Man is falsly imprisoned and is denied compensation.

Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was accused of slayings of a grandmother and five children in 1992. "The state comptroller refused to pay Graves the $80,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment provided by law because the order dismissing the capital murder charges did not contain the words "actual innocence," as the statute requires."
"Graves has sued the attorney general, asking for a declaration of actual innocence, but [Attorney General Greg] Abbott's office said the law does not allow the attorney general to make such a declaration."

I think this case is very big and it is appalling to see such a thing happen, I do not have experience so say if the law does or does not allow the attorney general to make such a decision, but I think a normal person would see that compensation is needed.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7544107.html
Posted by: Mohammad AlBader

American Needle Inc. v. NFL

"* American Needle Inc. v. NFL, et al.: In 2000, the National Football League formed an exclusive partnership with Reebok that made the Canton (Mass.)-based company the sole producer of official NFL uniforms and merchandise. Prior to this agreement, American Needle, a sports equipment manufacturer, had individual deals with several NFL teams, which were nullified by the Reebok deal for exclusive rights. American Needle sued, claiming the NFL violated anti-trust laws, but the NFL claimed that it could act as a single entity along with its individual teams. The decision will help make clear what constitutes a single entity and what does not. That could have major anti-trust implications not only in the sports world, but for any group of businesses claiming to act as a single entity."

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An update about what is going on in Japanese nuclear crisis

Developments in Japan's disasters, nuclear crisis

By The Associated Press – 4 hours ago

— RADIATION LIMITS FOR FISH. The government sets its first radiation safety standards for fish after contamination in nearby seawater measures at several million times the legal limit. The delay in the latest figures reaching the public comes as the beleaguered utility firm had to recheck its samples as the firm was lambasted by the government on Sunday for providing inaccurate information regarding the concentration of radiation in seawater near the plant.

— TEPCO COMPENSATION. Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it will give towns within the evacuation zone 20 million yen ($240,000) each in "apology money." That would be on top of any legally required compensation.

— INDIA BANS JAPANESE FOOD IMPORTS. India bans food imports from Japan for three months or until credible information shows the radiation hazard has subsided. It will review the situation weekly.

— STOCK DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL. TEPCO's stock drops 80 yen to just 362 yen ($4.30), falling below its previous all-time closing low from December 1951. Since the quake, the share price has nose-dived a staggering 80 per cent.

I do not think TEPCO will survive this crisis especially with its stock falling so much and the fact that they are being reprimanded by the government for providing inaccurate information.

Lawyer, Firm File Suit Over "False Review"

I thought this was a good article regarding defamation:

Bellaire lawyer Michael W. Weston and his firm, Weston & Associates, have filed a defamation suit alleging a "false review" about the firm was posted online on Citysearch.com. They seek more than $1.25 million in damages.

Weston and his firm are suing a paralegal who formerly worked at Weston & Associates and a man who has her same last name. The plaintiffs allege in the petition — filed March 3 in Harris County's 133rd District Court — that the Nov. 22, 2010, "fraudulent posting" on Citysearch.com was accessible through a Google search. The further allege the review resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost business, because it was "made public to thousands of potential clients since Nov. 22, 2010." [See the petition.]

In Weston & Associates, et al. v. Williams, et al. , Weston and his firm bring defamation, common-law fraud and conspiracy causes of action against former paralegal Amber Williams and Jon Peter Williams. The plaintiffs allege the defendants live at the same address in Houston. Weston says the Williamses are married.

A telephone number for Amber Williams and Jon Williams could not be located, and an e-mail sent to an address listed in the petition for Jon Williams received no response. They have not filed an answer, according to records on the Harris County District Clerk's website.

Weston and his firm allege in the petition that Weston hired Amber Williams as a paralegal on Oct. 11, 2010, but she was "terminated for insubordination" on Nov. 6, 2010.

The plaintiffs allege that on Nov. 22, 2010, the defendants, "posing as former clients, posted a false and derogatory review on Citysearch.com." Weston and his firm allege the review was posted under the name "jon77088," and they traced it to a Yahoo.com e-mail address and a Facebook page for Jon Williams.

As alleged in the suit, the review states:

I went to this attorney on the recommendation of a friend. He had used the father for a bankruptcy. I would be using the son to help with debt settlement. I found him to be condescending to my situation and cold in demeanor. If you are looking for a factory that turns out debt settlements then this attorney is for you. If you want someone to answer your questions and help you through a hard time in your life then find another firm!!!!!!!

The review of Weston & Associates is no longer available on the Citysearch.com site, but it can be read through a cached version. Weston & Associates — Michael Weston and his father, Pete Weston, own the firm — does bankruptcy and debt resolution work.

The plaintiffs seek $20,000 in actual damages for money they paid for "pay-per-click" advertising; $250,000 for lost profits; $1 million for damage to reputation; "multiple damages" under Texas Business & Commerce Code §17.50(b)(1); and punitive damages under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §41.003(1).

