Charter and contractor sued for trip on exposed cable

The mother of a boy injured when he tripped over a cable wire at home filed a personal injury suit against Charter Communications in St. Clair County Circuit March 26.

Venus Meeks claims her son Darion was injured on Feb. 27, 2007, when he tripped over a cable line that was installed at their home at 426 North Pearl in Lebanon.

Meeks claims an employee of co-defendant, Cavo Communications, installed the wiring for cable television the day before.

According to Meeks, Charter and Cavo breached their duty of care when they negligently failed to properly install the cable in a safe manner by leaving the main cable line exposed and unsecured in a main traffic way to the residence.

She also claims the defendants failed to ensure the cable was installed correctly, allowed and permitted an exposed cable line, failed to warn of the exposed line and failed to exercise reasonable care in maintaining and installing cable.

Meeks claims her son suffered injuries to his right knee, ankle and leg and both hands which has caused and will continue to cause great pain and anguish and medical expenses.

Represented by Richard Reed of Reed and Bruhn in Belleville, Meeks is seeking damages in excess of $100,000, plus costs.

08 L 150 (20th Circuit)

Snoop Dogg: Ku Klux Klan Biggest Obama Supporter

The moment Snoop Dogg walks into the suite of The Grafton in West Hollywood, he sits down on the bed opposite a mirror and proceeds to stare at himself. It's a fancy hotel room on the debauched Sunset Strip: I imagine all manner of interesting things have taken place in front of this mirror. But never the self-love reflected here by the 37-year old rapper and former pimp. Smoothing his pig-tailed hair, he answers every question to his reflection, to the point where I wonder if it's an acting exercise this ex-Crips gang member picked up from Owen Wilson on the set of Starsky and Hutch (Snoop played Huggy Bear, one of his several forays into film)....

..."Black America support him on that. By any means necessary. Get in that White House. Then once he get in, he can catch up to old relationships. 'Cos they looking for a loophole to make him not win." He almost looks at me, but then seems to think better of it as he whispers: "The KKK gave Obama money."

Casino Queen visitor seeks $50k for improper carpet installation

A Missouri woman who was injured at the old Casino Queen filed a personal injury suit against the casino in St. Clair County Circuit Court March 27, alleging the casino negligently maintained its premises.

Joan Declue claims she tripped and fell over an improperly installed carpet and metal threshold while walking up a flight of stairs at the old Casino Queen on April 1, 2006.

On Aug. 2, 2007, the Casino Queen opened a new $92 million building on a man-made moat.

Declue claims the casino was negligent by failing to use ordinary care to warn of or remove the improperly installed carpet and metal threshold on stairs, negligently installed carpet and allowed placement of improperly installed carpet in an area provided for ingress and egress.

"All actions of plaintiff leading up to her injury were prudent and easily anticipated by the defendant," the complaint states.

Declue claims she suffered laceration injuries to her head, skull, neck, body and limbs, a sprain and strain to her neck, back, hip, trunk, shoulders and knees, shock to her central and peripheral nervous systems, all of which are permanent and progressive.

She claims her various injuries caused pain, nervousness and anxiety and medical expenses.

Represented by Gerald Dunne of Clayton, Declue is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs.

08 L 153 (20th Circuit)

OBAMA PASTOR NOW IN HIDING FROM PRESS, PUBLIC, WILL NOT APPEAR TO RECEIVE RELIGIOUS AWARD, CANCELS ALL APPEARANCES

[star-telegram.com]

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the controversial pastor, close family friend, and spiritual advisor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, will not be coming to Dallas this weekend for a black church summit and awards banquet honoring him, Brite Divinity School officials announced Wednesday on Brite's Web site.

Wright also has canceled plans to speak at three services at a Houston church on Sunday, the Houston church's pastor said.

Asbestos suit filed in Madison County by Illinoisan

The estate of an Illinois woman who died from mesothelioma filed an asbestos suit in Madison County Circuit Court March 26, claiming her disease was wrongfully caused.

According to the complaint, Geraldine James was employed from 1973 to 1997 as a secretary and school monitor at various locations throughout Illinois.

James' estate claims that during the course of her employment and during home and automotive repairs she was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed asbestos fibers emanating from certain products she was working with and around.

The estate names 45 defendant corporations that include Bondex International, Garlock, Georgia-Pacific, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Pneumo Abex, RPM International, RPM Inc. and Young Insulation Group.

Her estate claims the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon the health of people.

According to James' estate, she first became aware that she suffered from mesothelioma on Nov. 7.

Her estate alleges that the defendants included asbestos in their products even when adequate substitutes were available and failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos.

It also claims that the defendants failed to require and advise employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.

As a result of the alleged negligence, the estate claims James was exposed to fibers containing asbestos and developed a disease caused only by asbestos which disabled and disfigured her.

The estate claims that prior to her death, James suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, and also was hindered and prevented from pursuing her normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money.

The estate is seeking at least $300,000 in damages for negligence and willful and wanton conduct.

