Legal Media Matters

Law prof is passionate about vice presidency

If you have a question – any question – about the vice presidency, Joel K. Goldstein is your go-to guy.

Goldstein, a professor at St. Louis University School of Law, is a leading scholar on vice presidents and vice presidential candidates, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

He’s written one book on the topic and has another in the works. In this hot VP year, Goldstein has already been quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Miami Herald.

“He’s like an exotic plant that blooms once every four years,” says Goldstein’s wife, Maxine Lipeles, a law professor at Washington University.

Written by reporter Jake Wagman, the article notes that Goldstein’s two kids could recite the vice presidents and a family vacation included a stop in Russell, Kan., home of Bob Dole.

A position that once was described as “most insignificant” by John Adams has undergone a transformation under Dick Cheney.

But Cheney’s vice presidency is also notable for something else, says Goldstein: “He’s the first vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot another human being.”

Story Roundup

Listening for Trouble

Recently the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a murder map. Culled from police-department data, city denizens can now see, by address, the homicides that occurred near their homes, schools, and workplaces from 2005 to 2007.

The number of killings in St. Louis has increased, and guns have played a role in many of the murders -- but one company has developed a high-tech crime- fighting tool that could help curb gun violence.

In “Police Put a High-Tech Ear to the Ground,” Wall Street Journal reporter Bobby White writes that that some cities have installed a web of microphones that listen for gunshots and then send the data to laptops in police cruisers. The devices, installed on rooftops and fastened to telephone poles, detect the pop of a gunshot, pinpoint it to within 80 feet of its origin, and alerts the police within 15 seconds.

The technology was developed by a former physics professor, Robert Showen, who once adapted sensors designed to locate earthquakes. His company, ShotSpotter Inc., made the news in 2003, when the system was used to capture a highway sniper in Columbus, Ohio.

The technology is in use in 29 cities, many of which have reported a drop in violent crime. In cities that haven’t reaped the benefits of the system, police manpower appears to be the snag: There must be enough officers on the street to respond once the system issues an alert.

Any St. Louisan who has ever called in a report of a gunshot can attest to the fact that it is hard to figure out exactly where the sound came from, but vague descriptions to 911 operators will continue to be the norm—St. Louis is not one of the 29 cities using the acoustic technology.

St. Louis County backlog

One of the first rules young litigators learn is to always obtain file-stamped copies of pleadings. An article in Friday’s issue of The Daily Record underscores why the practice is so important.

In “Attorneys in St. Louis County: Hurry up and wait,” reporter Donna Walter explains that court clerks have fallen about a month behind in issuing summonses in civil cases.

According to Paul Fox, the St. Louis County court administrator, state-mandated court automation is the main reason. Tort reform and the sour economy have also led to an uptick in filings. The staff is too small to handle the workload.

As a result of the file-room limbo, some lawyers are finding that their cases have been placed on the dismissal docket before a summons has been issued. Others are forced to file pleadings without case numbers. The article notes that at least one motion to dismiss has been lost. The lawyer must refile the motion. Fortunately, she has a file-stamped copy that can be attached as an exhibit.

Until the snafus are straightened out, keep your file-stamped copies safe.

LMM story roundup

The big news today in St. Louis, and across much of the Midwest, is the earthquake. For those of us who live in the middle the country, when windows rattle and the earth rumbles, we think it is time to grab our video cameras, rush outside and try to capture some great tornado footage. But that wasn’t the case this morning.

Although earthquakes in this part of the country are possible, it is still a surprise when one hits.  Here are some other stories that might leave you astonished, dumbfounded or just simply scratching your head in disbelief.

“Let them eat cake”

Bloomberg News reports that despite objections from the U.S. government, a bankruptcy judge has approved a $197 million payout to the lawyers and other professionals involved in the bankruptcy case of St. Louis-based Solutia Inc.

The U.S. Trustee called some of the fees, such as a request from consultant Rothschild Inc. to have a $1,003.14 meal reimbursed, exorbitant.

