Office of Harry Steinmetz for straight answers and immediate help.
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Do All Personal Injury Cases Involve Physical Injury?

nospam@example.com (Paul S. Rosenberg) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:37:58 -0500

Not all personal injury cases actually involve physical injury. The broad legal term of personal injury can apply to injuries that affect health of mind, body, or emotions. For example, injuries sustained in an accident or incident can be physical, such as broken bones, or emotional and mental, such as pain and suffering.

Other forms of personal injury include the following:

Financial injury has taken place when a person’s economic stability is threatened or property is significantly devalued due to the negligence of another party.
Damage to reputation can also have a substantial impact on emotional and financial well-being. Cases of defamation or slander fall into this category of personal injury.

Whether the injury you or a loved one suffered is physical, mental, emotional, or financial, the West Palm Beach injury lawyers at Rosenberg & Rosenberg have the skill and experience to fight for the compensation you deserve. We know how to prove that the defendant was acting negligently when the accident or injury took place.

Our West Palm Beach personal injury lawyers begin with an assessment of damages. This is a key aspect in determining whether you can seek compensation for your accident. Based on your injuries and damages, your West Palm Beach personal injury attorney will determine whether or not it is in your best interest to file a claim and seek compensation.

A West Palm Beach personal injury attorney from Rosenberg & Rosenberg is the experienced professional best able to assess your personal circumstances and damages and inform you of your rights and ability to file a claim. If you have received physical, emotional, or mental injuries as a result of an accident, you should speak with our skilled attorneys as soon as possible to discuss filing a claim for compensation.

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Reasons why a Virginia Workers' Compensation Settlement Could be Rjected

nospam@example.com (Gerald G. Lutkenhaus) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:25:08 -0500

On November 13, 2009 I attended a recent seminar for the elite of Virginia Workers’ Compensation Claimants’ Attorneys. One of the presenters at the Conference was Deputy Commissioner Courtney Mercer of the Commission. His topic was the pitfalls in submitting a settlement to the Commission. He suggested a list of errors that needed to be avoided in submitting a settlement or risk rejection of the settlement:

NO BLANKET RELEASE: He said the Commission would not allow a blanket release in the settlement that released claims other than the workers compensation claim that was being settled.

BEST INTERESTS OF THE CLAIMANT: He said if the claimant’s attorney did not adequately explain why the settlement was in the best interests of the claimant it would be rejected.

LIFECARE PLAN: He said a permanent total disability claim could require a lifecare medical plan.

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: He said the claimant’s Social Security Disability status has to be addressed. If the claimant is on Social Security, the Commission is willing to approve a lifetime proration so that any offset can be eliminated.

MEDICARE: Most importantly, he said Medicare’s interests had to be considered. He said if the settlement exceeds $25,000.00 and the claimant is on Medicare or eligible for Medicare then a Medicare set aside account has to be approved by CMS. If the settlement is for more than $250,000.00 and the claimant has a reasonable expectation of being on Medicare within 30 months, then a Medicare set aside account has to be approved by CMS. He did say CMS pre-approval is not required if the insurer is willing to pay any additional amounts above the proposed Medicare set aside account. He said if the claimant’s Medicare status was not clear the settlement could be rejected.

CHILD SUPPORT LIENS: He noted settlements are subject to child support liens. He suggested appropriate language for addressing liens in the settlements.

MEDICAL EXPENSES: He suggested if the settlement terminates medical care there must be a specific date as to when medicare care will end. He said if there were outstanding medical bills this needed to be addressed in the settlement to avoid future litigation.

ATTORNEY FEE LIEN: He suggested the parties attempt to work out any lien of a prior attorney. He said the failure to do so would result in a delay in any approval of the settlement.

DEATH CASES: The problem of disbursing the estate to minor was discussed. There were various suggestions on how to overcome the $15,000.00 lump sum limitation.

ANNUTIES: He noted the Commission still makes the casualty carrier ultimately responsible even if the settlement is going to be paid through the purchased of an annuity from a life insurance company.

NO HOLD HARMLESS CLAUSE: The Commission discourages the attempts by insurers to shift Medicare responsibility to the claimant.

In summary, Deputy Commissioner Mercer revealed how one can obtain a quick settlement approval and avoid mistakes. Anyone who is submitting a settlement to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission needs to know the pitfalls in the settlement process.

This may be considered AN ADVERTISEMENT or Advertising Material under the Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyers in Virginia. This note is designed for general information only. The information presented in this note should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

I have been representing claimants in Virginia for over 30 years. In the July 1999 issue of Richmond Magazine I was rated one of the Best Workers' Compensation Lawyers in Central Virginia. In 2003 I received the "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for lawyers. You can get more information from my websites:

http://www.virginiadisabilitylawyer.com or http://www.geraldlutkenhaus.com

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The Unbearable Cost Of Daycare To The Non-Custodial Parent With Limited Means

nospam@example.com (Bryan L. Salamone) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:48 -0500

The Unbearable Cost of Daycare To The Non-Custodial Parent With Limited Means

Since the Child Support Standards Act, it has been clear that a parent’s income would be used to calculate child support. In most cases, a parent who is chargeable with supporting a child or children will have to pay 17% of the parents’ gross income minus FICA. If the parent is a low earned or has limited means, the parent may lose 20% of their income to taxes; 17% to CS; and then be faced to pay pro rata daycare above and beyond child support.

For example, if a mother and father separate or divorce and both have an income of $40K, the parent that does not get custody must not only pay taxes; pay 17% of income to child support; but also be liable for approximately 50% of daycare cost. In our situation, daycare can cot an upward of $350-$400 per week depending on the age of the child and geographical location. For a parent earning $40K, the extra $200 a week or 10K/year in daycare will break that parent and will be an absolute untenable obligation.

A parent’s duty to pay their pro-rata share of daycare is not, in most cases, open for discussion. In fact, it is statutory with more and more parents working (FOX News reported that more than a third of mothers across the United States are employed full time away from home) being that there is more daycare. The increase cost of daycare is a function of supply and demand but also a function of high insurance costs and licensing requirements as well as the economic reality of the amount of space needed to care for a group of children. $400 a week for a 3-4 year old child in full time daycare is not unreasonable. If the business model includes the cost of the daycare center/space/environment; insurance; salary; utilities etc., therefore, more and more non-custodial parents are being forced to pay for daycare as a result of the increase in working mothers and/or families with 2 people employed full time away from home. Fifteen years ago, there was less daycare in divorcing couples as custodial parents were not working and spending time away from home as they are in today’s economy. Even the current unemployment statistics are favorable to females and unfavorable to males “11% of males where only 7% of females are unemployed: therefore, the child support that often allotted to the non-custodial parent combined with daycare has become more and more of an economic possibility. Both the CSSA that provides for a percentage from gross income for each child together with the statutory obligation to include daycare costs pro-rata above and beyond child support have made non custodial parents with modest incomes unable to meet their own expenses. CSSA, for the most part, is not negotiable and starts as a minimum together with daycare which is a statutory obligation. These 2 numbers taken together make cause the average person to be unable to support their own lifestyle.

At Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, PC we have been handling hundreds of divorce and family law cases each ear for well over a decade. We have 9 attorneys and a full staff of paralegals who are completely and wholly dedicated to divorce and family law. Mr. Salamone’s cases have been featured in network news, and we are arguable the largest Suffolk/Nassau matrimonial firm. Mr. Salamone’s successes in trends in custody and support cases are a result of his direct involvement in those cases.

Bryan L. Salamone and Associates 1145 Walt Whitman Road
Melville, New York 11747

www.DivorcelawyerLongIsland.com

Tel:631-424-3597
516-222-ATTY

Fax:

631-424-5023

Will I lose my house if I file?

nospam@example.com (Denise Brown) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:20:20 -0500

Most homeowners think that if they file for bankruptcy, then they will lose their house. This is not always the case, but you should speak with a Louisville bankruptcy lawyer about the specifics of your case.

If you do file for bankruptcy and you own a house, the trustee assigned to your case will first determine if there is any equity in your house. This is calculated by taking the current value of the house minus the costs of the sale of the property minus the payoff amounts on all liens on the property. If there is no equity in the house, then the trustee will let you keep the house. You will be able to keep the house as long as you pay any mortgages on the house.

Bankruptcy does not remove the liability for voluntary liens such as mortgages. It also does not relieve tax liens. Therefore, your lender retains the right to foreclose on your property if you do not pay your duties.

As long as you continue to pay your mortgage, you will not lose your home. You need to remember that banks are not in the business of owning properties and selling them and do not want to own your property. They will only resort to foreclosure if that is the only way for them to collect what is owed to them.

If your home does have equity, the trustee and courts will determine if the equity is exempt. Any assets that are exempt are yours to keep and cannot be included in the bankruptcy proceedings. If the entire amount of the equity is exempt, then you will be able to keep your house as long as you continue to pay your mortgage. If the exemptions are not enough to protect your equity, then you may want to consider filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

It is advisable to speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney about your case. He/she will be able to help you determine the amount of equity you have in your house, if any, and if the equity is exempt. Your attorney should be able to help you determine if bankruptcy is the best option for you as well as the type of bankruptcy best suits your needs.

This article has been provided by Denise Brown’s Legal Direction, Louisville bankruptcy attorneys, 502-587-0331, www.4realdirection.com.

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The Big Apple Map

nospam@example.com (Joseph A. Marra) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:01:52 -0500

Another change with respect to slip and fall accidents is the existence of the Big Apple Map. In 1979, the Administrative Code was amended to establish a prior notice requirement for sidewalk and crosswalk injury claims against the City. No matter how serious the injury, you cannot sue unless the city has received prior written notice of the condition and has not corrected it within 15 days.

To counter this problem of notice, in 1981 the New York State Trial Lawyers Association established the Big Apple Map to give written notice to the city. The map shows defects such as broken curbs, uneven sidewalks, potholes, and hazardous depressions which your Bronx personal injury attorneys can rely on to fulfill the notice requirement.

Law Offices of Joseph A. Marra - Bronx Injury Lawyers
147 East 233rd Street, Bronx, NY
(888) 381-7856
Map

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Corporate Formation for Internet Businesses

nospam@example.com (Mark G. Clark) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:23:19 -0500

Attorney Mark Clark discusses business formation concerns for internet entrepreneurs in this interview on Traverse Legal Radio titled Corporate Formation Issues For Internet Entrepreneurs.

Traverse Legal Radio
Click Here To Play Show

With expert: Attorney Mark G. Clark

Show sponsor: Traverse Legal, Corporate Lawyers

Transcript excerpts below.. (Read entire interview transcript here)

DAMIEN: Well, we're talking about LLCs. What is a Limited Liability Company, Mark?

MARK: Well, Damien, a Limited Liability Company or what is more commonly referred to out in the public as an LLC is a business entity. Similar to a corporation or sole proprietorship or a partnership, but it has some features that may be more beneficial. As the name suggests it is a limited liability company. What that means is that you can create for your business this type of a business entity and limit yourself from liability. Really there are two types of liability that people who own and/or form businesses are concerned with. Those are protecting themselves from liabilities such as a casualty liability where for instance in the course of your business you cause or create a car accident and you have inadequate insurance. What you've done then is you've created a business entity to take the liability exposure from that event. The more common reason that people would want to form a limited liability company or LLC is to protect themselves from business debt. If for whatever reason the business is not doing well, or ultimately fails for instance, the individual is protected from paying the company's debts and obligations in the event of a business failure.

DAMIEN: What are some other reasons that someone would want to create a limited liability company?

MARK: The most common candidate for a limited liability company is a small business or a family business. It used to be, Damien, more than ten years ago...there was really only one option for forming a business entity to protect yourself from liability and that was the corporation. Now the corporation is a little bit more complex. It involves the issuance of shares of stock and the creation of boards of directors and officers and it was very cumbersome or difficult for the small business owner or the family owned business to operate in that type of a business structure. Now the limited liability company has been around for more than ten years, but about ten years ago or so the IRS came down with a revenue ruling which made it clear that this more informal type of organization was going to receive the same type of beneficial tax treatment that an S corporation had. And that is that income that you generate will flow thru to you individually and not be taxed twice. A limited liability company is less formal than a corporation. It operates more like a partnership and a limited liability company is created and formed by essentially creating a document that is much like a partnership agreement. It is very flexible and it can be created to suit the individual business owner’s needs. You're not stuck with what the laws used to provide for which was essentially a corporate form of business entity.

WHY THE FELA IS BETTER THAN WORKERS' COMP

nospam@example.com (Robert H. Wendt) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:02:48 -0400

The FELA provides a much broader array of remedies than the traditional workers' compensation system. For the most part, workers' compensation benefits tend to be fixed and arbitrary, and to grossly under-compensate injured workers. For example, under workers' compensation, an injured employee receives only partial wage reimbursement benefits and nothing for pain and suffering. Under the FELA, however, an injured railroad worker can recover all of the damages traditionally associated with a law suit, including all of his or her lost wages and benefits (past and future), medical expenses (past and future), pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

To recover under the FELA, the injured worker must first establish some negligence on the part of the railroad. Again, this differs from workers compensation laws which do not require the employee to prove negligence. However, the amount of negligence that must be demonstrated under the FELA is slight. Essentially, the worker needs to establish that the railroad failed to provide him or her with a reasonably safe place to work.

The FELA also has provisions to deal with situations in which a workers' own negligence may have combined with that of the railroad to bring about the injury (a principle known as "contributory negligence"). Basically, the way the law works is that if a railroad worker is found to be partly responsible for an accident, any damage award will be reduced by the workers' contributory negligence. For example, if a jury decides that an injured worker is entitled to a total recovery of $100,000 (for lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.), but also decides that the worker was himself 25% responsible for causing the injury, the ultimate recovery by the employee would be $75,000 - the jury's $100,000 verdict minus 25% of that amount for the employee's own contributory negligence.

