Originally published by Gerry W. Beyer.
Prince reportedly loved the color purple, referring to it as his favorite color and naming his most famous album Purple Rain. Now, the late singer’s company, overseen by his estate, has filed an application earlier this month with the US…
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by tiffany.dowell.
Last week, I traveled to beautiful Portland, Oregon for the 39th Annual American Agricultural Law Association Conference. On Monday, I’ll be sharing some highlights and emerging legal issues we discussed at that event.
Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels
One quick note before we get into the Round Up. The blog I posted on Monday discussing legal issues surrounding the death of a ranch hand went viral on social media. Thanks to those of you who shared and retweeted! This is clearly an issue you all are interested in, and rightly so. If you missed that post, click here.
Here are some of the ag law stories making news over the past couple of weeks:
* EPA published proposed rule to expressly exempt animal agricultural facilities from reporting air emissions under EPCRA. This is an issue we’ve long been following. You may remember earlier this year that Congress passed a law specifically exempting air emissions from animal waste on farms from reporting requirements under the federal CERCLA statute. The EPA’s position since that time has been that reporting under EPCRA was exempt as well. This week, the agency took the next step to formalize this in the text of the EPCRA rule by expressly listing animal waste from farms as exempt and by defining the meaning of “animal waste” and “farm.” The proposed rule will now go through notice and comment period prior to being officially finalized and published. [Read Proposed Rule here.]
*EPA extends registration of over-the-top dicamba products for two more years; new label restrictions for 2019. In a much-watched decision, the EPA has extended the registration for over-the-top dicamba products an additional two years. The initial two-year registration was set to expire in November, and many wondered whether EPA would extend given the number of drift complaints around the country. In addition to the extension, EPA has imposed new label requirements for 2019. These include that the applicator must be certified (not merely supervised by a certified applicator), post-planting cut offs of 45 days for soybeans and 60 days for cotton, decreased number of allowable applications for cotton, timing restrictions, additional buffer requirements, and enhanced label and clean-out instructions. [Read article here.]
* California judge overturns punitive damage order in Round Up cancer case. You may recall that earlier this year, a California jury found that Round Up cased Dewayne Johnson’s cancer and awarded him $289 million. Of that amount, $250 million was punitive damages and $39 million was compensatory damages. In a post-trial ruling last week, the judge upheld the jury’s finding that the plaintiff’s exposure to Round Up was a substantial factor in causing his cancer, but overruled the punitive damage award. The court found that the award should be reduced to be equal to the compensatory damages number of $39 million, which would reduce the total verdict award to $78 million. The plaintiff can now chose to accept the reduced award or the judge will order a new trial on the issue of punitive damages only. [Read Order here and article here.]
* Fourth Circuit finds gag order imposed in North Carolina nuisance lawsuits unconstitutional. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sided with Smithfield Foods, finding that the gag order violated the First Amendment. The gag order prohibited the parties, their lawyers, and all potential witnesses from “giving or authorizing any extrajudicial statement…relating to the trial, the parties or issues in this case” if the statement could reasonably reach “public communications media” and could “interfere with a fair trial or prejudice any plaintiff, the defendant, or the administration of justice.” The concern over pre-trial publicity was not enough to justify this type of gag order. As the court noted, “gag orders should be a last resort, not a first impulse.” [Read Order here.]
*First dicamba case for trial in October 2019. The first of several dicamba-related lawsuits has been set for trial. Bader Farms v. Monsanto, filed by peach farmers in Georgia, has been scheduled for trial in October 2019. This case is an individual action (rather than a class action like many others) and claims that Monsanto should be liable for releasing a defective crop system without the accompanying EPA-approved herbicide. The farm claims their crops were damaged in 2015 and 2016. [Read article here.]
* PRF Rainfall Insurance deadline coming up November 15. Don’t forget that if you are interested in signing up for Pasture, Range, and Forage insurance (better known as “rainfall insurance”) for 2019, the deadline to do so is November 15. Any crop insurance agent can help get you signed up. To learn more about this risk management tool, click here to listen to a prior podcast focused exclusively on it. [Read article here.]
Programs Next Week
I’ve only got one stop on the agenda for next week. On Monday evening at 7:00 pm, I’ll be in Panhandle at the War Memorial Building speaking on estate and transition planning. For more information, contact Carson County Extension here.
As always, you can see all of my upcoming programs (including those set for 2019) by clicking here.
