Posts Tagged ‘civil’

How much should BP pay American taxpayers for the Gulf oil spill in 2010?

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

After BP spilled 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the U.S. government cited BP with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act.  At this time, it is being reported that negotiations between U.S. officials and BP may be coming to a close soon.  The amount of a potential settlement is unknown, but the government has requested BP pay around $4,300 per barrel in fines, which amounts to more than 17 billion dollars.  Here is an article from Bloomberg News.

Listeria, Cantaloupe, and Who to Call

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

If you have cantaloupe sitting in your house, check the updated FDA Recall Notice here.  If the source of your cantaloupe is in doubt, then it is recommended to discard the cantaloupe without consumption.  After doing so, you may wish to call the farm where the contaminated cantaloupe has been sourced–Jensen Farms in Colorado.  Jensen Farms set up a contact email and phone number to address questions Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.  Here is the contact information published on by ABC news:  email at email hidden; JavaScript is required or phone (800) 267-4561 Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Of course, if you or someone you know has suspects having contracted listeria or any other foodborne illness by eating contaminated food, never call the at-fault party directly.  Immediately call your doctor and your local health department to protect your health, and call a qualified personal injury attorney to protect your legal rights.

Lake Oswego Teenager Recklessly Injures Passenger in Weekend Street Race

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Over the weekend, a Lake Oswego teenager, Cameron Rathmanner, crashed during an illegal street race in Washington County.  The crash sent Mr. Rathmanner’s teenage passenger to OHSU with critical injuries as reported in the Oregonian. The reckless driving of Mr. Rathmanner is clearly grounds for punitive damages by his teenage passenger and her family.  While there is no amount of money that can truly compensate a victim in this type of preventable tragedy, hopefully there is enough automobile insurance coverage to pay all past and future medical expenses as well as begin to make up a little bit for the pain, suffering, and rehabilitative challenges that undoubtedly lay ahead for the young passenger-victim.  In addition, punitive damages are society’s way of deterring future reckless conduct through the civil justice system.

Elena Kagan Confirmed as U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Today, the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice.  The vote total was 63-37.  Justice Kagan will serve on the country’s highest court with two other female justices.  In terms of access to justice and consumer protection issues, it is presumed by most, but not really known publicly, that Justice Kagan will be a strong advocate for the civil justice system.  If so, she will appropriately replace one of the Supreme Court’s greatest plaintiff/consumer advocates, Justice John Paul Stevens.


Consumer Fraud Update: Justice Department Opens Criminal Probe on Goldman Sachs

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Less than two weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against giant bank Goldman Sachs, it’s being reported that the Justice Department has opened an investigation into possible criminal charges as well.  Penoyer Law will follow this story and provide updates as they become available.  For those interested in reading more about the probe reportedly underway by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, read a recent Washington Post article here.

SEC Files Civil Fraud Charges Against Goldman Sachs

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

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.

Ben Roethlisberger Could Face Another Personal Injury Lawsuit Under Civil Burden of Proof

Monday, April 12th, 2010

At 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.