In some cases where the railroad has violated a Federal railroad safety law, such as the Safety Appliance Act or Locomotive Inspection Act, there is no reduction for contributory negligence and the railroad will be liable for all damages. Another important protection of the FELA is that it makes it a crime for a railroad to intimidate its workers from providing information about an accident to an injured employee's attorney.

At the railroad accident law firm of Yaeger, Jungbauer & Barczak, PLC., our attorneys have decades of experience in railroad crossing accidents and work collaboratively with each other to share information, research, and new
concepts.

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THE YAEGER FIRM FIGHTS FOR SUFFERERS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

nospam@example.com (Robert H. Wendt) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:51:48 -0400

The firm has recently begun a program of providing tests for railroad workers to determine if they have symptoms related to carpal tunnel. This testing and consultation about railroad accidents and workplace injuries will take place throughout the country as the Yaeger Firm continues its proud 75 year history of helping rails seek compensation for work related injuries under the Federal Employers Liability Act.

YJB&W partner Bob Wendt is heading up this initiative. After successfully litigating several carpal tunnel claims, Bob realized that a substantial number of rails may suffer from symptoms related to carpal tunnel syndrome. He also recognized the need to help these injured people who are often the victims of an unsafe workplace. Bob said, “The railroads kept secrets about their knowledge of how the railroad work environment creates the circumstances for carpal tunnel to happen. We are stepping up to fight for those who have been overlooked by the railroads.”

In 2003 Bob created and successfully litigated a new way of pursuing carpal tunnel claims on behalf of injured rails. He brought together six injured workers in a “consolidation order” that allowed all of their cases to be litigated as one case. “This is a huge benefit to anyone who has a carpal tunnel claim,” Bob said. “It gives each individual a greater pool of resources to draw on, from medical and safety experts, to legal work and court time. There are so many carpal tunnel claims that it could take an injured rail years to bring a case to court. With a consolidation order everyone gets their day in court.”

For 75 years the attorneys and staff of the Yaeger Firm have been dedicated to defending the rights of Union railroad crossing workers throughout the country. We understand the seriousness of an injury and the impact it can have on a persons life and we are committed to helping them in their time of need.

CARPAL TUNNEL: THE FACTS

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition that can cause severe pain and discomfort in your hands and fingers. If untreated it can lead to permanent nerve damage and reduced hand function.

CTS is caused by a compression of the median nerve, which runs from the forearm to the hand and carries signals between the brain and the muscles of the hand and fingers. The median nerve goes through a "tunnel" formed by the carpal ligament and carpal bones of the wrist. If these tissues are damaged due to force, awkward posture, and repetition, the tissues will become inflamed, creating pressure inside the carpal tunnel and compressing the nerve. This compression will lead to symptoms of pain, tingling numbness.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of many cumulative trauma disorders that are often referred to as "repetitive stress injuries", "overuse syndrome," and "wear and tear disorders". In the railroad industry these types of injuries may be caused by workplace factors including repetitive motions, forceful exertions, forceful gripping, vibration, and awkward postures.

Treatment:

The best treatment starts with early recognition and intervention, preferably in the earliest stages of the symptoms. In less advanced cases the physician may recommend non-surgical treatment, which may include the use of antiinflammatories and/or wrist splints. In those cases where the disease process is more advanced surgery is often recommended.

The carpal ligament acts as the roof of the carpal tunnel. A surgeon can relieve pressure on the nerve by releasing the carpal ligament. This type of surgery may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to recover from, and in the vast majority of cases the patient is able to eventually return to normal work activities.

Carpal Tunnel and the Federal Employers' Liability Act:

If the injuries leading to carpal tunnel are caused in whole or in part by the conditions in the workplace that were not reasonably safe, a worker may be entitled to compensation. The railroad industry has not fully responded in recognizing the workplace risks associated with carpal tunnel. Equipment and work procedures have not been generally modified to minimize the problem. Little has been done to educate its employees about prevention or how to recognize the symptoms.

The time limit in which injured railroad crossing workers must file suit is within three years of the date when they knew or reasonably should have known that they suffered from carpal tunnel related to their work. Because the start of this time period may be difficult to determine, it is best to seek legal advice if you, the employee, recognize symptoms which signal the onset of carpal tunnel. These claims can be difficult and complicated, not only due to the medical issues but also because non-work behavior such as recreational activities may contribute to CTS symptoms. The sooner you seek legal counsel, the sooner these issues can be evaluated to determine if you have a viable claim.

Please contact the firm for railroad crossing accidents and other related injuries.

Continue reading "THE YAEGER FIRM FIGHTS FOR SUFFERERS OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME"

Understanding the Appeal Process

nospam@example.com (Thomas T. Overton) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:23:01 -0500

An appeal is when a party in a lower court proceeding asks the appellate court or higher court to review and reverse the decision that was decided by the lower court.

In a criminal case, after a defendant is convicted and sentenced, he or she has the chance to appeal the sentence. If the conviction is a product of a guilty plea, the defendant is permitted to ask the judge for “leave” to appeal the verdict. The defendant also has the right to appeal if the conviction resulted from a trial. An appeal is not a retrial of the underlying proceeding. Instead, the appellate court reviews the trial record to make sure that all of the proceedings were conducted in a manner that was fair and lawful.

Once an appeal begins, the appealing party submits to the appellate court legal briefs explaining the trial courts errors, along with a copy of the previous trial-court transcripts and any of the exhibits used at trial. The opposing party can then submit their own brief. Additionally, the appellate court can schedule oral argument. These arguments are usually very brief and focus only on the legal issues. The appellate court then reviews the entire record for any errors that could have altered the conviction. But the appellate court will disregard any harmless errors, which are errors believed not to have affected the verdict.

The appellate court will also disregard what they believe are mistakes of trial strategy. For example, an error that typically alters the verdict is one that hinges on whether certain evidence, or possibly a confession, should not have been allowed at trial. If the appellate court reverses in this situation and excludes the evidence, the prosecutor then has the ability to retry the case without the evidence or must dismiss the charges.

If the defendant wins the appeal, the prosecutor then has the option to appeal to a higher court. Often times, the prosecutor will offer the defendant a reduced plea, which would include a sentence of time already served. This may be ideal for a defendant, who might not want to run the risk of being convicted again if the case is retried. Sometimes the defendant will insist that he or she is not guilty, and will request a new trial. The prosecutor could also be adamant that the defendant belongs in prison and take the case to trial.

This article was contributed by the Tennessee criminal defense Law Offices of Thomas T. Overton, 615-250-8000, www.tncriminallawfirm.com.
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How do you speed up the processing of your motorcycle accident claim?

nospam@example.com (Joseph L. Messa) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:11:57 -0500

Motorcycle accidents are on the rise, especially during the warmer summer and fall months. These accidents are often not caused by motorcycle riders. However, once an accident has happened, it may take a long time to get your bike fixed to get it replaced.

Insurance companies move at different speeds. Some companies do not focus a large portion of their business on motorcycle insurance. As a result, their processing times might be slower.

You may not be able to speed up your claim, but it helps to have documents that indicate the value of your motorcycle and any aftermarket or other customizations you may have done. Have valuations of your motorcycle prepared by experts in the motorcycle community including the dealer you purchased it from and any qualified professionals who may have enhanced it. If your bike is totaled after a motorcycle accident, the insurance company will retain their own experts to assess the reimbursement value. Having your own documentation of your motorcycle's value will be extremely important as this time.

One of the best things you can do for yourself when you get your motorcycle license and your bike is to choose an insurance provider and broker who have expertise insuring motorcycles. After a motorcycle accident, the best thing you can do is find an experienced motorcycle accident attorney.As motorcycle accident lawyers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Messa & Associates has the experience and skill to get the attention of those who should take responsibility for the damage caused to your vehicle and your life. Our attorneys take cases all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and their neighboring states. Call toll free at 1-866-403-4529 to set up a free consultation with a Philadelphia motorcycle accident lawyer. Pennsylvania Motorcycle Accident LawyersMessa & Associates
123 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (866) 403-4529New Jersey Motorcycle Accident AttorneysMessa & Associates
2091 Springdale Road, Suite 2
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
Phone: (856) 810-9500
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WOMAN FACES THEFT CHARGES FOR FALSE INK CARTRIDGE RETURNS

nospam@example.com (William O. "Bill" James) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:35:23 -0500

A 41-year-old Willmar woman made her first court appearance Tuesday on three felony theft charges for allegedly making almost $5,800 in false ink cartridges returns at an Office Max in Minnesota.

Kelly Marie Lipinski was released on her personal recognizance and ordered to have no contact with the Office Max store or employees. She is scheduled to appear in court in Kandiyohi County District Court on Jan. 11, 2010.

According to the complaint, loss prevention personnel at Office Max contacted Willmar Police in September and reported that there were an unusually high number of returns of cash refunds at the local store. The returns were for mainly printer ink cartridges and were recorded by Lipinski.

The case came to light because the return of ink cartridges are not typically reinventoried because they are usually opened when returned.

The Office Max officials had tracked down a customer who had purportedly made a return, logged by Lipinski. The person denied making the return. The officials had already interviewed Lipinski, who allegedly admitted to making the false returns, then taking cash refunds at the end of her shift. She reported the theft was about $3,682.04 on 44 returns this year, and about $4,800 last year. She had given a written admission to the store officials. Lipinski was interviewed by police and explained she had looked up the electronic receipts in the store’s computer, picked cash transactions, entered a refund and then took the cash at the end of her shift. The total theft was for $5,776.67 from July 2008 to August 2009.

On a differnent note, a Bridgewater, NJ resident charged with shoplifting printer ink cartridges from Costco

Hoa Nguyen, 56, of East Main Street in Bridgewater was arrested and charged with shoplifting $82.99 worth of HP ink cartridges from Costco.

For more information on what to expect in a criminal case, please contact a criminal lawyer in Arkansas at the James Law Firm at 1-888-831-5635.

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Drive Hammered, Get Nailed!

nospam@example.com (C.D. Owens) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:43:36 -0500

The Holiday season is about to begin, with parties, get-togethers, friends, families … and alcohol. Arizona’s task force targeting drunk drivers is continuing in full force with the slogan, “drive hammered, get nailed,” and statistics prove that they are serious about it: while the Fourth of July weekend netted over 300 drunk drivers, the Labor Day weekend brought in almost 1,000, with 315 facing extreme DUI charges and 92 people under the age of 21 arrested (AZCentral.com).

The Phoenix DUI Attorneys at Owens & Perkins strongly recommend that you name a designated driver if you are going to drink. A DUI can do more than send you to jail – it can send you (or someone else) to the morgue. But what does just a half a glass of red wine during dinner do to your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content)?

Figuring your possible BAC is simple: go to www.opduilaw.com and click on the Blood Alcohol Content Calculator to see how much alcohol, what kind, and within what time limit, may create a .08 or above BAC– and potential DUI arrest. For example, if you’re a woman and you drink two 16-ounce beers in the course of one hour, you’re probably at the legal limit (for a man, drinking three beers may put you at .08). And remember, you can be ticketed even if you do not have a BAC above .08. The officer must simply determine that you are impaired to the slightest degree.

You don’t even have to be driving to be ticketed – you can be sitting behind the wheel in the parking lot, because that’s considered “in control” of a vehicle. So if you’re waiting for your non-drinking friend to arrive, we advise that you do not wait in your car. Contact a Phoenix DUI defense attorney to learn more about drunk driving laws in Arizona.

But above all, don’t become just another statistic. The Holidays are a great time to celebrate, to renew old friendships and gather with friends and family. The last thing your loved ones want is to remember the season as the anniversary of losing you.

Owens & Perkins, Attorneys at law

7322 East Thomas Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85251Phone: (877) 237-5966
24 Hr Phone: (480) 266-0000
Fax: (480) 941-2215

Website: http://www.opduilaw.com

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North Carolina DWI Laws Some of the Thoughest in the Country

nospam@example.com (John C. Fitzpatrick) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:19:24 -0500

If you have been arrested for DWI in North Carolina,
it is critical that you contact a North Carolina drunk driving defense
lawyer immediately. North
Carolina’s "Booze it and lose it" campaign demonstrates
the attitude of law enforcement towards those drinking and driving; however, it
isn’t actually illegal to drink and drive.We certainly do not encourage drinking and driving, but you should be aware of the rights provided you by the North Carolina DWI laws.

North Carolina DWI law is primarily governed by North Carolina General
Statute Sect. 20-138.1 and Sect. 20-16. Like many states, North Carolina DWI
law includes both a traditional driving while impaired charge, and a per se
charge. Typically, when someone is arrested for DWI or a related North Carolina drunk
driving charge, they will confront both charges.

Traditional driving while impaired charge, relates to "appreciable
impairment.” This count does not depend on a particular blood alcohol level.
The prosecutor will attempt to prove the traditional North Carolina DWI charge
by demonstrating appreciable impairment through the suspect’s driving pattern,
their physical appearance, their performance on field sobriety tests, and the chemical
test results.

North Carolina DWI law for the "per se" charge relates to blood
or breath alcohol levels of .08% or higher. Current North Carolina law forbids
the use of the roadside breath test for other than probable cause to arrest
someone for drunk driving; this means that the roadside tests are not to be
used to establish impairment or violation of the per se law.

North Carolina
drunk driving laws are some of the toughest in the country. Recent amendments
to North Carolina DWI laws include laws that:

Strengthens the open
container law to prohibit anyone in motor vehicle from having open
containers of beer or wine while in a public vehicular area.
Strengthens the ignition-interlock
requirement requiring the alcohol-sensing device installed not just in his
or her primary vehicle, but all vehicles registered in their name.
Establishes a blood alcohol
content of 0.04 for those previously convicted of DWI.
Establishes a blood alcohol
content of 0.00 for those who have been convicted of a second DWI.
Requires those who are
convicted of having a blood alcohol level of .16 or greater to use an ignition
interlock system in their vehicles before their license is restored.