The post November 2, 2018 Weekly Round Up appeared first on Texas Agriculture Law.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by Adam Faderewski.
Act III, a women’s law group in Dallas, has raised over $25,000 for the Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure.
Act III, founded by Ophelia Camina as a way to network, is a group of 14 women lawyers in Dallas who practice in various areas of the law.
One of the group’s members, Liza Farrow-Gillespie, is a breast cancer survivor but unfortunately is once again battling cancer. Act III members decided to honor Farrow-Gillespie by representing her in the Race for the Cure as Act III—Team Liza.
The amount raised placed the Act III team in third place overall for fundraising for the Race for the Cure held October 27 in Dallas.
To learn more about the Komen Foundation, go to komen.org.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by Staff Report.
The 2019 individual health insurance open enrollment period kicked off today. Like last year, this year there is just 45 days to enroll, making the concierge-level customer service available through the Texas Bar Private Insurance Exchange more vital than ever.
The Texas Bar Private Insurance Exchange is designed to help you purchase and compare products offered from leading health insurance providers. Administered by Member Benefits Inc., the exchange is open to members of the State Bar of Texas, their employees, local bar staff, and Texas law students; including spouses, domestic partners, and dependents. It is available for individuals as well as employer groups.
The 2019 open enrollment period runs from November 1 to December 15, 2018, with a coverage effective date of January 1, 2019.
Benefits of using the Texas Bar Private Insurance Exchange include:
Whether you’re searching for a better policy or just want to research your options, now is the perfect time. Visit the State Bar of Texas Member Benefits site today to shop for health care plans designed to meet your needs.
Schedule a call with a counselor for creative solutions for individual and group insurance needs.
2019 open enrollment seminars were held in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Click on the city name to download the slide presentation from each seminar.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by Brenda Sapino Jeffreys.
Baylor Law School had the highest passing rate among first-time test takers for the July 2018 Texas Bar Examination, and Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law had the lowest.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by gbaumgartner.
When involved in an accident with a big rig in Texas, you may wonder which party was at fault. Generally, one driver might be more at fault for the accident than the other. Sometimes both drivers did something wrong that contributed to the crash. Most states have contributory negligence statues in place that limit when injured parties may collect on personal injury claims if they are partly to blame. Texas utilizes a 51% rule for truck accidents and other personal injury cases.
In most accidents, one or both parties were negligent. Negligence simply means that the driver was doing something that they knew, or should have known, could cause an accident or injuries. Sometimes one driver is responsible for the accident. However, sometimes, both drivers did something that may have been negligent.
Contributory negligence is also known as proportionate responsibility. According to Texas law, someone who files a claim cannot recover damages if they were over 50% responsible for the accident. Therefore, you can only get damages for your injuries if the other driver was over 50% negligent.
More than one party can hold some responsibility for an accident. For example, one driver may be negligent by disobeying a red light. However, the other driver could be found partly negligent were they speeding at the time of the incident. A portion of negligence is ascribed to each driver. Damages are recovered according to the percentage of negligence apportioned. Your damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. If you are over 50% at fault you may not collect damages for a personal injury claim.
Determining Fault in Truck Accident Cases
Determining fault in an accident is not a simple process. It should be left to professionals with experience in reviewing accident details. If you have been hit by an 18-wheeler, the insurance company will likely contact you following an accident. It is usually best to discuss the matter with a qualified Houston truck accident attorney before you speak with an insurance representative. Remember that the insurance company will often try to keep from paying claims and what you say could be used against you later.
In some accidents, it is easy to determine fault, but often it can be a complicated situation. The police report, witness statements, and video surveillance footage can all be useful in determining how the accident happened. Sometimes, accident reconstruction is necessary to discover what occurred before, during, and after a crash.
The accident can be even more complicated when multiple vehicles are involved. One factor may be considered to be a major contributor to the crash and others that are minor. These factors must be considered when determining fault.
If you were injured in a truck accident it is best to have an experienced truck accident attorney on your side.
Contact the Houston truck accident law firm for a no-cost consultation to talk about your case.
Resources
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm
The post What is Contributory Negligence and How Does it Affect My Truck Accident Case? appeared first on Texas Truck Accident Attorney.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
Originally published by Stacey E Burke Blog.
Getting your law firm to have a sustainable position online may take months, if not years. It is a huge and expensive task that demands both a long-term commitment and ongoing work on an indefinite basis.
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