Jewel Thomas Suing American Airlines Over Botched O’Hare Landing
A Washington state woman has filed a federal lawsuit claiming negligence against American Airlines stemming from a rocky emergency landing at O’Hare Airport two years ago.
Jewel Thomas of King County Washington, filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court Western District of Washington against American Airlines claiming the emergency landing on Sept. 22, 2008 had her fearing for her life and calling family members to tell them she loved them just in case the landing wound end in disaster.
The suit alleges American Airlines was negligent in failing to exercise the “practical operation” of the plane and failed to provide the passengers with an airplane what was in good mechanical condition.
The suit also claims that a logbook maintained by the airline showed several problems relating to the plane’s power supply.
via Jewel Thomas Suing American Airlines Over Botched O’Hare Landing.
Litigation: Avoiding the Arbitration Trap | Inside Counsel
Courts, bar associations, alternative dispute resolution organizations and private attorneys who serve as arbitrators all frequently laud the benefits of contractual arbitration. Obviously, each has his own financial or institutional bias for encouraging alternative dispute resolutions (ADR); therefore, they frequently describe arbitration as less costly, more efficient and ideally suited for a prompt resolution of disputes with guaranteed finality—a preferable alternative to formal litigation. Unless the contractual arbitration clause is drafted clearly and thoughtfully, however, the risks of arbitration for most corporate clients outweigh the rewards.
I offer no statistical proof for the following hypothesis, only anecdotal experience from more than 20 years of practicing in complex civil litigation in state and federal court systems and in all types of arbitration proceedings: Arbitrations are almost invariably more expensive for parties; less certain and far more contentious than judge-supervised litigation; and, of course, the results are almost never reviewable. Rules (to the extent that any are actually intended to apply) are often flouted, delays are the norm, arbitrator and ADR-facilitator billing is virtually unreviewable, and the results are unpredictable and often based on erroneous and uncorrectable interpretations of law and fact.
Panel Recommends the ABA Accredit Overseas Law Schools | National Law Journal
The American Bar Association is already tasked by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit U.S. law schools. Now an ABA committee has recommended that it should seriously consider expanding that power to overseas law schools that follow the U.S. model.
In June, the ABA’s Council of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar appointed the committee of law professors, attorneys, judges and law deans to examine whether foreign law schools should be allowed to seek ABA accreditation. The council is scheduled to consider the committee’s recommendations in December.
The committee cited an earlier ABA report’s conclusion that state supreme courts and bar associations are under more pressure than ever to make decisions about admitting foreign lawyers as the legal profession becomes more globalized.
“Such an expansion would provide additional guidance for state supreme courts when lawyers trained outside the United States seek to be allowed to sit for a U.S. bar examination,” the committee said in its report. “Since that is a key function of the accreditation process generally, the expansion would be consistent with the historic role of the section in aiding state supreme courts in the bar admissions area.”
Ex-Wife Ordered to Provide Skype Access for Husband, Kids | New York Law Journal
A state judge in Suffolk County has ordered a mother to make her two children available for Skype online video conferencing with their father as a condition of her move to Florida.
The decision marks the first reported New York case in which a judge has ordered a relocating parent to facilitate Skyping — i.e., the use of Skype conferencing software — between her children and her ex-spouse as a condition of her move, according to a Westlaw search.
“The Petitioner, at her own cost and expense, will see to it, prior to re-location, that the Respondent, as well as the children, are provided the appropriate internet access via a Skype device which allows a real time broadcast of communications between the Respondent and his children,” Supreme Court Justice Jerry Garguilo wrote in Baker v. Baker, 29610-2007
via Law.com – Ex-Wife Ordered to Provide Skype Access for Husband, Kids.
Chinese ‘peel’ widget converts iPod Touch to phone: report – The China Post
A Chinese firm has developed a special protective case known as the “Apple Peel” for converting the iPod Touch media player into a mobile phone, state media said Tuesday.
The Apple Peel 520 from Shenzhen-based Yosion Technology is expected to be available next week in online stores and is targeted at aspirant owners of Apple’s trendy iPhone who are baulking at paying the full price.
The device attaches to the iPod Touch like a protective case but has a dock connector, an extended battery and a SIM card slot, enabling users to make phone calls and send text messages, the Beijing News said.
via Chinese ‘peel’ widget converts iPod Touch to phone: report – The China Post.
Can You Be (Legally) Fired For Using (Legally) Prescribed Marijuana? – Law Blog – WSJ
Here’s an interesting dilemma. You’re a human-resources manager at a company in a state that has a law allowing the use of medical marijuana in certain situations. You find out that one of your employees is using marijuana to treat a chronic medical problem, in violation of your company’s drug policy.
What should you do?
A story out on Tuesday by WSJ reporter Stephanie Simon suggests the following: consult your lawyer (but don’t be surprised if it takes a while for that lawyer to figure out the answer).
On the one hand, reports Simon, employers can fire, or refuse to hire, employees for using marijuana without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other federal anti-discrimination statute.
But state law is a bit less settled. The state Supreme Courts in Oregon, California and Montana and the Washington Court of Appeals have all ruled that employers have a right to fire medical-marijuana patients for using the drug. The medical-marijuana laws in Rhode Island and Maine state that most employers may not penalize individuals solely because of their status as marijuana patients.
via Can You Be (Legally) Fired For Using (Legally) Prescribed Marijuana? – Law Blog – WSJ.
International E-Discovery Compliance- Privacy FirstEmail Archiving Articles | Email Archiving Articles
Outside of the United States, international data transfer laws are governed by regional, local privacy, and data protection laws. Multinational businesses must understand the implications such laws have on e-discovery. First, one must again draw distinctions between the U.S. and other nations. For example, when we are discussing “personal data” in the US, we are referring to such things as financial and medical data. Within the EU, however, personal data refers to such things as electronic mail. Privacy Directives and member state enabling legislation as data which can be traced to an identifiable individual (the “sender,” or “from” line).
The US is fairly lax in what it allows outside of its borders, boasting very little in the way of statutes preventing the transportation of data. Yet, the E.U. Privacy Directives and enabling legislation hold that personal data (again, all email), may not be sent outside the European Economic Area (the E.U. member states plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway to any country with lesser data protection than the E.U. There are only a few nations that meet the EU’s standards for data transfer: Canada, Switzerland and Argentina. And this scheme is not limited to the E.U.; Chile and Venezuela have similar restrictions, and Japan requires consent of the data subject for email to be sent outside the country.
States launch joint probe of Google Wi-Fi snooping – Computerworld
As many as 30 states could join an investigation into Google Inc.’s collection of personal information from unprotected wireless networks, Connecticut’s attorney general said today.
According to Richard Blumenthal, who issued a statement Monday, more than 30 states’ attorneys general have expressed interest in joining the investigation, which his office will lead.
Google’s response today was similar to what it said earlier this month.
“It was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we didn’t break any U.S. laws,” a company spokesman said in an e-mail. “We’re working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns.”
The joint investigation will ask Google for additional information about its snatching of data from personal and business Wi-Fi networks using the company’s Street View vehicles, which have cruised U.S. streets and roads since 2007 as part of an effort to map wireless hot spots for mobile location purposes.
Calling the practice “deeply disturbing,” Blumenthal also said the inquiry will look into possible violations of state laws, and whether state and federal privacy laws need to be strengthened.
“Street View cannot mean Complete View — invading home and business computer networks and vacuuming up personal information and communications,” said Blumenthal in his statement. “Google must come clean, explaining how and why it intercepted and saved private information broadcast over personal and business wireless networks.”
via States launch joint probe of Google Wi-Fi snooping – Computerworld.
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