North Carolina DWI convictions are
subject to a complex, multi-level sentencing, rather than the traditional
approach of other states where penalties are simply enhanced for multiple
offenders within a certain time frame (usually 5, 7, or 10 years). Because
of the variables and possible punishments, it is critical that someone arrested
for drunk driving in North Carolina contact a qualified North Carolina DWI
defense attorney immediately.

The attorneys of The Law Offices of John C. Fitzpatrick have
successfully defended DWI charges in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough,
Raleigh and surrounding areas for more than 10 years.

If you've been charged with DWI, call now to schedule a consultation.

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Federal Disability Retirement: OPM may say so, but... (II)

nospam@example.com (Robert R. McGill) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:50:07 -0500

Then, of course, there are the multiple "other" issues which the Office of Personnel Management "says so", such as failure to pay the full amount of back-pay due; failure to compute the average of the highest-3 consecutive years correctly; reinstating the full amount of FERS once a person becomes no longer eligible for Social Security Disability benefits; arbitrarily and capriciously deciding that the medical report is not "good enough" in answering a post-disability approved, Medical Questionnaire; failing to compute the earned income in any given year properly, and thereby informing the disability retirement annuitant that he or she earned over the 80% limit of what the former federal employee's former job currently pays; and a host of other issues. My specialty is in obtaining disability retirement benefits for my clients; I only selectively get involved in post-disability annuity issues, but the point here is that the Office of Personnel Management has a track-record of being in error, in multiple ways, on multiple issues, in volumes of cases. It is thus important to recognize that the Office of Personnel Management is not an infallible agency. Far, far from it, they are merely made up of people who are subject to error, but often stubbornly so -- unless you counter their denial in an aggressive, but calm and rational manner. If a denial comes your way, do not get distressed; prepare your case well, and lay out the groundwork necessary to win.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Construction Accidents in New York City

nospam@example.com (Martin W. Edelman) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:55:22 -0500

Construction accidents are one of the leading causes of job-related deaths for workers in the United States. Accidents do happen, and in construction their likelihood has increased over the years. Therefore, it is imperative for you to have the best construction injury attorney in New York City.

According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Construction accidents and injuries have increased more than 40 percent compared to 2008
Ten percent of all construction workers sustain a work-related injury
In 2006, 5,703 fatal work injuries were reported in the U.S.
Construction accidents made up 1,226 of these fatal work injuries

Types of construction accidents

Construction accident attorneys in New York City can help with accidents resulting from the following types of injuries and hazards:

Exposure to noise, chemicals, and dust
Falls from scaffolds
Power tools and other equipment
Electrocution
Defective or unsafe equipment
Falling debris, beams, and construction materials

You should seek out an experienced lawyer in construction contract law in New York City to ensure that your rights are given the highest priority.

Current construction accident headlines

Each year in New York City alone there are hundreds of construction related accidents that end in injury or even death. The majority of accidents that make the media headlines are the result of failing scaffolds and cranes, as well as falling beams and debris.
Here are of some of the most recent construction-related accidents in New York City:

August 2009, Queens, NY–A crane operator on the Throgs Neck Bridge was killed when the beam of the crane fell off, killing the operator.
August 2009, Queens, NY–Queens Construction road workers were repaving Rockaway Boulevard when a speeding car crashed into the construction site and into workers.
August 2009, Brooklyn, NY–A construction worker fell to his death when scaffolding malfunctioned.
February 2009, Staten Island, NY–A wall collapsed, killing a construction worker.
March 2008, Manhattan, NY–Two cranes collapsed, killing 8 people and injuring 25 others.

A construction law firm in New York City would be able to counsel and advise the families of the above victims as to their rights under New York City law concerning construction accidents.

Continue reading "Construction Accidents in New York City"

New York's Scaffold Law

nospam@example.com (Martin W. Edelman) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:20:39 -0400

What is the Scaffold Law in New York?

The New York Scaffold Law is under Labor Law section 240. This statute imposes strict liability on general contractors and building owners when workers are injured as the result of a fall from a height. It requires them to provide workers with proper safety equipment and a safe worksite. If a construction worker is injured because the owner or general contractor failed to provide for their safety, then the owner or contractor can be held fully liable. New York Scaffold Law applies only to work at elevated heights and does not apply to the owners of one or two family dwellings. This does not mean that the owners of the single family dwellings are exempt from liability. They might be responsible for any injuries from a tort or negligence standard instead of the statute’s “strict liability.”

Strict liability often applies when people engage in inherently hazardous activities, such as construction work. In essence, this means that no matter how careful the general contractor or building owner is, they are liable for the injury. Strict liability in New York construction contract law discourages reckless behavior by forcing owners and contractors to take every possible safety precaution. By making building owners and general contractors responsible for worksite safety, the Scaffold Law ensures that owners and general contractors pay attention to safety issues.

In the unfortunate event a construction injury occurs, some of the damages that a construction worker can sue for include loss of earnings, medical expenses, rehabilitative expenses, compensation for the pain inflicted, and compensation for permanent disability. There may be compensation for the level of impairment of a spouse or a parent and for permanent suffering such as a disfigurement.

To better know your rights and remedies in a construction site injury, please call toll free one of our construction accident attorneys in New York City at Edelman & Edelman, P.C. at 1-866-925-9195 and speak to a lawyer about your accident.

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"But I Didn't Plagiarize!": When You Are Charged With Academic Dishonesty

nospam@example.com (Matthew David Keenan) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:43:00 -0500

There are few student vices that a college or university professor detests more than plagiarism. Plagiarism can be loosely defined as passing off someone else’s work as your own without proper attribution. The work may be that of another student or an author off the web. Some schools even prohibit using your own work that you may have completed for another course without the current instructor’s consent. Some schools consider paraphrasing a form of plagiarism.

To catch students who plagiarize, teachers can submit student papers to websites such as www.plagiarism.com to find sentence by sentence matches from the internet.

Once a student is caught, the penalties may be severe. You may be failed from the class or suspended. Some schools have a zero tolerance policy that could lead to expulsion.

What can you do? If you are charged with plagiarism, there is still hope. An experienced attorney can help you determine the best avenue for a defense on procedural or substantive grounds. Did the school follow its own student policy manual procedures when charging you with the offense? The policy manual is like a contract between you and the school, and the school is largely bound by it.

Is it clear that what you submitted actually constituted plagiarism? The definition of plagiarism can be a slippery slope. At what point does a paraphrase become an unauthorized use of someone else’s work? If you use one sentence off the web, but cite the source elsewhere in the paper, have you plagiarized?

Even if you admit you lifted the majority of your paper off the web, you may still qualify for a less severe penalty. Perhaps you are generally of good character, but were under exceptional stress. Perhaps expulsion is too extreme for a minor degree of plagiarism.

If you are charged with plagiarism or academic dishonesty, consult an attorney who practices school law right away. It is important to act quickly to preserve your rights. By attempting to explain yourself to the school, you may inadvertently cut yourself off from a valid defense by digging yourself into a hole. If you have questions about your situation, feel free to contact me at 847-568-0160 or email me at matt@mattkeenanlaw.com for advice

Continue reading ""But I Didn't Plagiarize!": When You Are Charged With Academic Dishonesty"

Personal Injury Statistics in Chicago

nospam@example.com (Glenn C. Ronaldson) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:57:36 -0500

The city of the big shoulders is also a city with big motor vehicle accident numbers. Whether those accidents are translated into property damage, injuries, lost wages, divorces, medical bills, foreclosures, therapy and rehabilitation charges, re-education tuition, unemployment benefits, stress and emotional trauma, or lost lives, the costs are big.

If you consider these statistics, you may drive a little more carefully the next time you hit Chicago’s streets. Instead of figuring out how far you can exceed the speed limit without getting caught, maybe you will give some thought to how you would feel if you were the driver who ran over one of the three pedestrians killed in 2007. Instead of drunkenly insisting on your American right to drive, intoxicated or not, maybe you’ll hand your keys to a friend. Instead of luxuriating as king of the road, maybe you’ll give that tractor trailer –or that bicycle-- a little more space. Instead of yelling at the little old lady blocking the lane ahead of you, maybe you’ll watch her carefully and be ready to drive defensively.

According the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety Statistics, in 2007 in greater Chicago, there were 120,892 motor vehicle crashes involving, predictably, almost twice as many vehicles (240,397).

Drivers in 103,090 of these 2007 accidents reported property damage to the Illinois DOT, But that, of course is not where the real cost lies.

The Division of Traffic Safety says that 17,638 accidents involved injury. The total number of ground transportation injuries in Chicago in 2007 was 24,612; nearly 3000 were extremely serious.

Sooner or later, someone will try to tote up the expense of negligent, inattentive, careless driving in Chicago in 2007. But no one can ever calculate the cost of lives lost needlessly.

Crashes described as “fatal” numbered 164 in Chicago in 2007. There were 191 human lives lost in those crashes.

2007 statistics reflect Chicago’s ever-growing population: Most accidents—a whopping 162,664 of them -- involved passenger vehicles. By far, most accidents occurred on city streets (65,751) or unmarked urban highways (32,457). Wrecks can occur anytime, anyplace. Weather and road conditions contribute sometimes. Impaired drivers face a well-known risk. They were responsible for 1,804 Chicago crashes in 2007. But congestion and distracted drivers are by far the most frequent contributing factors. Most crashes occur on city streets, during morning and evening rush hours, spread evenly across the week. There are slightly more accidents on Friday and Saturday than any other day.

Most Chicago motor vehicle accidents in 2007 involved people between 25-29 years (10,348 female; 14, 535 male). The US Center for Disease Control counts automobile accidents as the primary cause of accidental death among young men. Chicago accident statistics follow that trend: Most fatal accidents involved men ages 22 through 39.

By the time the Illinois DOT was able to compile and release these statistics, they were already stale. They may be very old indeed by the time you read them. However, the numbers are not likely to change much. It’s likely that Chicago will continue to grow, more people will mean more cars, more cars will mean more accidents. And even if they did, how many wrecks are a “good” number? Are there a number of injuries so low we can say they don’t matter? Is even one death because of a motor vehicle accident acceptable?

The Chicago personal injury attorneys of Ronaldson & Kuchler have handled many Chicago injury cases successfully. If you are looking for an injury settlement in Chicago the experienced lawyers can help you obtain maximum compensation for your physical and financial losses. The Law Office of Ronaldson & Kuchler can advocate your Chicago auto accident, Chicago car accident or any type of accident litigation case. For a free consultation call at 866-425-2600 or submit the web form.

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New court case suggests a failure to attend an examination may result in a loss of medical benefits

nospam@example.com (James R. Flandreau) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:06:15 -0500

A November 19, 2009 decision of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision suggests that if an injured worker fails to attend a medical examination scheduled by the employer that has been ordered by a workers' compensation judge, the judge may subsequently suspend medical benefits (payment for medical treatment) in addition to wage loss benefits (the weekly checks received by the injured worker).

Traditionally, if an employee has failed to attend a medical exam scheduled with the employer’s doctor, unless there is a good reason for the non-attendance, the employer has been able to get an order from a workers’ compensation judge requiring the employee to attend a rescheduled exam. Under § 314 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, if the employee subsequently fails to attend the rescheduled exam, the judge may enter an order suspending “compensation” until the employee actually attends an exam.

In Giant Eagle, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Givner), the judge entered an order mandating the examination. However, the injured worker subsequently failed to attend the rescheduled exam. The employer asked that the judge enter an order stopping both wage loss benefits and medical benefits. When the judge refused to allow the employer to stop paying for medical benefits, the employer appealed. The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board found that “compensation” does not include medical benefits, and that the judge thus could not suspend medical benefits.

Although the Commonwealth Court sustained the judge's original decision, it held that a judge has the authority to suspend both wage loss and medical benefits when the judge deems it to be appropriate – for example, “where a Claimant has already had his wage loss benefits suspended and persists in continued violation of the Act.” Given the position of some employers that they are entitled to an order requiring that an injured worker attend an examination with their doctor even though the employee has not missed an exam, the Giant Eagle decision significantly raises the stakes in cases involving this type of petition. It is thus critical that the injured worker attend scheduled examinations, or that the reason for a failure to attend be reasonable and well documented.

If you have questions regarding Pennsylvania workers' compensation or the Giant Eagle decision, please contact James R. Flandreau at 610-565-4750, or by Email

More information about both Mr. Flandreau and recent case law can be found at his website:www.jrflawyer.com

Continue reading "New court case suggests a failure to attend an examination may result in a loss of medical benefits"

Be Wary of Debt Consolidation Agencies

nospam@example.com (Michael L. Detzky) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:46:48 -0500

Recently I've met with several clients who have attempted to resolve their financial problems through a debt consolidation agency they learned about on the radio, television or in a newspaper ad. Often after spending several thousand dollars with these firms, they find that they are still hopelessly in debt and that the agency was not able to deliver on their promises. Many were shocked to learn that they now owed money to the IRS on the difference between what they originally owed to their creditors and what the debt consolidation agency was able to reduce. The moral of the story is clear. If you choose to work with a debt consolidation agency rather than file a bankruptcy petition make sure that you choose only a firm which is reputable and licensed. Before sigining any contracts or other agreements check with the County or State Consumer Affairs Department and Better Business Bureau in the area where the firm is located. See if any complaints have been filed against the agency you are considering. It would also be an excellent idea to speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney BEFORE you make any decisions. You'll learn that debt consolidation may not be a better alternative than bankruptcy. For example, while even the best debt consolidation agency cannot eliminate 100% of your unsecured debt, bankruptcy routinely does. While debt forgiven in a debt consolidation is considered to be taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service, it is not in a bankruptcy and while debt consolidator's are largely unregulated, ALL bankruptcy attorneys are licensed by your State and subject to the regulations and discipline of the Court. In the end, it's your choice. Choose wisely!