But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Prudence Carter Beatty in Manhattan disagreed.

Bloomberg reporter Tiffany Kary wrote, “Beatty also approved most expenses, saying that lawyers were obligated to take car services so they wouldn’t get sweaty, and treat clients to meals that weren’t ‘hot dogs.’”

Beatty also told the U.S. Trustee:

“I’m not prepared to dock the fee applications for these issues. [A] lot of what I see is penny-ante moralism. People getting moral about technical issues.”

Of the $197 million approved, $57 million is going to the New York-based law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Meanwhile, retirees can expect to receive half of that amount -- 70 percent of their $35 million pension claim – or $24.5 million.

“Fight for your right to party…or go on a vacation…or attend a funeral.”

For solo and small firm lawyers, getting time off for a vacation, family illness, wedding, childbirth and even a funeral can be a real struggle. A recent survey from the Missouri Bar’s Solo and Small Firm Committee on the topic elicited the following comments:

“I had a family vacation cruise (non-refundable) set in March 2006 and the trial rolled up on the docket for that week. It was (location omitted) County and as luck would have it we ended up moving from #24 into the top 3. I filed for a continuance based upon the vacation. The judge denied the request and required me to either be at trial or dismiss without prejudice. I dismissed.”

“There was a federal judge…who denied a consent motion for a continuance (for a trial) that was set during one of the attorney’s daughter’s Spring Break from college. He had pre-paid cruise tickets. The ‘other side’ appeared for informal matters with the attorney who requested the continuance. The judge said, ‘There are no holidays for the hogs. Motion denied.”

“My wife had cancer for the second time and was scheduled for surgery. My opponents consented to the continuance. The Judge would not continue the case. He told me, ‘There was nothing you could do to help.’ He wanted to hold me in contempt.”

“My mother was dying of cancer and had been for many months. I had a trial set for a Monday morning…and on [the] Friday [before], filed a motion for continuance because the hospice people told us that Mother would not last more than a few days….The opposing counsel called the judge and told the judge that he…did not object to the continuance. The judge nonetheless made me come back to (location omitted), appear before him on Monday a.m., request the continuance which he then granted. To comply, I came back Sunday afternoon and missed my mother’s last conscious hours. She went into a coma Sunday night and died Wednesday morning.”

Now some solo and small firm lawyers in Missouri are pushing for a rule that would require courts, judges and opposing counsel to accommodate reasonable requests for time off for vacations, family illnesses, childbirth and weddings.

According to Holden, Mo.-lawyer Karl Timmerman, the proposed Missouri Supreme Court Rule 19, “Protected Attorney Vacation” is currently being considered by the Missouri Bar’s legislative and civil rule committees. He expects that some type of vacation rule will eventually be enacted. Timmerman, who is also a candidate for circuit judge in Cass & Johnson County, has written about the topic on his blog, “Friday Night Ramblings.”

LMM story roundup

If you’re stranded at the airport waiting for a mechanic to figure out if your plane is safe to fly and you’re looking for something to occupy your time, here are a couple of stories to check out.

Arbitration clauses and nursing homes

First up is an article in today’s issue of the Wall Street Journal titled “Nursing Homes in Bid to Cut Costs, Prod Patients to Forgo Lawsuits.”

For the elderly, entering a nursing home can mean giving up certain a level of independence, privacy and freedom. Now, it seems, that’s not all they’re being asked to relinquish. Increasingly, nursing homes are demanding that the patients and their families give up their right to sue over poor treatment.

That’s because in the late 1990s, the families of nursing home patients were winning multi-million dollar damage awards in cases filed over negligent care. In an effort to curb the awards and take the cases out of the hands of jurors, nursing homes turned to mandatory arbitration.

The strategy appears to be paying off. According to a recent report released by Aon Global Risk Consulting, legal costs and claims are now down.

But the trend toward arbitration isn’t without controversy. So much so, writes reporter Nathan Koppel, that the American Arbitration Association generally refuses the cases. The American Health Lawyers Association also avoids them. Some doubt that the patients are capable of understanding the legal ramifications of the clauses. Contracts that require patients to agree to the clauses in order to gain admittance raise troubling questions about unequal bargaining power.