"In addition to compensatory damages, an award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish the defendants for willful, wanton, intentional and reckless misconduct and to deter them and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future," the complaint states.

James' estate is represented by John Barnerd, Christopher Guinn and Perry Browder of SimmonsCooper in East Alton.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Court Judge Daniel Stack.

08 L 253

Google Bias

So, just out of curiosity - I wanted to see what images popped up first in a Google Images search of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Here is Hillary:

#1: the crazy b*tch shot#2: The "what went wrong?" shot - including Bill, the Clintons seem to be your average happy hipsters of their day. What happened? p.s. Bill's beard is FANTASTIC.

Now for Obama.
#1: Senate mug shot, pretty standard

#2: Topless shot, yes, that's right. Topless shot.

Now, I know I'm not alone in thinking Obama is a handsome guy - he is! But hot enough to be sandwiched between Penelope Cruz and Hugh Jackman? I don't know...

Anyway, the search pretty much revealed what I expected. The media bias against Hillary (it's pretty obvious) does indeed transcend traditional media outlets. However, I should make it clear that although there's a media bias against Hillary (c'mon - she's old news, Barack is a shiny, happy new and very interesting face), it shouldn't change either the way she runs her campaign or the way the public votes. Haven't we become smart (or jaded) enough to realize there will always be media bias and that we should only count on ourselves for opinion? I mean - 8 years of Fox News later, you think something would have sunk in. Thus, is there a media bias against Hillary Clinton? Yes. Is it the reason for HC losing? Nah, sorry, don't buy it.

HILLARY CLINTON PLEDGES TO GO THE DISTANCE

[Time.com]

At a Greenburg, Pennsylvania press conference today, Senator Hilary Clinton vowed to continue her campaign for at least the next three months, Time reports.

Said Clinton:

"I think that what we have to wait and see is what happens in the next three months. There's been a lot of talk about what if, what if, what if. Let's wait until we get some facts…Over the next months millions of people are going to vote. And we should wait and see the outcome of those votes."

Judge Herndon shoots down Fairview Heights v. Orbitz

Herndon


EAST ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge David Herndon shot down Fairview Heights in its bid for a class action against online travel agencies on March 31, declaring the city didn't belong to the proposed class and he wouldn't certify a class if it did.

Fairview Heights can continue pursuing an individual claim that Orbitz and others owe taxes on rooms they booked, however.

Herndon had signaled bad news for Fairview Heights in February, announcing he would hold no hearing on its motion to represent 50 Illinois cities in a class action.

The city's lead attorney, Richard Burke of St. Louis, simplified Herndon's decision by admitting, in a clumsy way, that the city didn't belong to the class.

Burke tried to slip a new definition into a reply brief in December.

Orbitz protested that it was unfair and highly prejudicial, especially since court rules wouldn't allow them to file a response.

"The Court agrees," Herndon wrote.

"It would be unfair for the Court to allow the amended definition to stand without giving Defendants the opportunity to respond," he wrote.

"This type of endless back-and-forth is precisely the reason why the Court does not allow new issues in reply briefs," he wrote.

"At this point, the class definition should not be a moving target," he wrote.

Then he dropped his bomb.

"That being said," Herndon wrote, "the Court wishes to inform the parties that he believes that even if the new class definition were under consideration, the Court would ultimately reach the same conclusion."

Fairview Heights Aldermen Gil Klein and Bonnie Crossley reacted to the news.

"I didn't think it was justified to begin with," Klein said.

Crossley said she was glad it was over.

"I was unaware from the very, very beginning that it was a class action suit," Crossley said. "If the city had money due to them they could (have) retrieved it through a lawsuit."

Crossley said Herndon's ruling was not mentioned during a regular city council meeting April 1, despite the fact that city attorney Al Paulson was present for the meeting. Paulson's lawfirm is co-counsel in the class action suit.

Fairview Heights didn't convince Herndon that class members shared common questions.

Even if it had, Herndon wrote, "…such common questions would not predominate over the numerous individual questions."

Some cities collect taxes under similar ordinances, he wrote, but he found that "…many of the ordinances are quite different."

He wrote that individual inquiries might be necessary to establish each city's right to obtain relief.

He wrote, "…calculation of individual damages will be unwieldy given the variances in penalty provisions."

The city filed suit in St. Clair County in 2005, against Orbitz, Lodging.com, Cheaptickets, Cendant Travel, Lowestfare, Maupintour Holding, Priceline, Site59, Travelocity, Travelweb, Hotels.com, Hotwire and Expedia.

Defendants removed the suit to federal court in East St. Louis.

Herndon's order reinforces one he signed last year that denied a class action against a Florida company, Integrated Health Plan.

Defense attorneys have quoted that order in Madison County cases ever since, not because it binds state judges but because it so clearly articulates the defense position.

'Legal savvy' reporter tapped by Cardinals to serve as asst. press secretary

The St. Louis Cardinals will announce later today that Madison County Record courts reporter Steve Gonzalez has been selected to serve as an assistant press secretary for the 2008 season.