MIchael L. Detzky, Esq.

45 Court Street

Freehold, NJ 07728-1709

(732) 780-3090

www.detzkylaw.com

New Jersey Sex Crimes and Social Media

nospam@example.com (Carl J. Herman) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:26:04 -0500

Craigslist has been a cultural phenomenon since it came online a few years ago. Everything and anything can be posted on the site and most ads are totally free. Newspaper classified ads have seen a rapid decline in revenue. As a site that has truly re-shaped society, it offers products and services of all kinds, including ads for prostitution and other illegal sex crimes. In New Jersey and other states, these ads are a big “no-no” and have come under the scrutiny of law enforcement.

What types of ads are we referring to? Everything from "sensual females catering to all your needs" to "hot ladies willing to do anything for you." What’s the difference between an ad that advertises legal services from one that doesn’t? That’s what law enforcement’s job has been.

A recent news story explained how Craigslist.com is being sued by one Illinois county sheriff for not doing anything about it. They are demanding that the site dismantle its erotic services section and reimburse the sheriffs office for costs paid to officers assigned to review the site for solicitations of prostitution and seeking arrests.

"It’s good and bad, you get a sense of where they are operating out of, but if you shut that down it should reduce the crime, but they will just find another avenue to do their crimes and we have to rout them out," said Rutherford Police Lieutenant Patrick Feliciano.

Craigslist says its "erotic-services" category helps to re-direct all ads for massages, adult web cams, phone sex, adult Web sites and nude housecleaning that users didn’t want to see in other categories. Last year, Craigslist settled with 40 state attorneys general, including New Jersey, to require posters give a phone number and credit card number before posting, so they are no longer anonymous to authorities.

If you use Craigslist and have been wrongly accused of a sex crime, it’s important to get a qualified attorney on your side. Contact us today.

Carl J. Herman - sex crime attorney in new jersey

sexual abuse in new jersey

statutory rape in new jersey

443 Northfield Avenue
West Orange NJ 07052

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Seroquel Lawsuits Sent Back To Home States

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:20:04 -0500

Bloomberg News has reported that federal district judge, the honorable Anne Conway, will urge a panel of judges to return all of the Seroquel cases to courts across the United States for trial in their home courts.

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- AstraZeneca Plc may face as many 6,000 trials of lawsuits claiming its antipsychotic drug Seroquel causes diabetes after a judge said she will recommend sending the cases back to their home courts.
U.S. District Judge Anne Conway in Orlando, Florida, who is overseeing pre-trial proceedings in federal Seroquel litigation, said yesterday she’ll urge a panel of judges to return all of the cases to courts across the U.S. for possible trials.
AstraZeneca, the U.K.’s second-largest drugmaker, wanted Conway to send as many as 60 suits back to their home courts for trial as test cases. Lawyers for former users contended they were ready to press forward on their claims that the London- based company downplayed Seroquel’s diabetes risk.

Judge Conway's action was welcomed by the Seroquel users who brought these lawsuits after suffering severe side effects including the following:

weight gain
diabetes
heart attack
tardive sykinesia
hyperglycemia
pancreatitis

The action is expected to move many of these cases forward and "get the litigation moving."

The company faces more than 14,000 suits in U.S. state and federal courts alleging Seroquel caused diabetes in some users. Seroquel, which generated sales of $4.45 billion in 2008, is AstraZeneca’s second-biggest seller after the ulcer treatment Nexium.
***
AstraZeneca officials noted in regulatory filings last month that the drugmaker could face the first trials of Seroquel suits in state courts in Delaware and New Jersey in January. The company also disclosed it has spent $623 million in “legal defense costs” for Seroquel litigation so far.

AstraZeneca has been under increasing scrutiny because of the serious and potentially deadly side effects of its popular anti-psychotic drug, Seroquel. In just the past few weeks, there have been a number of negative reports regarding Seroquel:

Like so many other major companies, AstraZeneca's conduct shows that it values stock value more than health, safety and life. Why do these giant corporations get to play by a different set of rules than the rest of us? AstraZeneca appears to have ignored known side effects and essentially poisoned thousands of its own customers. What would happen if an individual -- like you or me -- had done such a thing? Yet Seroquel sits back fat and happy raking in profits off of the suffering of its customers.

It's time to hold companies accountable for putting profits over safety and valuing share price above human life.

Learn how to protect yourself against dangerous drugs at our web site.

Learn more and become a fan of Langdon & Emison on Facebook.

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Toyota Sudden Acceleration: Company Ignores Customers in Canada

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:16:56 -0500

Canada's TheStar.com has reported that, even though Toyota has sent letters to millions of U.S. customers warning them about floor mat problems resulting in sudden unexpected acceleration, Toyota has completely ignored its Canadian customers.

Toyota began sending letters to millions of U.S. customers three weeks ago warning them about the danger of loose floor mats interfering with accelerator pedals, but the company hasn't yet personally notified thousands of vehicle owners in Canada.
***
But the Automobile Protection Association, which represents motorist interests, said while complaints about the problem are much lower here – even on a per-capita basis – than in the United States, Toyota Canada should still have sent letters like its American counterparts to properly warn all customers.
"They should have done it as a precautionary measure and followed up again later after finding out the cause and resolution," association president George Iny said.
"We're also not convinced that the issue is only one of mats on the listed vehicles. It may be more complicated than that."

Toyota's actions -- or inactions in this case -- says much about its safety philosophy and what it holds most dear, ever increasing profits or customer safety. In the United States, Toyota ignored thousands of sudden acceleration reports for more than five years. In Canada, it is ignoring them still. Even when it finally acknowledged there was a problem in the U.S., Toyota made false and misleading comments to make it seem like the problem was less severe than it actually was. NHTSA finally called out Toyota publicly and Toyota has since issued a retraction.

Toyota's conduct tells me a couple things:
(1) Toyota appears to value money over people's lives.
(2) Toyota ks not likely to fix this problem on its own without facing significant financial and economic consequences for its despicable conduct.

Too many people have been injured or killed because of unintended acceleration while Toyota continues its hand wringing. It's time that Toyota finally fixes this problem.

Until then, all Toyota drivers must be prepared.

You can learn more about the Toyota sudden acceleration defect by reading these previous reports of Toyota's sudden acceleration problem:

Toyota Denied Sudden Acceleration Problem For More Than 5 Years

"Inaccurate and Misleading" Statements On Toyota Sudden Acceleration Problem

Toyota Sudden Acceleration: Case Is Not Closed

Safety Group Responds To Toyota On Sudden Acceleration Defect

Toyota Has More Troubles Than Just Sudden Acceleration

You can learn more about Toyota's dangerous sudden acceleration defect at our auto safety blog or by visiting our web site.

Learn more and become a fan of Langdon & Emison on Facebook.

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Personal Injury Law about Car Accidents

nospam@example.com (Maren Tobler Hanson) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:40:56 -0500

For legal purposes, automobile accidents are classified by the number of vehicles involved. Single vehicle accidents are often the result of driver ignorance or hazardous road conditions. Multi-vehicle auto accidents, on the other hand, are usually the result of poor road conditions and aggressive or inattentive drivers. Regardless of cause, a Mesa, AZ driver who is involved in a car accident should follow certain steps in order to protect his or her legal rights. The first of these steps is to contact a car accident lawyer in Mesa.

What to do if you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident

In addition to contacting a car accident lawyer in Mesa, there are certain steps you should take if you have been involved in a car accident.

Collect names and contact information of all drivers, passengers, vehicle owners, and witnesses involved in the incident
Obtain insurance company names and policy numbers of all drivers involved
Document any injuries and damage to vehicles
Record the names of the responding police officers, as well as of anyone who claimed responsibility for the accident

If you are injured in the accident, or if the vehicular damage exceeds a certain monetary amount, you must file a police report for the incident. Certain states also require a report be filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, you must inform your insurance company about the incident and, if you have been seriously injured, you must be sure to receive regular medical care.

Consult a car accident lawyer in Mesa

If you or a loved one has been involved or injured in a car accident in the Mesa, area, you should contact a car accident lawyer in Mesa, who can assist you with all of these processes

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One Dead in Lincoln, Nebraska Railroad Crossing Accident

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:01:34 -0500

NBC affiliate, WOWT has reported that one person was killed when an Amtrak train struck a car at a railroad crossing on the west side of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Police say one person was killed when an Amtrak train struck a car at a crossing on the west side of Lincoln.
Capt. Jim Thoms says the collision occurred at 5:57 a.m. Thursday.
He says the street will be closed for several hours. There was no word yet on the cause or on the identity of the victim.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the person killed in this tragic collision. This train crash is a tragic reminder of the dangers of railroad crossings.

There have been several tragic railroad crossing crashes in recent months -- many due to defects and problems with the crossings themselves.

There were reports in New Jersey of railroad crossing signal malfunctions that caused warning lights to go off when no train was present. These malfunctions lead to train collisions.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad (BNSF) was fined $4 million for lying to a Minnesota court and attempting to cover up its role in a tragic train crossing crash that killed four people.

Missouri, Illinois and California all part of the top 10 deadliest states for railroad crashes.

You can learn more about how to protect yourself at railroad crossings at by visiting our railroad safety blog or web site.

Learn more and become a fan of Langdon & Emison on Facebook.

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Google's Chief Copyright Counsel William Patry Discusses His New Book, "Moral Panics & the Copyright Wars."

nospam@example.com (Enrico Schaefer) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:36:07 -0500

Google's Chief Copyright Counsel William Patry discusses his new book, Moral Panics & the Copyright Wars. Mr. Patry believes that copyright laws and the debate surrounding copyright has centered on the concept of ownership, rather than the concept of policy. Copyrights are not a innate right, they are given by statute. So what is the proper level of rights to be afforded to to copyright owners balanced against the public interest against monopolization and in favor of innovation? Have copyright owners and the industries supporting them become too aggressive in their approaches to copyright infringement? Listen to the interview below and you might be surprised to learn that there are those who believe that we have provided too much leverage to copyright owners, and extended copyright protection beyond what is in the public and economic interest.
________________________

Traverse Legal Radio

Click Here To Play Show.

With expert: William Patry

Show sponsor: Traverse Legal, Copyright Lawyers

Transcript excerpts below.. (Read entire interview transcript here)

________________________

Enrico Schaefer: Bill, what are the metrics in copyright? Because I know you believe these things can be empirically measured at least to a point, so what should we be measuring and how should we be measuring it?

Bill Patry: Term of copyright is the easiest one to do that way. You would say how long of a term of protection do we need to encourage works to either be created at all or to continue to be created for a particular industry. You know the film industry is one. The question that you would ask is, first of all, do you need copyright at all? We don’t need copyright for emails, for example, even though they are protected. We don’t need copyright for most business documents. We don’t need copyright for a lot of commercially created things, but yet, we have it. And so we have a tendency to give copyright to things that don’t need it, and we certainly give copyright for a far longer period of time than we need. In the Aldred case, which went to the Supreme Court, there’s a brief submitted by a number of Nobel Prize winning economists, who applied economic rigor to this very question, and I certainly encourage all of your listeners to look at that brief so that you can have a concrete example of what I am talking about. To take the debate in that case, which is we have an existing term of copyright of life of the author plus 50 years. We then went to life of the author plus seventy years. We added on an extra twenty years of copyright. So one of the questions should have been...the main question should have been, if we’re giving this extra 20 years of copyright, is that going to lead to the creation of new works? Phrased differently, is there any author on the face of the earth who would have said life of the author, life of my life plus 50 years after I die is not adequate; I’m just not going to create a work. Unless it is my life plus 70 years, I’m not creating that work. Now, I say there is no author on the face of the earth who would have done that. There’s nobody who would have said life plus 50 years after I die is not a long enough term of copyright, it’s gotta be life plus 70.

Bill Patry: Since that’s the case, we never should have passed that because it didn’t lead to the creation of any new works and certainly impeded people’s ability to use works that should have been in the public domain. Now, how would you deal with it empirically? Is there any empirical evidence about how long a copyright needs to exist? Under the 1909 Act, there was. Under the 1909 Act, we had an original term of copyright of 28 years to the date of publication or registration followed by a possible second renewal term of another 28 years, if you did one thing. And that is in the twenty eighth year, you had to give the government $10 and fill out a simple government form. That was it. Most people, when faced with the possibility of getting 28 years of a government monopoly for $10 and filling out a certain piece of paper, would do it. That’s a really good deal. So you would think if copyright is so important, if it’s so important to have a long term of protection, that industries like the book publishing industry, for example, which had people who could do this for a living - they would have copyright registration sections - would have renewed automatically. But it’s not true. Only seven percent of books were renewed. Overall, about ten percent of works were renewed. So that tells you that 28 years of protections was actually quite long enough for 90% of the works that were created. It was quite long enough for 93% of the books that were created. Motion Pictures, on the other hand, had about a 74% renewal rate, which tells you that it was important for those industries.

Enrico Schaefer: Right.

Bill Patry: We have actual data that shows that copyright owners, when they had the choice to get 28 years of copyright protection for $10, 90% of them didn’t do it. And to me, that’s pretty good empirical evidence that 28 years was quite sufficient for 90% of the works.

(Read entire interview transcript here)

Continue reading "Google's Chief Copyright Counsel William Patry Discusses His New Book, "Moral Panics & the Copyright Wars.""

Have you recently received a speeding ticket in New Jersey?

nospam@example.com (Carl J. Herman) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:48:45 -0500

Have you recently received a speeding ticket in New Jersey? Facing other traffic violations? Hopefully it’s not as bad for you as it will be for a N.J. man who was arrested after a 100-mph police chase with a toddler in the car. Police said the man sped off from a traffic stop with a 2-year-old boy in the back without a car seat. If you see an officer attempting to pull you over, it’s always best to do exactly that – and to be as amenable as possible when pulled over. It will help your case that much more.