One of the attorneys interviewed for the story is Kansas City lawyer Tim Dollar. Dollar represented the family of a woman who died after repeated falls from her wheelchair. The family alleged that a lap restraint would have prevented the falls. Even though state regulators had previously cited the nursing home for failing to adopt procedures that prevent falls, the arbitrator refused to award punitive damages. Dollar told the Wall Street Journal that if the case had been decided by a jury, it could have added $3 million to the $725,000 award.

The Wall Street Journal also notes that states are divided on the question of whether the arbitration clauses are enforceable. If you’re a reporter, this might offer an opportunity to localize the story.

For more information, check out the Chattanooga Times Free Press, a news release from the American Association for Justice, and the Fellows & Blake web page “How do I pick a nursing home for my loved one?”

Securities class actions might be on the rise

In other news, class action lawyers and journalists who cover class actions might want to read, “More Securities Cases, Higher Damages Predicted by Accounting Firm Experts,” written by the ABA Journal’s Martha Neil.

The accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that securities class action litigation will rise in 2008. The subprime mortgage crisis is one reason for the increased filings. The willingness of institutional investors such as unions and pension funds to step in as plaintiffs helps explain the rise in damage awards.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report was summarized at a meeting yesterday in Chicago.

Although not mentioned in the article, auction-rate securities class action cases may also be on the rise this year.

LMM Story Roundup

Today’s issue of the Wall Street Journal features a story that lawyers and legal journalists won’t want to miss: A Wal-Mart video archive has become a “must stop” destination for trial lawyers.

The front-page article “Candid Camera: Trove of Videos Vexes Wal-Mart,” written by Gary McWilliams, tells the story of Flagler Productions, a small video-production company in Lenexa, Kan. For 30 years the company captured footage of Wal-Mart annual meetings, sales meeting and other corporate events for the retail giant. Two years ago, Wal-Mart stopped using the company and nearly put it out of business.

But the parties never prepared or signed a written contract covering ownership rights. Now, Flagler says, it owns the video archives. To survive, the company has opened up the footage to researchers, documentary filmmakers, historians, union activists and lawyers who are willing to pay $250 an hour for access to the archives.

The videos were recently mined by a product liability lawyer who represents a boy hurt by an exploding gas can. The attorney found clips of executives spoofing the safety of the gas cans and claims that the footage shows that the retailer could have foreseen the risks associated with the product.

A lawyer pursuing a sex discrimination lawsuit has uncovered clips of Wal-Mart’s founder discussing the lack of women executives and a meeting discussing sexual harassment cases. Another lawyer shelled out $15,000 for video clips that might be important in future cases.

In other news, the Food and Drug Administration reports that the number of deaths linked to an allergic reaction to the blood thinner heparin since January 2007 has tripled. The FDA also sent a warning letter to GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Avandia, stating that the company had failed to file regular reports about its clinical trials involving the diabetes drug.

LMM story roundup

Whether you’re a news junkies or just a headline-skimmer, you’ve probably noticed by now that “meltdown” seems to be the word du jour. The housing market, the financial markets, the Antarctic ice sheet and even Britney Spears are all melting down.

Here are a couple of meltdown stories with a legal twist for Monday.

Britney’s dad to be paid $2,500 a week

As co-conservator of his daughter’s estate, Britney Spears’ father James will receive $2,500 a week as compensation for his duties, the Associated Press reports. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz also gave James Spears permission to lease a car.

In addition to serving as co-conservator of his daughter’s estate, James Spears is also the conservator of his daughter. The appointment was to expire today but has now been extended to July 31.

The conservatorship was ordered after a highly publicized meltdown. Spears lost custody of her kids, shaved her head and was hospitalized twice in January.

Appointing a conservator to take over someone’s estate is a drastic remedy, and courts are cautious when it comes to ordering one. However, it isn’t unusual for administrators, conservators and trustees of an estate the size of Spears' to be paid for their duties.

