The 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1791, codifies the importance of jury trials in civil cases to the framework in the American Way. Here is the amendment’s simple language: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of…
One of the main goals behind holding individuals and corporations accountable for the damage caused by their negligence is to make society a safer place. The thinking is that to avoid the substantial hassle and expense of lawsuits and damage awards, thoughtful people will act reasonably. An exculpatory clause purports…
Think of an injury case like navigating a ship from one port to another. Signing up the case is the equivalent of throwing off the ropes and pulling safely away from the dock. Being at sea is analogous to litigation. Some days you will eat the bear and some days…
Within the past two weeks, three bills limiting the rights of everyday citizens to control how they are governed were signed into law in Florida. On May 10, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1890. The bill places a $3,000 cap on contributions to political committees trying to…
It is not unusual for entities other than the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to pay medical expenses following a work-related accident. The most common payors are health insurance carriers, Medicare, and Medicaid. (PIP (a/k/a “No Fault”) insurance also pays if the accident involves motor vehicles, but since their rights are…
While recently researching a Florida legal matter, I came upon this Utah Supreme Court case — Hill v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. It demonstrates a shocking indifference by a billion dollar insurance company towards the feelings of grieving family members whose loved ones were killed in a crash caused…
Trump’s shifting legal defense reminds me of one of our firm’s more interesting past cases. We represented a lady who fell and suffered a badly broken bone in her leg because of a dangerous condition on her employer’s property. At the time of the accident she had multiple sclerosis, but…
July 25, 2018; Facebook Russia has broken into our home and Trump wants us to be gracious hosts. July 25, 2018; Facebook If honest elections, a free press, and civil rights aren’t your priorities, what is it about America that you value? July 22, 2018; Facebook Trump v. Putin is…
Trump rants that “attorney client privilege is dead.” BS! I’m a lawyer and feel no less confident that as long as my clients and I keep our noses clean, our privileged communications will remain sacrosanct as always. Major hurdles had to be overcome for the federal judge to authorize the…
In Parsha Yitro (full text here in Hebrew and English), Jethro suggests to Moses, his son-in-law, that the Jewish people would be better served if he appointed a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to assist him in the task of governing and administering justice to the people. The advice was taken, establishing the framework for…