In this speeding case, Leonard Williams, 44, of Newark, was taken into custody by state police on Interstate 80 after police said he led them on a 20-mile chase at speeds over 100 mph. A trooper tried to stop Williams for speeding near the Scotrun exit when his 2003 Cadillac Deville sped away.

Police said he was finally forced to pull over at mile marker 279 and was taken into custody without incident. A 2-year old boy was in the back seat of the Cadillac and not properly restrained in a child seat.

Williams was charged with fleeing police, endangering the welfare of a child and numerous traffic violations. He was taken to Monroe County Corrections Facility and arraigned on Sunday.

The bottom line is that you can beat your speeding ticket if you don’t panic, you know what your rights are, and you don’t give the police a reason to arrest you. You need to mount the proper defense and we can help you do that. Contact our New Jersey office today!

Carl J. Herman - New Jersey traffic violations
443 Northfield Avenue
West Orange NJ 07052

Continue reading "Have you recently received a speeding ticket in New Jersey?"

Australian Researchers Pioneering New Mesothelioma Treatment Using Radiotherapy

nospam@example.com (Thomas J. Lamb) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:25:46 -0500

(Posted by Tom Lamb at www.AsbestosHUB.com on November 18, 2009; see http://bit.ly/29FR3B)

Australian researchers have innovated a new mesothelioma treatment using radiotherapy rather than chemotherapy, and the results are looking good.

Radiation Oncologist Dr. Malcolm Feigen has developed a new technique for treating mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused by asbestos exposure. This breakthrough technique is called radiotherapy.

So far researchers have found that there is a staggering improvement in the patients using radiotherapy than those treated only by chemotherapy. Dr. Feigen reports that there have been no major side effects but some patients are having long-term benefits.

Chemotherapy treatment can only do so much. Usually patients experience short-term benefits. However, often the cancer keeps coming back. Yet the new radiotherapy is proving fight tumors and keep them from returning.

Dr. Feigen says, “…with radiotherapy it doesn’t come back in the same area and if we find patients early enough we may be able to stop any further developments of their disease.” Dr. Feigen says that on average the treatment has given patients two more years of life. For those diagnosed with mesothelioma and others who have been exposed to asbestos, this is great news.

For a more on this encouraging development, see the article, Breakthrough in fight against mesothelioma, over at ABC News (Australia Broadcasting Corporation).

Attorney Tom Lamb represents people in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving mesothelioma or other asbestos cancers. The above article was posted originally on his blog, Asbestos HUB – with active links and readers’ comments.
http://AsbestosHUB.com

Processing Times Immigration Petitions Vermont Service Center

nospam@example.com (Claudia Grégoire) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:14:37 -0500

The Vermont Service Center issued its latest update on processing times for immigrant and non-immigrant petitions. The information on applications and corresponding time frames can be found here

: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do.

Immigration Law; Immigration Attorney
Claudia Gregoire

www.georgejwestlaw.com

Federal Disability Retirement: OPM may say so, but...

nospam@example.com (Robert R. McGill) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:02:52 -0500

I often wonder how many unrepresented disability retirement applicants there are who, having received a denial letter at the First Stage of the process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS, never file a Request for Reconsideration because they believe what the Office of Personnel Management stated in the Denial Letter. Sometimes, I will get telephone calls from people who want to file, and during the course of the conversation, it will come out that they had filed a few years previously, and had been denied. "Did you file a Request for Reconsideration, at the time?" I ask. "No," is the answer. "Why not?" I ask. The typical answer? "Because I just thought there was no way to fight them on it." I used to be amazed at such answers, but after some thought, it makes sense. As an attorney, my first instinct (both trained and natural) is to always take something to the next level, with the firm belief that I will prevail just by pure persistence, and by using the law as "a sword" in the process of fighting for my clients. But most people are not lawyers (some would say, thank goodness for that, we have enough lawyers in the world), and when the Office of Personnel Management writes up a denial letter, then allegedly cites "the law", and makes bold conclusions such as, "You do not meet the eligibility criteria under the laws governing disability retirement..." It all sounds convincing. It all sounds like any further action will be an act of futility. But just because OPM "says so" doesn't make it true, doesn't make it right, and certainly doesn't make it unwinnable. They may say you don't meet the eligbility criteria; I would argue otherwise.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Care on Lien - Delays Payment

nospam@example.com (Clifford A. Blackman) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:27:13 -0500

Get Medical Care On Credit - The "Lien"

After an accident some people find that they need treatment for their injuries, but they do not have medical insurance or money to pay for the treatment. This is a tough situation, especially if the need is for restorative dentistry after an accident has knocked out a person's front teeth.

If the injuries were caused by an accident that was the fault of another person who has insurance, such as car insurance, or homeowner's insurance, the injured person may have a valid claim for damages. These types of claims usually take quite a bit of time to resolve, and could take between one and three years before a final settlement can be reached. The insurance company that settles the case makes one payment to settle the claim, and this is done at the time of settlement. One can see how this does not help the poor injury victim that needs medical or dental treatment immediately after a bad accident.

The process for getting the needed treatment on credit

If the injured person has a lawyer representing him or her, there is a good chance that the medical provider, such as a chiropractor, doctor or dentist will wait to be paid from the settlement if there is adequate security for the debt. What that means is the doctor will wait to get paid for the treatments until the case settles, even if it takes a couple of years. The security for the doctor is the written promise of the patient which is also signed by the patient's attorney, promising to make direct payment to the doctor from the lawyer's office at the time of the settlement.

Not all doctors accept liens, however. Many medical doctors and hospitals require payment and will institute collection proceedings if payment arrangements are not made.

Using an experienced personal injury lawyer makes a difference

An experienced personal injury lawyer usually has the ability to secure a lien for the client from medical providers. The lawyer reassures the medical provider that there will be full payment at the end of the case and that the doctor has relax and be sure of receiving payment directly from the trust account of the lawyer which is where the settlement is deposited before it is distributed to the client.

For the injured victim that needs medical or dental care and who has no insurance or ability to pay for care, having a personal injury attorney with a solid reputation can make a big difference in getting the needed treatment on credit.

Ask the treating doctor or dentist if he or she will accept a lien from a good law firm. The doctor will not extend credit such as this on the bare promise of the patient. It is the additional security of having the law firm behind the bill that makes a difference to the medical provider.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Will Making A Claim Cause My Premium to Go Up?
Many people fear that if they make a claim against their own insurance that their rates will go up. This is not always the case. There are many times when making a claim does not affect your own rates, and there may actually be advantages to making the claim against your own carrier. This article will address two types of insurance policies, auto insurance and homeowner's insurance.

Making a claim against your own auto insurance policy

Automobile insurance includes many types of coverage. There is liability which insures the person against claims made against him, when the accident is his own fault. In other words, liability insurance is by definition pay for damages caused to others by the insured by causing an accident. This coverage applies when someone else is making a claim against your policy. Liaibility coverage cannot be used by the insured to make a claim. When a victim of the negligence of the insured makes a claim against his liability insurance, that is based on the loss being the fault of the insured. This will cause your insurance premium to go up.

Many drivers purchase medical payments coverage on their auto policy. This is "no fault" coverage and covers medical expenses necessary because of an injury related to a car accident, regardless of who was at fault. This coverage is very useful because it will pay for the expenses for everyone in the insured vehicle and it pays currently to cover needed medical care or dental care. This is different than making a claim against another driver's liability insurance. That company will not make any payment for treatment, and will make one payment to settle the entire case, which in many claims can be a long time.

Use of the medical payments provision when the cause of the accident is the insured will cause the premium to go up. If the medical payments are used to pay for needed care when the accident is the fault of another, then the payments would not cause the premiums to go up. This is because the payments are not the fault of the insured driver. The insurance premiums are based on the driving history of the insured driver(s), and will go up when there is evidence that they are a higher risk to insure.

Another type of coverage on the automobile policy is for injuries caused by an uninsured motorist (or a motorist with too little insurance). This is referred to as UM coverage. UM coverage will only pay if the cause of the accident is the uninsured person's fault. Because these claims are based on the fault of somebody other than the insured driver(s) under the policy, they should not affect the insurance premium. In other words, since the claim is not evidence that the insured is a greater risk to insure in the future (being an innocent victim), there is no basis for the underwriters to increase the premium.

Hit and run cases are claims that are made under the UM coverage, and the same principles apply. The hit and run coverage will apply when the other driver who caused the accident cannot be found, and where there is contact between the vehicles. Swerving to avoid a collision with another car which results in an injury accident, without contact with the negligent driver, will not be covered. In this regard, it is safer to stay in the lane and absorb the impact rather than make a sudden move to avoid the accident which could be dangerous and cause an accident.

When an insured driver is the innocent victim of a car accident, he or she can use the collision coverage on the insurance policy. If the insured uses the collision coverage, this will not cause an increase in the premium where the accident is the fault of another. After paying for the repairs or for the total loss of the insured vehicle, the auto insurance company will get its money back from the wrongdoer's insurance company. This is called subrogation.

There is an advantage to using the collision coverage after an accident that is the fault of another driver. It is best not to speak with anyone from the insurance company of the adverse driver if there is going to be a personal injury claim. By limiting contact to one's own auto insurance company in dealing with the car repair or replacement under the collision coverage, one can avoid the pitfalls involved with talking with the adversary. Watch a video about car insurance.

Claims against your own homeowner's insurance

Homeowner's insurance concerns itself with the number of claims that have been made against the homeowner's policy. This claims history is used to increase the premiums going forward, and when there have been several claims (different companies vary on the number and amount) the insurance company will use that as a basis to either cancel the policy or refuse to renew it.

A new homeowner's insurance company will ask for and get the complete history of claims made under the previous policy, and if there is a significant history of claims made, that will adversely affect the ability to get a new homeowner's policy.

The lesson with homeowner's insurance is to avoid making claims unless you have to do so, and if the amount is large enough. The effect of making that claim may be the evenual loss of the policy.

If you are injured and have a personal injury claim, remember it is always best to contact an experienced personal injury law firmas soon as possible. They will not get paid until they finally settle your case. See the video on the "contingent fee".

Continue reading "Medical Care on Lien - Delays Payment"

Domain Names: Not Exactly First-Come First-Served Anymore

nospam@example.com (Brian A. Hall) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:23:15 -0500

Domain names can be registered on a first-come first-served basis. The story does not end there, however. Simply put, a domain name that incorporates the trademark of another may constitute cybersquatting. Cybersquatting is actionable under federal law and carries with it serious damages. Many people register domain names and do not even realize they may be subjecting themselves to cybersquatting liability. Many businesses are victims of cybersquatting and do not even know it. Businesses should take multiple steps to mitigate the detrimental effect cybersquatting, and other unauthorized use of their trademarks online, can have on business. Here are five items every business should begin with:

1. Identify trademarks owned and determine whether those trademarks are registered.

2. Register domains incorporating those trademarks (known as defensive domain registration).

3. Identify domain names that correspond to or otherwise incorporate those trademarks.

4. Monitor domain name registrations that incorporate those trademarks.

5. Have a plan of enforcing trademark rights and addressing cybersquatting, such as cease and desist letters, the UDRP, or ACPA litigation.

Failure to police trademarks online can lead to cybersquatting. As a result, a business can lose sales and profits, experience diverted traffic to competitors, and suffer brand dilution.

While the cybersquatting laws are an option for trademark owners, businesses may also lose domains to hackers, disgruntled employees, or otherwise. As such, an understanding of the laws of conversion as it pertains to domain names as well as other traditional legal principles tend to be important.

In the end, businesses should acquire, protect, and enforce rights in domain names with the same vigor they would their storefront sign on their real property.

Continue reading "Domain Names: Not Exactly First-Come First-Served Anymore"

Trademark Registration: Why Rely Upon Common Law When Federal Trademark Registration Is Available?

nospam@example.com (Brian A. Hall) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:55:43 -0500

Businesses and individuals always ask whether it is necessary to register a trademark with a governmental entity. The reason for the question is that these entities likely understand that once a distinctive mark is used in commerce, it is entitled to trademark protection under common law. Thus, if one can acquire trademark protection under common law, why would it be necessary to register a trademark with a state or the federal government, namely the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)? Moreover, what is the difference between state and federal trademark registration? These are good questions, and it is important for any business to first understand the differences between state and federal trademark registrations as well as the benefits of trademark registration.

Generally speaking, a state trademark registration provides little additional benefit than that which is available under common law. As such, a trademark owner must still establish use of a distinctive mark in commerce in order to avail itself of the benefits of a trademark in litigation or otherwise. While less expensive to obtain in relation to a federal trademark registration, the benefits also tend to pale in comparison.

On the other hand, a federal trademark registration with the USPTO provides real, tangible benefits to its owner. For example, a federal trademark registration provides a recording of a valuable piece of intellectual property that puts all on notice of nationwide rights. In litigation, it services as prima facie evidence of the validity of the mark, the registrant's ownership of the mark, and the registrant's exclusive right to use the mark throughout the United States. Moreover, it can entitle the owner to treble and statutory damages, which also provide additional leverage pre-litigation and during negotiations for a resolution of a trademark infringement action, for example. It also provides value in that it shows legitimacy of the business, allows for use of the registration symbol, and can discourage infringement. Finally, the ability to file a lawsuit in federal court to enforce one's trademark rights may be beneficial and serves as yet another difference between a federal registration and state registration.

Ultimately, the benefits of a trademark registration ensure a legitimate return on investment in most cases. It is oftentimes the owner of a federal trademark registration that is in the best position to ensure an unauthorized use of that trademark stops. While a state trademark may have some appeal to business entities, any business offering goods or services within the United States should consider a federal trademark registration.

Continue reading "Trademark Registration: Why Rely Upon Common Law When Federal Trademark Registration Is Available?"

