On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, alleging it marketed securities to customers knowing they would fail. Goldman Sachs is one of the nation’s largest banks. The SEC has jurisdiction to regulate banks and file civil complaints seeking money damages when it believes a fraud has occurred. Goldman Sachs has publicly stated it will vigorously defend the charges. The bigger public policy battle underway is to what extent private banks should be held responsible–and ultimately regulated more strictly–for the financial crisis. For a comprehensive article regarding the case, see http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F3JX20100416.
SEC Files Civil Fraud Charges Against Goldman Sachs
April 20th, 2010U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stevens Will Leave a Legacy of Jury Trial Protection When He Retires This Summer
April 15th, 2010As of tomorrow it will be one week since Justice John Paul Stevens officially announced his retirement from the United States Supreme Court effective at the close of the current term this summer. The announcement was not a surprise given the long and successful career of Justice Stevens. He turns 90 in five days. Supreme Court historians will debate Justice Stevens’ legacy for years to come. Writers and pundits have already started to evaluate his legacy. (To learn more about a handful of landmark cases in which Justice Stevens played a pivotal role, you can read a Newsweek blog at: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/04/09/john-paul-stevens-legacy-in-five-cases.aspx). Overall, Justice Stevens is likely to be remembered for his reasoned approach to civil liberties, civil rights, and the right to trial by jury in both criminal and civil cases. Given Justice Stevens cared deeply about applying the wisdom of the constitution’s founders to the issues of modern times, it is appropriate to invoke the words of John Adams in 1774, who said, “Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.”
Ben Roethlisberger Could Face Another Personal Injury Lawsuit Under Civil Burden of Proof
April 12th, 2010At approximately 2:00 p.m. local time, people in Pittsburgh, PA and around the country took a break from their day to learn that Ben Roethlisberger would not be criminally prosecuted for the alleged sexual assault of a college student in Georgia. The District Attorney who made the decision not to prosecute was clear he could not prove the case against Roethlisberger, “beyond a reasonable doubt”. That standard of proof is used universally throughout the United States as the benchmark of guilt–if someone is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”, then they are legally guilty of a crime. If a prosecutor can’t prove that a crime occurred “beyond a reasonable doubt”, then it would be unethical and unconstitutional to go forward with the prosecution. Nonetheless, the facts in a case, including in Roethlisberger’s situation, may be enough to prove that he broke the law “more probably than not”. That is the burden of proof for a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit for personal injury or sexual assault and battery. Thus, if the alleged victim chooses to file suit, she and her attorney must do so with a good faith belief they can prove an injury, assault, or battery was committed on a, “more probable than not basis”. In time, we will learn if the Georgia incident will result in a civil lawsuit against Roethlisberger just as the Nevada incident gave rise to a sexual assault lawsuit without criminal prosecution. While there are many reasons why there may be a civil case but no criminal case, the different burden of proof fundamentally explains why this duality can legally occur in our justice system.
Cal/OSHA Issues Large Fine
April 5th, 2010In the “L.A. Now” blog at the Los Angeles Times (4/1), Jessica Garrison wrote, “The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health on Thursday fined Bimbo Bakeries $230,000, including more than $120,000 in rarely issued ‘willful’ citations given to companies that intentionally disregard safety regulations. The action comes after a Times investigation last fall highlighted cases at Bimbo Bakeries in which five employees lost fingers or parts of fingers, and one lost an arm, in separate bakery accidents.” The action “comes as Cal/OSHA and the appeals board that reviews the citations it issues are under pressure from lawmakers and federal officials,” on issue being that the board “has repeatedly reduced fines or dismissed cases over the objections of Cal/OSHA investigators.”
Oregon Personal Injury Attorneys Fight for Oregonians Who Buy Insurance
March 29th, 2010Oregon personal injury lawyers recently scored a victory for everyday consumers of insurance. In Parks v. Farmers Insurance, (Case No. CC 0306-06214, Dec. 24, 2009), the Oregon Supreme Court ruled in favor of an insured when it held the insurance company was on notice of a claim when the insured telephoned the insurer after suffering significant property damage. According to the Oregon Supreme Court, the phone call and ensuing conversation between insured and insurer constituted “proof of loss” under ORS 742.061. This statute allows Oregonians suffering personal injuries and property damage to recover their attorney fees against the insurance company when the consumer hires an attorney to represent him or her against an insurance company who refuses to pay full value on a valid claim. You can read the complete opinion here: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S055403.htm
U.S. Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Students
March 23rd, 2010Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of consumers in a student loan bankruptcy case. In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court held that a private lender could not come back years later to try to collect part of an unpaid loan that was fully disclosed in the student’s bankruptcy plan, yet not objected to by the lender.
Energy Savings?
March 22nd, 2010Energy conservation issues are a hot legal topic these days. To understand the legal issues, it’s wise to know some of the underlying science. Given that Daylight Saving Time is underway, let’s take up the issue of energy and daylight. According to data analyzed by the Consumer Energy Report, the energy savings is “meager at best”. However, other societal benefits arguably occur thanks to the extra hour of daylight. Read the full article here: http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2009/03/09/does-daylight-savings-time-really-conserve-energy/.
Driver Safety Benefit to Daylight Savings Time
March 15th, 2010Despite the statistical spike in car accidents and work injuries at the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, there is a silver lining. Once people settle into a new schedule and sleep pattern, statistics show that the number of motor vehicle crashes and fatalities drop because of the longer daylight to see and respond to road hazards.
Daylight Savings Time Dangers
March 14th, 2010As an Oregon personal injury attorney, certain statistics jump off the news page. This morning, I groggily climbed out of bed like everyone else after springing our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time. I thought to myself, what does it mean for people to lose an hour of sleep? One answer in the news that day got my attention. It warned about studies showing an approximately 17% increase in car accidents on the first Monday after Daylight Saving Time. Here is a link to the Oregon Live article: http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/03/watch_out_for_daylight_saving.html. Similar studies exist for work injuries on the first work day after Daylight Saving Time.
McCormick Seasonings Recall (update)
March 11th, 2010McCormick has expanded its March 5th recall of several seasonings due to increased concerns about consumers getting salmonella poisoning. Please read the official full recall list at the Food and Drug Administration website.