News
Personal Injury
[08/19]
NY state firefighters deliver 3 babies in transit
[08/19]
Suit accuses restaurant of giving man big tapeworm
[08/19]
Sailor, knocked from boat, rescued 12 hours later
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Articles
Personal Injury-Wrongful Death
What To Do If You Are a Victim of Identity Theft
The Identity Theft Affidavit simplifies the process of disputing fraudulent debts and accounts opened by an identity thief. Instead of completing different forms, you can use the ID Theft Affidavit to alert companies where a new account was opened in your name. The company can then investigate the fraud and decide the outcome of your claim. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf
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Seat Belt Defense Law
With the enactment of federal laws requiring automobile manufactures to provide seat belts in vehicles, along with state laws mandating the use of seat belts, seat belt use is at an all time high. Studies indicate that nearly two-thirds of Americans buckle up each time they drive or ride in an automobile. However, despite the increased use of seat belts, in 2002, there were approximately 6.3 million auto accidents in the U.S. Almost three million people were injured and 42,000 people were killed as a result of car accidents in 2002. ,Given these statistics, it is not surprising that car accident cases make up a substantial portion of personal injury litigation. Moreover, seat belt usage has greatly influenced personal injury litigation. Courts continue to debate the legal significance of a plaintiff's failure to use a seat belt when assigning contributory liability and mitigation of damages. An attempt by the defendant-driver to offer evidence at trial of the plaintiff's failure to use the seat belt is known as the seat belt defense.
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Case Summaries
Injury & Tort Law
[08/20]
Piscitelli v. Salesian Society
In a negligence action against defendant-Salesian Society for failing to protect plaintiff from childhood sexual abuse at the hands of one of defendant's priests, judgment against defendant is affirmed where, if it is relevant to the issue, a witness may be impeached by evidence of a prior conviction in order to show bias, without regard to the nature of the underlying crime as it relates to the character traits of honesty and truthfulness.
[08/20]
Soto-Lebron v. Federal Express Corp.
In a matter brought by former employee against defendant FedEx following his termination, grant of FedEx's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the slander and libel claims is affirmed where: 1) the evidence introduced in support of the slander claim "does not rise to more than informal rumors" circulating among employees, for which FedEx cannot be held liable; and 2) there was sufficient evidence to support liability for libel. Case is remanded for new trial on damages for the libel claim where admission of irrelevant evidence tainted the jury's damage calculation and that taint was not cured by remittitur. Denial of defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is reversed where former employee-plaintiff did not introduce any evidence suggesting that a subsequent employer or potential employer treated him adversely as a result of the defamatory statements made by FedEx.
[08/19]
Pelton-Shephard Indus. v. Delta Pkg. Products, Inc.
In an action to recover damages owed by defendant-distributor related to terminated distribution agreement, default judgment for plaintiff company is reversed where: 1) the trial court failed in its responsibilities under the Civil Discovery Act; 2) the trial court abused its discretion in granting plaintiff's motion to compel after the discovery motion cutoff date when plaintiff had not moved to reopen discovery under Code of Civil Procedure section 2024.050; and 3) the trial court prejudicially abused its discretion in denying defendant's motion for relief from the waiver of objection because defendant's failure to timely respond to the inspection demands was the result of its attorney's excusable neglect.
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