Target Halloween Flashlight Recall - Hill Turner, LLC

nospam@example.com (Brian D. Turner) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:12:59 -0500

On October 28, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a notice of the voluntary recall of Halloween Flashlights sold exclusively this season at Target stores around the country. When in use these flashlights can overheat and melt, posing a burn hazard to the consumer. There have been eight reported incidents of the flashlights melting and at least one report of burns to the consumers’ hands. The Halloween Flashlights were sold in two styles: the mini flashlights have a king ring extending from the bottom and were sold in packs of three; the packaging advertises “Mini Flashlights 3 Pack.” The second style is a standard flashlight with a black handle and an orange top. The standard size flashlight was sold in a package with six stencils in various colors labeled as “Flashlight with Stencil.” Approximately 610,000 of the Halloween Flashlight were sold exclusively at Target stores nationwide from August 2009 through September 2009 costing $1 for the mini flashlights and $2.50 for the standard flashlights. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that consumers immediately stop using the flashlights and return them to Target stores for a full refund.

HILL | TURNER LLC
Attorneys at Law

2117 Magnolia Ave
Birmingham, AL 35205

Phone: (205) 250-7776
Toll Free: 1 (877) 828-1714
Fax: (205) 250-7675

How to Choose a Real Estate Attorney

nospam@example.com (Tracy Hunsaker Gilroy) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:56:01 -0400

What should I look for when trying to choose a lawyer?

Your lawyer will be helping you resolve your problems, so the first qualification is that you have to feel comfortable enough to tell him or her, truthfully, all of the details necessary to resolve your problem. No one will be able to tell you which particular lawyer will be the best for you; you must judge that for yourself. This is why selecting a real estate lawyer to help with a commercial real estate transaction can be time consuming and difficult, however with some basic questions to ask, your task of choosing the attorney should be easier to handle.

Once you have identified a handful of lawyers who might suit your needs, try to set up an initial consultation on the phone so you can ask some preliminary questions before you commit yourself to a formal, in-person interview. To help you with your final choice, it might also be a good idea to write down any answers you get for a quick comparison later on.

Some initial questions you might ask include:

If the lawyer charges for an initial interview, how much is it? How long does initial interview or consultation last?
What type of fee arrangement does the lawyer need? Can you negotiate the fees?
Has the lawyer handled comparable cases? When was the last time the lawyer handled a related case?
Is the lawyer licensed to practice in your area? How long has the lawyer been practicing in your area? Has the lawyer been investigated or disciplined before by state licensing authorities? If so, for what?
What form of information should you take to a conference with the lawyer?
Will the lawyer handle the case or will others work on it also?

Your next step is to make an appointment with a lawyer to discuss the case in detail. During the initial interview you will likely be asked about your case. In order to prepare for the meeting, you should gather all the information (documents, contact information) pertinent too your situation.

This article provided courtesy of the The Gilroy Law Firm. If you are interested in scheduling a consultation meeting with The Gilroy Law Firm, we would be happy to set up a ""Working Meeting"" with you at your convenience. If you want to learn more about our firm, call us at 314-965-3536 or email us.

The Gilroy Law Firm - saint louis eminent domain

231 S. Bemiston Avenue, Suite 800
St. Louis, MO 63105

Saint Louis real estate closing

Continue reading "How to Choose a Real Estate Attorney"

Saint Louis Real Estate Attorneys, Understanding Easements - The Gilroy Law Firm

nospam@example.com (Tracy Hunsaker Gilroy) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:06:54 -0400

What is an Easement? - Easement law in Saint Louis is similar to the laws in many states. An easement is generally defined as a non-possessor interest in another person's property. The non-possessor nature of an easement is one of its chief -- and potentially confusing -- distinctive characteristics. An easement is a land interest that allows the carrier of the easement to use property that he/she does not own or possess. An easement does not allow the easement holder to occupy the land, or to exclude others from the land. On the contrary, the possessor of the land may continue to use the easement and may exclude everyone except the easement holder from the land. Property affected by an easement is called a "servient estate," whereas the land benefited by the easement is identified as the "dominant estate."

Most easements are positive, meaning that they authorize use of another's land. A lesser amount are negative easements, which usually involve preserving an owner's access to light or view by restricting what can be done on adjoining or nearby property. Generally, an easement holder has a right to do "whatever is reasonably convenient or necessary in order to enjoy fully the purposes for which the easement was granted," as long as he or she does not place an unreasonable burden on the servient territory. On the other hand, the owner of the servient territory can make any use of the land that does not excessively hamper the easement holder's use of the easement.

Easements cause the easement holder and the owner of the servient estate the unique position of simultaneously utilizing the same piece of land. The popularity of easements and their nature creates a distinctive set of options in creation, interpretation and realization. It is vital to have a fundamental understanding of the method in which they are formed, their extent, transferability, and processes of termination.

Whether you wish to create an easement, purchase property burdened by an easement, determine the nature of a property interest, the assistance of a Gilroy Law Firm attorney in Saint Louis can be vital - you can contact us or call at 866-779-2809

Easement Dispute in Saint Louis - The Gilroy Law Firm

saint louis real estate closing

231 S. Bemiston Avenue, Suite 800
Saint Louis, MO 63105
Phone: 866-779-2809

GilroyLaw.Net

Continue reading "Saint Louis Real Estate Attorneys, Understanding Easements - The Gilroy Law Firm"

Why You Need a Lawyer When You Buy or Sell Real Estate

nospam@example.com (Tracy Hunsaker Gilroy) — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:49:29 -0400

Why You Need a Lawyer When You Buy or Sell Real Estate

Buying real estate can be the largest and most significant purchase you will make in your life. It involves the law of real property, which is distinctive; a real estate lawyer is educated to deal with these problems and has the familiarity to deal with them. A lawyer can help you avoid some frequent problems with a real estate deal. For example, a seller may sign a brokerage contract that does not deal with a number of legal problems. This happens quite often; realtors often use standard forms, expecting they cover all circumstances or are simply customizable for atypical situations. Even if the agreement is a standard form, its terms should be explained to the seller and revised, if necessary. An attorney can also determine if the agreement was properly signed.

The purchase agreement is the one of the most important documents in the matter. Although standard printed forms are useful, a lawyer is helpful in explaining the form and making changes to reflect the parties’ needs. There are many issues that may need to be addressed in the purchase agreement; below are some common examples:

If the property has been altered or there has been an addition to the property, was it done lawfully?
If the buyer has plans to change the property, can what is planned for the property be done lawfully?
What happens if a buyer has an engineer or architect inspect the property and termites, asbestos, radon, or lead-based paint is found?
What if the property is found to contain hazardous waste?
What are the legal consequences if the closing does not take place, and what happens to the down payment?

An attorney can help evaluate the title and clarify any title exceptions, determine that the legal description is correct and whether there are problems with bordering owners or prior owners. A lawyer can also explain the consequence of easements and agreements or restrictions imposed by a prior owner. In addition, the title does not tell the buyer or seller anything about zoning. A lawyer can explain whether zoning prohibits your plans, or whether intended improvements violate zoning ordinances.

An attorney is helpful in the closing event in the real estate transaction. The deed and other closing papers must be prepared, Title passes from seller to buyer, the deed and mortgage instruments are signed, and an attorney can be assured that these documents are appropriately executed and explained to the various parties. There may also be last minute disputes about delivering possession and personal property. If you are the only person there without a lawyer, your rights may be at risk.

Throughout the process, the buyer's and seller's interests can be in conflict with each other, and with any professionals involved in the sale. The broker commonly serves the seller, and the lender is obtained by the buyer. Neither knows how to provide legal guidance. Seeking the counsel of a lawyer is a very good idea from the start of the real estate matter until the actual closing.

This article provided courtesy of the Saint Louis real estate law firm of The Gilroy Law Firm.

The Gilroy Law Firm - Saint Louis real estate closing

231 S. Bemiston Avenue, Suite 800
Saint Louis, MO 63105
Phone: 314-965-3536

GilroyLaw.Net

Continue reading "Why You Need a Lawyer When You Buy or Sell Real Estate"

Yaz Side Effects: FDA Warning Letters

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:52:36 -0500

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent several warning letters to Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for what the FDA termed “misleading” advertising spots it found “particularly troubling” because they served to “undermine the communication of important risk information, minimizing these risks and misleadingly suggesting that Yaz is safer than has been demonstrated by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience.”

In the 8-page FDA Warning Letter regarding Yaz dated October 3, 2008 two TV ads were cited as overstating the efficacy of the drug and minimizing the risks and side effects associated with using Yaz. Yaz related lawsuits allege that the warnings were inadequate in fully describing the potential side effects including heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. The FDA sent three letters to the makers of Yasmin and Yaz regarding the potential for hyperkalemia in high-risk patients and their failure to clarify that risk.

2003 Yaz/Yasmin FDA Warning Letter

2008 Yaz/Yasmin FDA Warning Letter

2009 Yaz/Yasmin FDA Warning Letter

Yaz and Yasmin have been very popular among young women due to Bayer's "particularly troubling" advertising targeting young women and unconfirmed "benefits" of these birth control pills.

However, these drugs -- Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella -- have been linked to potentially deadly side effects, including heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and gallbladder trouble.

These serious side effects are caused by a key chemical found in Yas, Yasmin and Ocella -- Drosperinone.

Learn more about Yaz and Yasmin side effects and what you can do to if you have taken these birth control pills.

Continue reading "Yaz Side Effects: FDA Warning Letters"

Yaz Side Effects: Protect Yourself

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:51:29 -0500

Popular birth control pills, Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, have been linked to serious and potentially deadly side effects. This deadly side effects affect women of all ages, including teens and young women.

How Yaz Causes Heart Attack and Stroke

Yas and Yasmin have been linked to serious side effects, such as hear attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and sudden cardiac death.

Yas and Yasmin contain the chemical, Drosperinone, which acts as a diuretic and causes fluid loss. This fluid loss decreases sodium in the blood and increases potassium. This imbalance causes irregular heartbeats and blood pooling, resulting in heart attacks, blood clots and stroke.

Learn more about Yasmin side effects and how to protect yourself.

Continue reading "Yaz Side Effects: Protect Yourself"

Toyota Acceleration Problem: Potential Recall and Fixes Discussed

nospam@example.com (Brett A. Emison) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:48:49 -0500

The Detroit Free Press has reported on talks between government regulators and Toyota regarding potential fixes for the Toyota sudden acceleration problem.

Federal regulators and Toyota Motor Corp. are discussing whether the automaker needs to fix gas pedals or floor pans in millions of recalled vehicles instead of blaming floor mats, which the automaker had maintained was the source of unintended acceleration cases.
The talks are the result of new evidence from safety tests and allegations in some lawsuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has received more than 400 complaints about acceleration problems that include several fatalities.

While this is a nice first step -- and only after 5 years of ignoring the problem -- Toyota's tepid response is highly disturbing. Toyota still flatly refuses to investigate any potential malfunctions of its electronic throttle control.

Toyota continues to deny that electronic technology was a factor in any reported case of unintended acceleration, said spokesman Mike Michels.

More than 5 years ago, the Center for Auto Safety identified the electronic throttle control as the most likely source of the sudden acceleration defect. However, Toyota continues to public deny the possibility.

Too many people have been injured or killed because of unintended acceleration while Toyota continues its hand wringing. It's time that Toyota finally fixes this problem.

Until then, all Toyota drivers must be prepared.

You can learn more about the Toyota sudden acceleration defect by reading these previous reports of Toyota's sudden acceleration problem:

Toyota Denied Sudden Acceleration Problem For More Than 5 Years

"Inaccurate and Misleading" Statements On Toyota Sudden Acceleration Problem

Toyota Sudden Acceleration: Case Is Not Closed

Safety Group Responds To Toyota On Sudden Acceleration Defect

Toyota Has More Troubles Than Just Sudden Acceleration

You can learn more about Toyota's dangerous sudden acceleration defect at our auto safety blog or by visiting our web site.

Learn more and become a fan of Langdon & Emison on Facebook.

Continue reading "Toyota Acceleration Problem: Potential Recall and Fixes Discussed"

The Benefits of an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney

nospam@example.com (Joseph Lurie) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:00:08 -0500

Have you been injured in an accident or in a dangerous situation that required you to seek medical assistance? If the answer is yes, it is a good idea to contact a personal injury lawyer. As experienced personal injury lawyers and car accident attorneys in Philadelphia, we know at Galfand Berger that with the right legal representation those who have been injured have a much better chance of receiving fair compensation for all they have been through.

An injury or accident can leave those involved feeling vulnerable and in pain. In these situations the last thing someone should have to do is worry about dealing with insurance companies or other parties that may be involved in an injury case. A skilled lawyer will deal with the legal issues surrounding a personal injury case and give their client the peace of mind to focus on healing, be with their family and get better so they can return to work and other activities.

We find that most personal injury cases do not go to trial; rather, they settle after a series of negotiations. While we have obtained numerous personal injury settlements in Philadelphia, and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. We have the support staff and experience to represent any case at trial if a settlement cannot be reached.

At Galfand Berger we offer a free initial consultation to those who want to speak with a Philadelphia personal injury attorney about their case. There are steps you can take to be sure that the personal injury firm you choose is the right one.

To put your mind at ease, you can do the following:

Speak to several personal injury lawyers and ask for the results each attorney has in cases similar to yours
Ask about the attorney’s involvement in the legal community, legal background, honors and rating
Go to the firm’s website to view injury verdicts and settlements obtained by the firm, education, honors, background and statements from former clients
Seek out attorneys through word of mouth recommendations
Find out how accessible your attorney will be to you. You don’t want to get lost in the shuffle.

Take the first step and call for a free consultation to ensure that you receive just compensation for your injuries and protect yourself against future problems such as lost earnings or medical care.

Galfand Berger LLP
1818 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 665-6800

Continue reading "The Benefits of an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney"

Luxembourg UCITS "hedge funds"

nospam@example.com (Olivier Sciales) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:55:31 -0500

For a long time, Luxembourg hedge funds and funds of hedge funds have been set up under several wrappers, namely funds submitted under part II of the law of 20 December 2002 on UCIs (the “2002” Law) and specialised investment funds (SIF) governed by the law of 13 February 2007 (the “SIF Law”). As of today, hedge fund managers are considering launching UCITS platforms (especially “sophisticated UCITS”). As widely known, UCITS funds are harmonised European retail fund vehicles that can be sold globally and which benefit from the European passport enabling investment managers to easily market their funds within the EU. The total amount invested into UCITS was around EUR 4.6tn at the end of 2008, and experts forecast that it is set to grow to between EUR 7tn and EUR 9tn by 2012. As of 30 September 2009, the assets under management (AuM) of Luxembourg UCITS were about EUR 1.39tn which represents 78% of the total AuM of all the Luxembourg undertakings of collective investments.

The UCITS framework is attracting attention from hedge fund managers mainly because of the increased demand from investors for regulated products, transparency and liquidity sought in the aftermath of the Madoff case, the benefit of the European passport, the continuous broadening of the eligible asset rules for UCITS, the strong risk management framework, the future benefits of UCITS IV (when implemented by 2011) and the implications of the recent proposed EU hedge fund Directive (AIFM Directive) for non-UCITS vehicles.

European passport

As mentioned, the European passport provides hedge fund managers with a possibility to distribute the shares or units of the fund within the EU. The European passport makes distribution easier for these fund promoters since they do no longer have to be reviewed for substance in other EU member states but only with respect to formal compliance. The new simplified notification procedure provided by UCITS IV (to be in force by 2011) shall also attract the attention of hedge fund managers since it will speed up the cross-border distribution of their funds.

Eligible assets

Hedge fund managers driven by the investor demand are looking for products which can deal with their alternative investment policy as well as replicating their hedge fund strategies.

The UCITS directive adopted in 1985 (UCITS I) (when speaking about eligible assets) did not provide a detailed definition of the term ‘transferable securities’, even though it referred to the term repeatedly. In order to ensure a uniform application of the UCITS directives as well as helping EU member states to develop a common understanding as to whether a given asset category is eligible for a UCITS, the European institutions have decided to clarify such definitions in the eligible assets directive of 19 March 2007 (the “Eligible Assets Directive”) and the CESR’s guidelines concerning eligible assets for investment by UCITS (the “Eligible Assets Guidelines”) transposed in Luxembourg by the Grand-Ducal Regulation of 8 February 2008 and the CSSF circular 08/339.

Traditionally, the investment strategies of UCITS were limited to long / short equity. The main innovation was to extend the assets eligible for UCITS in order to enable UCITS III vehicles to invest in, inter alia, OTC derivatives (e.g. total return swaps, contracts for difference, etc.), to adopt synthetic shorting strategies (as physical shorting is not allowed), 130/30 strategies, investments in hedge fund indices, and so forth. These strategies are now possible subject to certain counterparty exposure limits in the sense that the global exposure through the use of derivatives does in principle not exceed 100% of the net asset value of the assets. Hence UCITS’ overall risk exposure may in principle not exceed 200% of the net asset value on a permanent basis.

Increased investor protection through risk management procedures

According to article 42 (1) of the 2002 Law, UCITS must implement a risk management strategy that enables them to monitor and measure the risk of the positions and their contribution to the overall risk profile at any time. The Luxembourg regulator (CSSF) has classified UCITS on the basis of their risk profile into sophisticated UCITS and non-sophisticated UCITS. A sophisticated UCITS (these are the UCITS which hedge fund managers tend to set up) are UCITS which mainly use derivative financial instruments and / or are making use of more complex strategies or instruments. According to the CSSF, a sophisticated UCITS must entrust to a risk management unit which is independent of the entities in charge of making investment decisions, the task of identifying, measuring, monitoring and controlling the risks associated with the portfolio’s positions. For instance, the following criteria need to be fulfilled by the risk management unit, namely it must have (i) a sufficient number of qualified personnel with the necessary knowledge, (ii) the necessary tools (IT and others) to do its task and (iii) conducting persons of the board (in case of a self-managed SICAV) or of the management company that are actively associated with the risk management process. Sophisticated UCITS must use the Value-at-Risk approach (VaR), which means that the potential loss that a UCITS portfolio could suffer within a certain time period is estimated. In principle (subject to derogation granted by the CSSF), a confidence interval of 99%, a holding period equivalent to one month and an effective observation period of risk factors of at least one year are amongst others the standards used for calculating the VaR.

Impact of UCITS IV

As widely known, the UCITS IV Directive has been adopted by the European Parliament on 13 January 2009 and by the European Council on 22 June 2009. The UCITS IV package aims to introduce the following amendments to the UCITS III legal regime: (1) a management company passport (allowing UCITS to be managed by a management company authorised in another EU member state), (2) a simplified notification procedure for cross-border distribution, (3) a replacement of the simplified prospectus by a key investor information document, (4) a framework for UCITS mergers and (5) master-feeder structures leading to greater pools of assets and economies of scale. All of the above measures may provide hedge fund managers with additional incentives to set up a UCITS structure as they will allow economies of scale and reduce costs (because, amongst others, of the absence of the need of a local management company and due to the simplified notification procedure for cross-border distribution).

Impact of the proposed AIFM directive (if adopted in its current form)

On 29 April 2009, the European Commission submitted a draft Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) to the European Parliament and the European Council, marking an attempt to create a regulatory framework for European alternative investment fund managers of non-UCITS funds: a common set of rules in terms of licensing and supervision. This Directive (if adopted) would apply to all managers that manage and market non-UCITS funds in the EU with AuM exceeding EUR 100m or EUR 500m if the funds are not leveraged and are not redeemable for at least five years. An important point with respect to this draft Directive is that the European passport towards third party funds (non EU domiciled funds – such as, for example, Cayman funds, BVI funds, Bermuda funds, etc.) would only enter into force three years after the transposition of the proposed Directive. In other words, the distribution of offshore funds to professional investors will only be possible after such period and will therefore restrict the possibility to raise funds in Europe. Even more stringently, non-EU AIFMs wishing to market within the EU will have to apply for an authorisation to a EU member state, which will only be granted if the country where the AIFM is based has put into place prudential regulations equivalent to those of the Directive and has tax co-operation agreements in place with the relevant member state’s regulators.

Certain hedge fund managers of non-EU domiciled funds are anticipating these proposed changes and are thinking to re-domicile or restructure their existing funds into Luxembourg UCITS funds or SIF funds. For the time being, this proposed directive has been criticised by the industry as being disproportionate and discriminatory, and amendments should be expected.

Today, hedge fund managers driven by more risk averse institutional investors are looking for more regulated vehicles with superior risk management procedures, and as such, the appeal of the UCITS legal framework accessing hedge fund strategy returns and offering wide reaching investor protection rules and investor information requirements has attracted their attention.

Should you need any further information, please contact Olivier Sciales at oliviersciales@cs-avocats.lu

What information do you need to collect in a trucking accident?

nospam@example.com (Charles T. McGinnis) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:09:36 -0500

Collecting Information After a Truck Accident

A truck accident can change your life in an instant. Despite the stressful situation, you should remain as calm as possible. Then you will be able to pull together the information you need to protect your legal rights and ensure proper compensation for any damages or injuries. Truck accidents can be traumatic, so it is a good idea to plan ahead and review the steps you need to take if you are involved in an accident. You can even keep a copy of this checklist in your vehicle to help trigger your memory if needed.

The information you should collect includes the following:

All driver(s) information including name, address, telephone number, license number, insurance company name and policy number
Truck or tractor trailer information including the vehicle id number (VIN) of the truck, and the truck owner’s name, address and insurance company
Names of all witnesses and their telephone numbers
Copy of police report
Picture of the scene; if possible, use your cell phone to take several pictures at the accident sight
Draw a diagram of the accident scene while it is fresh in your mind; include the directions of the vehicles and all street/highway names and markers
Records of medical expenses and lost wages
Auto repair estimates and bills

Notify your insurance company as soon as possible. However, it is important to note that you should not talk to any other party to the accident, including other insurance companies. Do not admit fault or liability to anyone and do not sign anything. When you gather the necessary information, you are helping to accurately record the truck accident and avoid future insurance or litigation problems. Having your own attorney, who has experience with truck accidents and their victims, will then give you the peace of mind you need to resolve this matter in a prompt and successful manner.

This article was provided by Cincinnati trucking accident law firm Freking & Betz, LLC, 513-721-1975, www.frekingandbetz.com.

Freking & Betz, LLC - Cincinnati tractor trailer accident, Cincinnati 18 wheeler accidents
525 Vine Street, Suite 600
Cincinnati, Ohio (OH) 45202
Phone: 513-721-1975

Continue reading "What information do you need to collect in a trucking accident? "

Luxembourg Hedge Funds: overview of the fund vehicles

nospam@example.com (Olivier Sciales) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:05:48 -0500

Luxembourg is, behind the USA, the world’s second ranking financial centre for the domicile and servicing of investment funds. Since 1959, when the first fund was established, the investment fund industry hugely expanded, counting 3,457 funds as of 30 September 2009. This success originated with the authorities' encouraging attitude to foreign capital and investment, and was considerably strengthened by its prime location in the heart of Europe - close to the main markets targeted by investment funds -, by its highly qualified multilingual workforce, as well as by its political, economic and social stability. This unique business friendly environment turns out to be of crucial assistance to mitigate the effects of the financial turmoil the investment funds world is currently going through, and indeed Luxembourg seems to be doing better than most major financial centres. As at 30 September 2009, total assets of undertakings for collective investment and specialised investment funds reached around EUR 1,773 billion. The Luxembourg government has implemented innovative fiscal measures and further reforms remain to be seen at the European level (i.e implementation of the UCITS IV Directive). Moreover, the events of the past months have lead the Luxembourg authority and government to take into consideration the security of investors.

I. Legal and regulatory framework

The 20 December 2002 law relating to undertakings for collective investments (“2002 Law”) shaped the Luxembourg investment fund market, differentiating between Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS, Part I of such law) and Undertakings for Collective Investment (UCIs, Part II of such law). Further to the 13 February 2007 law relating to Specialised Investment Funds (SIF) (“SIF Law”), the Luxembourg investment funds are now divided into three categories:

- Part II UCIs, 670 in September 2009;

- UCITS, 1,849 in September 2009; and

- SIF, 938 in September 2009.

A. UCITS

UCITS are designed for retail investors, and benefit from the European Passport, enabling them to be freely marketable throughout the EU countries with a minimum of formalities. Those funds are open-ended and must comply with stringent requirements set by the EU legislator in terms of eligibility of assets, risk-spreading requirements, and, more generally, in terms of substance and supervision.

Major changes in this area of the law remains however to be seen, since the proposal of the European Commission for an improved EU framework governing UCITS funds has been approved on 13 January 2009 by the European Parliament and on 22 June 2009 by the European Council. In practice this will mean the implementation of the UCITS IV Directive, which aims to liberalise the regime for cross-border retail funds.

B. UCIs

In contrast, UCIs (Part II) may only market their units in other EU countries after complying with the specific conditions stipulated by the authorities in the country concerned. The criterion defining whether a UCI is subject to Part I or Part II of the 2002 Law is the planned investment objective, as Part I applies only to UCI the sole objective of which is the investment in transferable securities, whereas a UCI may invest in activities such, inter alia, alternative investments (i.e. Hedge Funds), venture capital, and real estate.

C. SIFs

The SIF Law provides a separate statutory regime specifically designated for investment funds dedicated to sophisticated investors. The SIF is a lightly regulated and tax efficient fund which gives an on-shore alternative to consider (as compared to traditional off-shore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands or the BVI) when deciding on the jurisdiction for setting up a fund and the type of fund vehicle to use, and SIF are subject to each country’s distribution rules.

D. Regulatory body and control

The regulatory body is the Commission for the Supervision of the Financial Sector, (“CSSF”).

If it is subject to a continuous control by the CSSF, a fund set up under the SIF Law does not need its prior approval for being incorporated, while it is still a condition sine qua non for funds set up under the 2002 Law. Directors of a SIF are still subject to the CSSF approval.

The coming into force of the UCITS IV Directive, expected in mid-2011, should somewhat change the rule in this area, since the proposal reinforces the current provisions by providing additional tools to supervisors and enhancing supervisory cooperation.

To comply with the setting-up requirements, investors benefit from the financial facilities offered by the high-profiled Luxembourg economic environment, counting 152 banks (registered on the official list as at 28 February 2009), a broad range of international and local law firms exceedingly qualified in this field, as well as audit firms and tax advisors.

II. Constitution of a fund / legal structures available

Investment funds may take the form of an open-ended legal entity (investment company with variable capital, SICAV, 1,502 as of 30 September 2009), a closed-ended legal entity (investment company with fixed capital, SICAF, 20 as of 30 September 2009), or of a common contractual fund which has a management company (FCP, 1,926 as of 30 September 2009). All those different entities may create sub-funds, each with a different investment policy. In this context, each compartment will be deemed to be a separate entity, which implies that the assets of a compartment are exclusively available to satisfy the rights of investors in relation to that compartment.

A. SICAV / SICAF

A SICAV is a limited liability company whose capital is at any time equal to its net assets. Its capital increases and decreases automatically as a result of subscriptions or redemptions, without any formalities required. SICAVs may take different legal forms, depending on the law to which they are subject. In contrast, a SICAF is a limited liability company with fixed capital, open-ended only if the investors can buy and sell shares at their request and at a price equal to the net asset value per share. However, due to its limited flexibility, this corporate vehicle is rarely the choice of investors.

B. FCP

A FCP is a co-proprietorship whose joint owners are only liable up to the amount they have contributed. A FCP is deprived from a legal personality and must therefore be managed by a Luxembourg management company on behalf of joint owners. UCITS are managed by management companies under the conditions laid down in Chapter 13 of the 2002 Law, whereas Chapter 14 of the 2002 Law lays down the conditions under which management companies are ruling UCIs and SIFs.

C. Choosing a legal structure

The choice of whether to create a fund as a FCP or as an investment company is mainly based on tax considerations, as a FCP is tax transparent. Marketing and operational considerations are also relevant in this vehicle as a FCP, being domiciled in Luxembourg, benefits from the high standard of service provided by managers, custodians, legal and tax professionals present in Luxembourg. In contrast, the two other forms, because of their flexibility, are more often reserved for funds investing in transferable securities or derivatives, and for funds where shareholders/unitholders need to purchase or redeem their shares/units freely.

D. Formation expenses

The formation expenses will consist for all funds in a fixed registration duty of EUR 75, notary fees, legal fees, a CSSF filing duty, fixed, for 2002 Law UCIs, at EUR 2,650 for a single market UCI and EUR 5,000 for a multiple compartment UCI. In contrast, the CSSF filing duty has been fixed, for SIF Law UCIs, at EUR 1,500 for a single compartment UCI and EUR 2,650 for a multiple compartment UCI. The formation expenses may also comprise, if a listing to the Stock Exchange is contemplated, its admission fee, fixed at EUR 1,250.

E. Minimum capitalisation

The minimum capitalisation (EUR 1,250,000) required under both laws must, in case of a SIF, be reached within 12 months from the approval by the CSSF, in contrast with 6 months in case of other investment funds.

III. Investors' eligibility

Investment funds set up under the 2002 Law are available to public distribution. Hence, no restriction applies upon eligible investors, whereas the SIF Law introduces a qualified investor scheme. In this context, SIFs are reserved for well-informed investors who are able to understand and assess the risks associated with investments in such a fund, well-informed investor meaning either an institutional investor, a professional investor, or any other investor who has declared in writing that he is an informed investor and either invests a minimum of EUR 125,000 or has an appraisal from a bank, an investment firm or a management company certifying that he has the appropriate expertise, experience and knowledge to adequately understand the investment in the fund.

IV. Investment restrictions

Under the broad principle of risk spreading, all funds are subject to different rules restricting the scope of their investment policy. Those rules are quite restrictive towards UCITS, somewhat lighter concerning UCIs, and much lighter when it comes to SIFs.

A. UCITS

The 2002 Law provides for numerous restrictions upon investments by UCITS, which have been clarified in recent regulatory developments:

- Circular CSSF 07/308 lays down rules for the implementation of a risk management framework. Those rules rendered necessary that a UCITS must self-assess itself as either 'sophisticated' or 'non-sophisticated'. A sophisticated UCITS, being in the obligation of entrusting to a developed risk management unit, is able to make a significant use of derivative financial instruments, whereas non-sophisticated UCITS, with a much less developed risk management unit, can make use of derivative financial instruments only for hedging purposes. This Circular also specifies some valuation rules stating, inter alia, that overall risk exposure related to financial derivative instruments should not exceed the total Net Asset Value.

- The 8 February 2008 Grand-ducal regulation clarifies the notion of UCITS as provided in the 2002 Law, in light of the Commission Directive 2007/16/EC;

- The Circular CSSF 08/339 displays the guidelines given by the CESR in relation to eligible assets for investment by UCITS, and in this context provides additional clarifications relating to eligible assets for investment by UCITS covered by Directive 85/611/EEC, as amended; and

- CSSF Circular 08/356 describes in detail the techniques and instruments UCITS may use, including securities lending transactions. The main innovation to be noted refers to permitted collateral and permitted assets in which cash collateral can be reinvested. In this respect, this Circular specifies how collateral and assets acquired upon reinvestment of cash collateral must be safe kept in order to avoid a counterparty risk for the UCITS exceeding its legal limits.

B. Non-UCITS Part II Funds

If there are no restricted eligible assets for a UCI, its investment policy is subject to the CSSF approval, and specific rules are laid down in Circular IML 91/75 (as amended by Circular CSSF 05/177), whilst others are specifically applicable to UCIs pursuing alternative investment strategies. Those rules are laid down in Circular CSSF 02/80 which states, inter alia, that:

- Aggregate commitment in terms of short selling may not exceed 50% of assets, and no more than 10% of the same type issued by the same issuer may be sold short;

- Borrowings must not exceed 200% of the net assets; and

- Counterparty risk, defined as the difference between the value of assets given as guarantee and the amount borrowed, cannot represent more than 20% of the UCI's assets per lender.

C. SIFs

SIF are not required to comply with any detailed investment restrictions or leverage rules; the SIF Law merely stating that a SIF should apply the principle of risk diversification. This principle provides that the collective investment of funds must be made in assets 'in order to spread the investment risks'. The CSSF clarified in its Circular 07/309 that:

- A SIF may not invest more than 30% of its assets or commitments to subscribe securities of the same type issued by the same issuer;

- Short sales may not result in the SIF holding a short position in securities of the same type issued by the same issuer representing more than 30% of its assets; and

- When using financial derivative instruments, the SIF must ensure, via appropriate diversification of the underlying assets, a similar level of risk-spreading.

However, the CSSF may, upon appropriate justification, grant exemptions to these rules on a case-by-case basis.

V. Reporting and audit requirements

A. Prospectus

Funds are in the obligation to issue a prospectus containing information concerning the fund and its management company. The 10 July 2005 law on prospectus for securities specified that the obligation to publish a full prospectus shall not apply to units issued by UCI other than the closed-end type. Such a fund shall publish a simplified prospectus. Offers to the public of securities representing units issued by UCI other than the closed-end type shall be subject to the sole provisions of the laws on UCI. According to the 2002 Law, both the simplified and the full prospectus must include the information necessary for investors to make an informed judgment of the investment proposed to them, and especially of the risks attached thereto. Investors should note that when the UCITS IV Directive will come into force, the simplified prospectus is expected to be replaced by a ‘key investor information’ document.

B. Issuing document

Funds subject to the SIF law are only required to produce an 'issuing document', displaying, with no minimum content, the information necessary for investors to be able to make an informed judgment about the investment proposed to them. The issuing documents and any modifications thereto must be communicated to the CSSF.

C. Financial statement

A difference to draw between the 2002 Law and the SIF Law is that the obligation to publish a financial statement is only annual in the case of a SIF, whereas an investment fund subject to the 2002 Law must publish such an audited financial statement annually and semi-annually.

Such financial statement(s) must be audited by an authorised independent auditor, member of the Luxembourg Institute of Auditors. This auditor is in the obligation, if any information provided to investors does not truly describe the financial situation of the fund, to report promptly to the CSSF. The same obligation applies if the auditor becomes aware during the audit that any fact or decision is liable to constitute a material breach of the law or regulations, or to affect the continuous functioning of the UCI.

VI. Taxation of funds

Luxembourg funds are essentially tax-exempt vehicles, and indeed Luxembourg UCITS, UCIs and SIFs do not pay Luxembourg income and capital gain taxes, nor is a stamp duty on share issues or transfers to be paid.

The Luxembourg authorities are currently working on a wide range of fiscal reforms. The first main changes have been the abolition of the fixed capital duty and of the withholding tax on dividends paid to recipients resident in countries that have concluded a tax treaty with Luxembourg as from 1 January 2009.

Under the SIF Law an annual subscription tax has been fixed at 0.01% of net assets, compared to 0.05 % for funds under the 2002 Law. It is however only of 0.01% for UCIs whose exclusive policy is the investment in money market instruments or deposits with credit institutions. Other funds, such as certain institutional cash funds and pension pooling funds, are exempted from this subscription tax, no matter under which Law they are set up under. It should be noted that investors may invest in a SIF by means of equity or debt, hence benefiting from an effective tax optimisation, and that there is no debt-equity ratio to be respected in the case of a SIF.

In order to avoid double taxation, Luxembourg has signed double taxation treaties with 52 countries, and 21 others are under negotiation or awaiting approval of the Luxembourg Parliament or the foreign country. However, it has to be emphasised that only 27 of these treaties are applicable to SICAVs and SICAFs.

VII. Stock exchange listing

A fund may be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LSE). A few conditions have been imposed for a foreign fund to be listed on the LSE, mainly that the fund promoter must be of good repute, have adequate professional experience, and that the functions of investment manager, management company, custodian and transfer agent must be carried out by a separate entity.

The Stock Exchange maintenance fee has been fixed at EUR 1,875 for the 1st line of quotation, EUR 1,250 for a 2nd one, EUR 875 for a 3rd one, and EUR 500 for the 4th and the following lines of quotation.

Conclusion

The Luxembourg investment fund industry, largely benefiting from its location in a strong financial centre, is now an internationally recognised on-shore label for investment funds. The greatest asset of Luxembourg is undoubtedly political voluntarism, demonstrated by a constant anticipation of the need of investors - either in the transposing of European legislation or in the shaping of national legislation - in order to create a stable, protective and favourable environment according to the expected development of the market. This pragmatism on the part of the Luxembourg authorities, exemplified by the recent fiscal exemptions and by the way the CSSF dealt with the global financial turmoil, is decisive to shepherd investors in days of global uncertainty. Lastly, the increasingly important issue of transparency is covered by national and European regulations and provides new investors with an especially protective framework as compared to traditional off-shore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands or the BVI. For instance, the European Commission has proposed a Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) with the objective to create a comprehensive and effective regulatory and supervisory framework for AIFMs at the European level.

How are Truck Accidents unique from automobile accidents?

nospam@example.com (Randolph H. Freking) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:03:18 -0500

Understanding the Difference Between Truck and Automobile Accidents

What makes a trucking accident unique from all other auto accidents? Trucking accidents usually leave a long trail of destruction behind them and they are responsible for thousands of catastrophic personal injuries and fatalities on our nation’s highways. In an effort to make our highways a safer place, both federal and state authorities have imposed stricter laws and regulations on trucks and their operators. These statutes restrict the hours a driver can operate his truck and limit the size/weight of a truck on certain roadways. Regrettably, these laws are often violated, with devastating consequences.

Truck cases can involve any type of big rig such as tractor trailers, semi-trucks or 18-wheelers, and are usually quite technical in nature. For example, the size and weight of a truck determines the degree of impact. The larger the truck, the more momentum it has, and the greater impact force it has on another vehicle. Trucks also have a different type of braking system than automobiles. Trucks use compressed air for braking, which means that it takes longer to slow down or stop. Imagine the result of an 18-wheeler coming upon a sharp curve in the road, traveling at a high speed…during rush hour on a major highway. Most often, these truck drivers walk away from the accident with fewer injuries than other passenger vehicles. While truck drivers may appear to be the main guilty parties in an accident, they may share liability with the trucking company or the manufacturer of the truck.

The complexity and uniqueness of truck accidents call out for professional help. Aside from knowing which trucking laws apply, an experienced attorney will know how to investigate crashes, and more importantly, which parties are responsible for the accident. A knowledgeable attorney can explain the important components of a truck accident, while protecting your rights and ensuring proper compensation.

This article was provided by Cincinnati trucking accident lawyers of Freking & Betz, LLC, 513-721-1975, www.frekingandbetz.com.

Freking & Betz, LLC - 18 wheeler accident in Cincinnati, Cincinnati semi truck accident
525 Vine Street, Suite 600
Cincinnati, Ohio (OH) 45202
Phone: 513-721-1975

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Changes in Accident Litigation in OH

nospam@example.com (Mark W. Napier) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:52:40 -0500

Changes in OH Accident Litigation

The accident litigation rights of Ohio citizens changed considerably in April of 2005 when the new tort reform laws went into effect. The laws enacted significant changes that affect the circumstances under which a person is able to sue and how much they may recover from a personal injury lawsuit. The main provisions of the tort reform bill (Senate Bill 80) can be summarized as follows.

Punitive damages for non-catastrophic injuries are limited and contingent upon the size of a defendant company. Specifically, for companies employing 500 people or more, the limit is twice the amount of the compensatory damage; and for smaller companies punitive damages are limited to the lesser of twice the compensatory damages, 10% of the plaintiff’s net worth, or $350,000. Other provisions address the defendant’s right to a bifurcated trial, meaning that the defendant is entitled to have the amount of punitive damages decided in a separate trial. The jury must receive instructions as to the tax ramifications of damage awards and they cannot consider the wealth of the defendant in deciding the value of an award. There is no limit to the value of punitive damages for catastrophic injuries.

Another provision of Ohio tort reform is that the statues of repost for construction and product claims are limited to ten years. This means that you must file a claim within ten years of when a manufacturer first sold a product for a product liability claim and within ten years of completion for a construction claim. Exceptions exist that relate to the type of product warranty and to fraud on the part of the manufacturer. Bill 80 also changes the status of the consumer expectation test from a stand alone measure to part of the standard for determining design defects and considers the existence of safer design alternatives among the issues in an award decision.

Ohio tort reform laws also limit successor liability in asbestos related claims. This provision provides protection to companies that never were involved in the manufacture of asbestos but who have acquired a company that had in the past. The protection varies with the date of the acquisition and the value of the company that was purchased.

People who own or rent property that is adjacent to recreational trails or provides direct access to public property where produce is grown have limited immunity against accident liability cases under Bill 80.

The reform law provides immunity for food manufacturers and suppliers and trade associations from civil litigation suits for claims relating to a person’s weight gain or weight related health conditions as a result of over consumption of food and food products.

A defendant in a civil litigation suit may introduce evidence regarding the non-use of safety belts as a contributing factor to an accident and may affect the value of the non-economic damages that are awarded.

Article provided by accident lawyers in Cincinnati , Freking & Betz, LLC, 513-721-1975, www.frekingandbetz.com.

Freking & Betz, LLC - Cincinnati accident law
525 Vine Street, Suite 600
Cincinnati, Ohio (OH) 45202
Phone: 513-721-1975

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