Gonzalez said he will juggle the new assignment on an "as-needed" basis for the Redbirds while continuing to work full-time for the Record.

"It will be an honor to work for the Cardinals," Gonzalez said.

He said his responsibilities will include helping the team keep track of player "off-field exploits" by monitoring court records in Missouri and "away" counties, particularly Cook County in Chicago.

In a phone interview Monday, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said the special position was created because of recently discovered litigation filed by Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen.

In 2005, Isringhausen filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County over misleading beer advertisements during down time before a night game at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

Mozeliak said team officials didn't learn about the suit until a settlement was recently reached.

Isringhausen's compensation for serving as a named plaintiff-- a coupon for a free case of Miller Lite-- put him in breach of Cardinals' sponsorship agreements.

Mozeliak said Gonzalez was the club's top choice for the job.

"Gonzalez is an intrepid reporter who possesses the kind of legal savvy we're looking for," Mozeliak said.

The official announcement will come during a press conference today at 4:01.08 p.m.

Update: 1:48pm
April Fools!

Brown allows partial free vote on embryology Bill

 

 

by Jennifer Gold
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 8:02 (GMT)
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Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown leaves Downing Street in London to attend the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the house of Commons March 19, 2008.
(REUTERS/Stephen Hird )
Gordon Brown has allowed Labour MPs a free vote on proposed legislation that would clear the way for research into hybrid embryos following fierce criticism from church leaders and a number of politicians who say MPs should be allowed to vote according to their conscience.
Conservative and Lib Dem leaders indicated previously that they would withdraw their party whips when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill comes before the House of Commons, whilst the Prime Minister had until Tuesday refused to allow Labour MPs a free vote.
They will now be free to vote on three controversial parts of the legislation relating to fertility research, part-human part-animal "hybrid" embryos and the creation of "saviour siblings" - children created to aid the treatment of a sick brother or sister.
Last week, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien called research into hybrid embryos "a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life".
According to newspaper reports, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, both Catholics, had voiced concern over areas of the legislation.
Mr Brown said on Tuesday that the legislation would allow research that could potentially lead to life-saving cures and treatments.
“I have always said that although I attach huge importance to this legislation, in saving lives and helping to cure and treat diseases, that we will respect the conscience of every MP as they decide how to cast their vote on this," he said.
The Evangelical Alliance thanked the Prime Minister for allowing a free vote on parts of the controversial Human Tissue and Embryology Bill, but called on MPs to use their vote wisely.
Dr David Muir, Director of Public Policy at the Evangelical Alliance, said: "I would like to thank Gordon Brown for recognising the crucial relationship between ethics and science in this important debate by allowing a free vote.
"We now hope MPs will use their votes wisely to further the needs of patients, rather than merely to further the interests of some scientists."
Dr Justin Thacker, Head of Theology at the Alliance and a medical doctor, said: "Years of embryonic research to date have produced very few tangible benefits for those suffering from the relevant medical conditions.
"In contrast, adult stem cell research has shown significant promise without the ethical complications.
"It's remarkable that those who claim to put the patient first have placed so much emphasis on legalising further embryonic research, which at present can hardly be justified."
Church of England clergy also waded into the row over a free vote earlier in the week. The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, called the Bill immoral and stressed that "no one party has a monopoly on morality”. The Free Church of Scotland’s magazine, meanwhile, carried a major article by Dr Calum MacKellar of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics in which he called Britain a “rogue state” for potentially heading down the “dangerous new road” of research into animal-human embryos.
Dan Boucher, Director of Parliamentary Affairs for Care, said that he welcomed the Prime Minister's commitments if they genuinely meant MPs would be free to vote in any direction according to their conscience.
"Contrary to some media reports over the weekend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is not only a matter of concern for Catholics, it is also a matter of very serious concern for many Protestants, including most evangelicals," he said.
Scientists say the Bill would keep Britain at the forefront of embryo research and overcome the present shortage of embryos needed to make stem cells for research into cures for a range of illnesses, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Davidson [Uncertain Principles]

Davidson's amazing NCAA tournament run came to an end today, as Kansas just squeaked past them, 59-57, when a shot at the buzzer went wide. The low score probably offends NBA fans, but to my mind, this game showed everything that's right about the NCAA tournament.

If you watched the game, it was clear that Kansas was bigger, stronger, and faster than Davidson at pretty much every position. And yet the Wildcats were able to hang with them, and even had a four-point lead in the second half-- not because they were chucking wild shots and getting lucky, but because they played excellent basketball. Their team defense was terrific, and they worked the ball well to get open shots for players who couldn't begin to physically challenge the Jayhawks. (Not for lack of trying-- but every time they tried to take the ball all the way to the rim, they got stuffed.)

As somebody who played the game for an old-school coach, back in the day, that's what I'm looking for. Basketball isn't just about amazing physical feats-- it's about knowledge and planning and execution, and a team that plays the game well can hang with (and sometimes beat) vastly superior individual athletes. That's more impressive to me than any acrobatic highlight-reel dunk.

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