In an interview, Michael Weston says he found the Citysearch.com review on March 3 when he typed his firm's name into the Google search engine. At his request, Citysearch.com removed the review, but Weston is concerned that he and his firm lost business over several months as clients and prospective clients looked at the review.

"I read it, of course. My stomach drops, thinking, 'What client could I have upset?' and me not knowing about it," Weston recalls. "I was obviously pretty upset that someone would go out and do that, and it sat there for three or four months. . . . As a lawyer, your reputation is everything," Weston says.

Debbie Fink is a spokeswoman for Citysearch, a local search and directory company based in Los Angeles. She writes in an e-mail that the company will remove postings "that violate our terms of use." She says moderators review the postings at the request of a business.

Weston says right now there's no way to know precisely how many clients or prospective clients saw the review online. To prevent something similar in the future, Weston says he set up Google alerts on his firm and himself, so he may learn quickly what's posted online about him or the firm.

There's one small problem with that, Weston notes: The main character in the USA television series "Burn Notice" is named Michael Westen, so most of the alerts are about that fictional character.

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202487882931

Breach in reactor suspected at Japanese nuke plant

TOKYO – A suspected breach in the reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious radioactive contamination, Japanese officials revealed Friday, as the prime minister called the country's ongoing fight to stabilize the plant "very grave and serious."

A somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded a pessimistic note at a briefing hours after nuclear safety officials announced what could be a major setback in the urgent mission to stop the plant from leaking radiation, two weeks after a devastating earthquake and tsunami disabled it.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The uncertain situation halted work at the nuclear complex, where dozens had been trying feverishly to stop the overheated plant from leaking dangerous radiation. The plant has leaked some low levels of radiation, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants.

The government has already ordered people living 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the plant to evacuate because of radiation leaks. On Friday, government spokesman Yukio Edano reaffirmed that people farther away from that limit were safe, but that those within 20 miles (30 kilometers) of the plant should stay indoors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

NBA referee files defamation suit in Twitter case

Below is a case where an NBA referee has filed a defamation case against a reporter for a tweet. Apparently the reporter said in his tweet that he heard the referee telling the Minnesota T-Wolves coach that he will make up a bad call. The referee claims this is defaming because it makes it seem as if he fixes games. I don't believe this case will go in the favor of the referee at all because I see the referee as a public figure and I don't think the reporters tweet can be proven to be actual malice. Below are two links that talk about the case.

http://www.employmentattorneyoh.com/2011/03/nba-referee-files-defamation-suit-in-twitter-case.shtml

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6218678

South Carolina Hospital Negligence Case

Below is a case in South Carolina where a hospital was sued for its negligence during the birth of a baby girl in 2003. She suffered a lack of oxygen and therefore experienced severe brain injury. A nurse trainee was the one in charge of reading the heart monitoring data and misread the baby's signals and it didn't get the attention it needed. She died within a few months from cerebral palsy and the blame is on the hospital for negligence during the birth of the baby.

The hospital has a duty to provide patients with able employees who read data correctly in order to keep their patients safe and cared for. The hospital also had a breach of duty because a reasonable person would have read the data correctly and gotten the baby needed assistance so it could have lived fine. But, for the misreading of the data by the nurse trainee, the baby would have been okay and lived and therefore the negligence of the hospital has causation. The obvious damage of the baby dying can not be given back to the couple. With the evidence of the trainee misreading the data, the hospital is definitely subject to a negligence case and will most likely fail, as they did in this case.



Posted On: April 8, 2009 by New York Personal Injury Attorney

South Carolina Hospital Negligence Case Awards Parents

The Piedmont Medical Center has been instructed recently by a York County jury to pay damages due to hospital negligence amounting to over $4 million to a South Carolina couple, The Charlotte Observer reported in an article. The couple, Robin and Brice Wilson, had lost their infant daughter during her birth due to a brain injury.

Sierra Wilson had been born in 2003 at the hospital but lack of oxygen caused her to suffer a critical brain injury and she died of complications from cerebral palsy within a few months, the article said. The Wilsons had stated in their lawsuit that the hospital failed to note the child needed emergency intervention because a nurse trainee assigned to the expectant mother misread fetal heart monitoring data. Hospital officials reportedly defended their actions in the care that had been provided to the Wilsons and are now evaluating their legal options.

Unfortunately birth injuries caused by medical negligence are extremely common in the United States. Medical facilities of all types, small, large and well established are all, for a variety of reasons, prone to causing injury accidents and fatalities due to misdiagnoses, failure to diagnose or not taking immediate and corrective measures. It is estimated that in New York alone more than 3% of those admitted to hospitals will be seriously injured because of negligence of some type.

The New York Hospital Negligence Lawyers at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, L.L.P specialize in assisting victims who believe they have been seriously injured or families who have lost a loved one because of negligence on the part of a medical facility. Our New York Medical Malpractice attorneys are assigned only a specific number of cases so they can focus on best serving our clients. If you’d like to better understand your legal rights and options in your hospital negligence or birth injury case, please contact our office and we’ll be happy to set up a comprehensive initial consultation for you, at no charge.

Posted by Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro