Posts tagged Rants and Raves

• Maricopa County Loses a Fine Judge

  Staff Writer | April 09, 2007 10:53 AM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ Category: Motorcycle Accidents
  

  Today we mourn the loss of a Judge with the Juvenile Division of the Maricopa County Superior Court. Judge John Gaylord was appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 2000 and for the past three years was assigned to the Juvenile Court facility in Mesa. I never had an opportunity to appear in front of Judge Gaylord in the Juvenile Court. However, I know that Judge Gaylord had an...

• Jury Service

  Staff Writer | August 02, 2006 1:32 PM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Yesterday, the East Valley Tribune editorial department wrote an opinion piece addressing a recent challenge to Maricopa County jury selection procedures adopted in February of this year. Recently, the Maricopa County judiciary modified its jury selection procedures to make it more likely for jurors to be chosen for service at a court within a close geographic proximity to their home. Court...

• The Number of Uninsured Continues to Rise

  Staff Writer | September 17, 2007 3:04 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  According to a recent article in the physician publication American Medical News, the number of Americans without health insurance has increased to forty-seven million people last year. By comparison, approximately thirty-eight million four hundred thousand Americans had no health insurance insurance in 2000. The American Medical News suggests that one of the reasons for such a large increase...

• Are On-Line Pharmacies Trafficking Narcotic Drugs?

  Staff Writer | August 29, 2007 6:22 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Perhaps you have seen stories or received spam e-mail messages from on-line pharmacies offering instant access to prescription drugs at low cost. You want a percocet or vicodin but your family doctor did not prescribe it for you? No worries. Just log onto your spam-friendly Internet pharmacy, fill out a brief questionnaire, pay for your medication with a credit card and in no time, you will...

• Recent Safety Recalls Highlight Continuing Fight for Accountability

  Staff Writer | August 21, 2007 10:05 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Defective & Dangerous Products
  

  Have you heard about recent recalls of tainted pet food involving food safety? How about toy recalls involving possible lead paint exposure? Have you heard about even more toy recalls involving choking hazards for small children? How about laptop computer batteries recalled due to a fire hazards? After hearing about all of these recalls, do you believe that consumer products are safer or more...

• Insurers Profits Rising Based on Bad Business Practices?

  Staff Writer | August 10, 2007 9:00 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  A recent article in the on-line publication Bloomberg suggests that anti-consumer insurance industry practices have led to a stark increase in insurance profits in recent years. According to Bloomberg, consumers have been bearing the burden of bad-faith insurance industry practices:Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of rebuilding a damaged home -- even when carriers assure homeowners...

• Should Arizona Reconsider Statutory Immunity for Negligent Freeway Maintenance?

  Staff Writer | August 03, 2007 10:13 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Workplace Injuries
  

  A couple of days have passed since the tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis which led to the deaths of at least five people. The cause of the bridge collapse on I-35W will not be known for quite some time. However, if the I-35W bridge collapsed due to ordinary wear and tear, such a tragedy may have been avoided had the Minnesota Department of Transportation placed a higher priority on bridge...

• Inside Aquafina Bottles You Will Find Tap Water

  Staff Writer | July 27, 2007 9:21 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  In case you are wondering exactly where the bottled water comes from that makes up Aquafina water, today you have an answer. No, the water does not come from a spring somewhere high in the mountains of some exotic location. Instead, according to an article in today's Arizona Republic, the source for water found inside the Aquafina water bottle is the same source as our regular tap water. ...

• Frivolous Lawsuit Against Dryclear Dismissed

  Staff Writer | June 27, 2007 10:00 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  In early May, I wrote about an example of a likely frivolous lawsuit. If you recall, the drycleaning business in that case lost a pair of pants and the Plaintiff originally demanded compensation totalling $65,000,000 even after the business compensated him for the lost pants. In my earlier posting, I suggested that our system of justice has legitimate safeguards to prevent frivolous litigation...

• Insurer and Its Attorneys Sanctioned in 9/11 Litigation

  Staff Writer | June 25, 2007 10:41 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  In an unfortunate series of events, recently two law firms and an insurance company client involved in coverage litigation concerning the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy have been sanctioned a total sum of $1.25 million dollars. The judge sanctioned these parties for failing to disclose various key documents concerning applicability of insurance coverage and other discovery abuses which...