I’m a trial lawyer for injured people and businesses at The Beasley Firm. Founded in 1958, we have recovered over $2 billion for our clients through hundreds of verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. We’re listed in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News’s Top Lawyers, [...]
Use Your Right to Remain Silent
Law prof and cop agree: never ever ever ever ever ever ever talk to the cops about a crime, even if you're innocent Sad, but true. [Have been in depositions, posting will resume tomorrow, hopefully] ... Continue Reading
In Pennsylvania, “Gist of the Action” Precludes Identical Breach of Contract and Negligence Claims, Not Simultaneous Contract and Tort Claims
So sayeth 3si Sec. Sys. v. Protek, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56283 (E.D. Pa. July 23, 2008), more routine commercial litigation: The gist of the action doctrine "precludes plaintiffs from re-casting ordinary breach of contract claims into tort claims." eToll, Inc. v. Elias/Savion Adver., 811 A.2d 10, 14 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2002) citing Bash v. Bell Tel. Co., 601 A.2d 825, 829 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992). The difference between a cause of action for tort and breach of contract is that "tort actions lie for breaches of duties imposed by law as a matter of social policy, while contract actions ... Continue Reading
The Wrongfulness of Debt Negotiation Fees
A great post by f/k/a about the wrongfulness, perhaps even unethical nature, of debt negotiation fees, most of which are excessive in light of the work performed, work that could be done by the client themselves. If you've ever thought about hiring one of those firms, read this article. ... Continue Reading
The Internets Are Eating Children’s Brains, Online Reading Edition
In the NYTimes another complaint about the internet eating brains: As teenagers' scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books. Kevin Drum at The Washington Monthly responds: ... the fact remains that an awful lot of longish nonfiction writing is needlessly overwritten, and this isn't something that struck me quite so forcefully before I started blogging. But now, for better or worse, it has. I'm ... Continue Reading
Revolving Door of Corporate Boards? Try Merry-Go-Round.
In response to shareholder upheaval, billions in losses, and a 60% fall in stock price, CitiGroup completely revamps its Board of Directors: Board member John Deutch, who previously held no chairmanships, has been named to lead the audit and risk committee, Citigroup said in a July 22 press release. Richard Parsons, former chair of the compensation committee, will head the nomination committee, while former nomination panel chair Alain Belda will lead the compensation committee. Whoa, there, slow down. That's a lot of change for just a year of failure. Thank goodness they'll wait another year or two and see how ... Continue Reading
“Schiess’s basic document design for lawyers”
"Schiess's basic document design for lawyers" at Legalwriting.net. Although I agree in principle, I don't think it works in practice. For example, I don't think it is practical to use more than one font in a given document, since too many readers will not expect it and will be momentarily confused when they see it, making skimming harder, not easier. The same goes for using hyphenation with the justification of text. If you are not expecting that, it takes a minute for your brain to connect the single word split across the end of one line and the beginning of ... Continue Reading
Big Pharma: Private Codes of Conduct as Evidence of Negligence
Drug and Device Law has an exceptionally detailed post about the new voluntary PhRMA guidelines, along with dozens of cases holding that such guidelines don't create negligence per se liability standards, particularly not retroactively. But what about ordinary, post hoc negligence? Can voluntary industry codes be relevant to the standard of care? Absolutely! For example, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case they cited, Knarr v. Chapman Sch. of Seamanship, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5351 (E.D.Pa. 2000)(interpreting Florida law), rejected the per se application of ANSI standards, but was happy to cite "Jackson v. H.L. Bouton Co., 630 So. 2d 1173, ... Continue Reading
How Do You Stop Wrongful Debt Collection Notices?
A Pennsylvania / Federal consumer law question on LawGuru: My husband & I took our 1st mortgage with [lender1] and our 2nd mortgage with [lender2] and refinanced them into 1 with [lender2] on 4/21/08. In June we started getting calls that our 2nd mortgage is past due. We called [lender2] and they said it was a common problem, just ignore it. We continued getting calls and a letters from an attorney. WE have the HUD form that says it is paide, but there is an internal problem in the system that says otherwise. No one knows how to fix it. ... Continue Reading
“the brainchild of some ferret-faced shyster, serving a brief apprenticeship in your legal department”
Barry Barnett passes along a classic legal analysis of a copyright claim, courtesy of Groucho Marx. ... Continue Reading
Appeal From Final Order? Also Raise The Interlocutory Orders
A reminder courtesy of the Pennsylvania Superior Court: Initially, we must address the Seller's position that since Buyer appealed from the order denying post-trial motions rather than the pretrial ruling limiting his claim for consequential damages, we "lack jurisdiction" to "hear his complaints about the pretrial ruling." Brief of Appellee and Cross-Appellant Michael Bupp at 24, 26. The law is to the contrary. The pretrial order in question was an interlocutory order because it merely limited the damages recoverable in this action and did not resolve all issues as to all parties or otherwise terminate the litigation. See Pa.R.A.P. 341(b). ... Continue Reading
