Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas

Google has agreed to pay 8.5 million dollars (US) to settle a privacy lawsuit over a Buzz social networking tool added to free email service Gmail in February, according to court documents.

Legal paperwork made available online Friday detailed the proposed settlement, which awaits approval by the federal court judge in San Francisco presiding over the case.

Lawyers that filed the class-action suit staked out 30 percent of the settlement money and the seven named plaintiffs were to get no more than 2,500 dollars each, according to court documents.

The rest of the money, which Google is to deposit in a fund, was earmarked for organizations devoted to Internet privacy policy or education.

The settlement also called on the California-based Internet giant to do more to educate people about privacy at Buzz.

To read more from Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g3yF0MKx3iORpW3tEYx7UuIhSoVw

With help of Levin firm, struggling businesses file suit even if they never saw one tar ball!

For some beach businesses outside Northwest Florida, the effects of the BP oil spill may have resulted from perception, not reality.

Consider the case of the Tradewinds Island Resort on St. Petersburg Beach, a complex that includes 800 hotel rooms and 13 bars and restaurants.

Keith Overton, the resort's chief operating officer, says business is down dramatically since the April 20 spill, even though oil has not been reported east of Panama City Beach.

Numerous visitors have canceled trips to Tradewinds, he said. And on top of that, he said, the resort also lost money by offering deep discounts to persuade tourists to come despite their misperception of ruined beaches.

Convinced that media reports scared away potential tourists, Overton filed a claim with BP for $1.7 million in damages that he says Tradewinds suffered through June 30.

BP refused to pay, and so far, Overton hasn't heard from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which assumed claim payment responsibility on Aug. 23 under independent administrator Ken Feinberg.

Tradewinds is typical of the hotels and restaurants that three large law firms, including Pensacola's Levin Papantonio, hope to enlist as they gear up for a major lawsuit on behalf of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, which has some 10,000 members.

"I've met with Ken Feinberg a number of times. He promised to get back to me, and I have not heard a word," said Overton, who also is chairman of the board for the Restaurant and Lodging Association. "I am losing faith and our industry is losing faith in both BP and the Feinberg administration. That's why we selected the attorneys."

The association is recommending a three law-firm consortium of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York, Cooney & Conway in Chicago, and Levin Papantonio to handle its members' claims.

The firms will help restaurants and hotels make the case for maximum compensation from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, or, if necessary, sue BP and the other responsible parties in federal court. Each hotel and restaurant will have to sign on individually.

Read More from the Source:http://www.pnj.com/article/20100905/NEWS01/9050314/1003/BUSINESSJOURNAL/Want-to-sue-BP?-No-oil-required

Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.

Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.

Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart said Wednesday that a lot of parents are accusing him of being un-American, but he says the cost of maintaining a safe surface is too expensive.

Read more from Source:http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/09/01/us/AP-US-ODD-Swing-Sets-Removed.html?_r=1&scp=16&sq=lawsuit&st=nyt

I am a landlord. I have a tenant who entered into a written lease agreement to rent a property that I own. The lease began in 11/08, and ends 10/09.

The tenant paid rent on time until 4/09. During 4/09 the tenant initially evaded me, and would not communicate with me. Then at the end of the month of 4/09 the tenant made up a bunch of excuses such as “I’m waiting for payment on a project I finished.” “I have a bad heart condition, and was in the hospital.” “My wife’s brother has just passed away, and we had to go to North Dakota to attend the funeral.” “I’m waiting for my son to give me some money.”

At the very end of the month of 4/09 the tenant finally paid the rent, however it was short by $200.00. The tenant then again did not pay rent in 5/09. At the very end of the month in 5/09 the tenant complained about restoration work that was being done on a set of stairs near the condo he was renting. The stairs were being sanded, and then painted. However, the work was being done by the condominium association, and I had nothing to do with the work being done. The tenant was given notice of the work being done by the Condo Association’s manager in writing 4 weeks being it was to be commencenced. The work was actually done in 3/09, and only lasted 3 days. The tenant complained about dust conditions from the work being done. However, in 5/09 the tenant stated that he would handle it himself. The tenant thereafter complained to me about there being ants in the kitchen, scrapes on the wall, and the thermostat not working properly. The tenant demanded that I reduce his rent by $500.00 for the month of 5/09 due to these three alleged problems with the condo. I refused. The tenant then did not pay rent for the month of 5/09.

I then served a 3 Day Notice To Pay or Vacate on the tenant. The tenant did not pay the rent within the alloted 3 days, and remained staying in the condo. However, the tenant did pay the rent 2 days after the alloted 3 days. My attorney told me to refuse the payment, return the check to the tenant, and file an evicition. I filed the eviction, and a hearing was granted before a Judge in the county court. The judge ruled in favor of the tenant because he paid the rent even though it was beyond or after the alloted 3 days.

Read More From the Source:http://www.epicmind.net/withholding-rent-and-threatening-to-sue

Houston wide receiver Patrick Edwards, who broke his leg when he ran into a metal service cart in an October 2008 game at Marshall, accused the university in a lawsuit of maintaining an unsafe playing field. Edwards was running full speed for a long pass when his right shin crashed into the cart just beyond the end zone. Edwards sustained a compound fracture, and a rod was inserted in his lower right leg during surgery the next day in Huntington. Also named as defendants were Conference USA and the game referee Gil Gelbke, who the lawsuit said was in charge of inspection and notification. The Conference USA game was televised nationally and the accident was shown thousands of times on the Internet. Edwards missed the remainder of the 2008 season but returned to catch 85 passes for 1,021 yards and 6 touchdowns as a junior in 2009.

Check out the source:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/sports/ncaafootball/01sportsbriefs-brokenleg.html?_r=1