Banks and lenders that neglect foreclosed property end up on judge’s list

As the subprime mortgage meltdown continues and foreclosures climb, taxpayers are footing the bill for maintaining abandoned properties owned by banks and lenders, Bloomberg News reports.

Upset over absentee owners with derelict property, Cleveland Housing Court Judge Ray Pianka has acted. He posts a warrant list on the Cleveland Housing Court website that identifies companies or people who have missed court dates or have failed to pay building code violation fines. Bloomberg reporter Kathleen M. Howley writes that London-based HSBC Holdings Plc, Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG and New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. are all on Pianka’s list.

The impact of foreclosed and abandoned properties on neighborhoods is costly, according to Matthew Ashby, a community-affairs specialist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In the winter 2007-2008 issue of Bridges, he says that abandoned property can be tied to an increase in criminal activity, business closures, declining tax revenues, falling home prices and declining property values for nearby residents.

LMM story roundup

A partner I once worked for had a great line he'd deliver on Fridays. At the end of the day, as co-workers said so long for the weekend, the partner would announce: "Only two more work days until Monday." If you're working this weekend and need a quick break, here are a couple of stories you might want to check out.

Immigration prosecution referrals up

If you are an immigration lawyer, the odds are very good that you’re busy.

A study released yesterday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse indicates that even though the number of cases referred for prosecution by federal law-enforcement agencies has fallen 2.4 percent since 1986, the number of immigration investigations that resulted in criminal referrals nearly quadrupled.

The Associated Press notes that the FBI’s emphasis on terrorism investigations seems to explain the numbers.

Detroit attorneys in ethical mess

The ongoing saga involving the mayor of Detroit, a clandestine affair and an $8.4 million settlement highlights the ethical minefields city attorneys must avoid.

The Detroit Free Press interviewed legal experts about the role city attorneys may have played in covering up evidence, false testimony and information.

John Brennan, a professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, said, “There’s so much wrongdoing, it’s hard to know where to start. The city attorneys are not acting like lawyers, they're acting like (Mayor Kwame) Kilpatrick's legal bodyguards. They've forgotten who their clients are.”

The conduct arises out of a case filed by a whistleblower against the mayor. The whistleblower claimed the mayor was having an affair with a top aide. Some legal experts believe city lawyers knew about the steamy text messages between the mayor and the aide.

If the lawyers knew about the messages, they had a responsibility to contradict false testimony given during a trial in which the existence of the affair was denied. The attorneys also allegedly concealed the existence of the text messages from the city council when they recommended the $8.4 million settlement.

For more on this story, check out the ABA Journal.

LMM story roundup

Whether you’re a lawyer returning from yet another dreary docket call or a reporter scrambling for story ideas, here are few noteworthy articles from today’s headlines.

Autism-vaccine debate renewed?

The admission by government health officials that vaccines led to a girl’s autism-like symptoms could renew the debate over the link between autism and vaccines.

The Associated Press reports that the vaccine worsened a rare pre-existing condition. The officials recommended that the girl receive payment from a federal vaccine-injury fund. Despite the move, government lawyers stress that they are not conceding vaccines cause autism.

Last month the St. Louis Daily Record noted that the effort to link vaccines and autism has been a rough one for plaintiffs.

A federal judge rebukes Countrywide for consumer bankruptcy conduct

Although a federal judge rebuked Countrywide Financial Corporation for the unethical and unprofessional handling of a Texas homeowner’s mortgage he has decided against sanctions, Bloomberg News reports.

The ruling came in a consumer bankruptcy case in which the accuracy of Countrywide’s payment history records was challenged. It wasn’t the first time that Countrywide’s payment records have been questioned. The mortgage company has been sued by U.S. Trustees across the nation for allegedly abusing the bankruptcy system by making false claims in court.

In the most recent ruling, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeff Bohm wrote that the mortgage company and its two law firms showed “a disregard for the professional and ethical obligations of the legal profession and the judicial system.”