Comments on Civil Law Issues

Houston, DWI Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Injury Attorney

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:01:12 GMT

Texas Dram Shop Liability- Drunk Driving DWI Injury Lawyers, Intoxicated Assault Liability

Stand-Up Trial Lawyers, Serious Personal Injuries and Deaths caused by DWI Accidents, Drunk Driving or Intoxication

Texas law expressly provides remedies for people injured by intoxicated individuals. Not only are the intoxicated people liable for injuries they may cause themselves while intoxicated, but the bars, restaurants and other establishments that sell alcohol can also be held responsible for the injuries caused by over serving alcohol to an intoxicated person.

UNDOUMENTED WORKERS CAN SEEK COMPENSATION FOR INJURIES

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:16:11 GMT

Undocumented Status of Injured Longshoreman Not a Bar to the Recovery of Benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

By: Patrick Kirby, Houston, Texas, Maritime Lawyer

The United States of America was founded by immigrants who came seeking a better life. They came from all over the world, trading their struggles against poverty, injustice and tyranny for the sometimes brutally hard work and struggle of carving out a home for themselves and their families in a strange new land. Indeed, this is a nation built by the blood, sweat and tears of immigrants, many of whom did not have the official documents to make them “legal”. Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates there are at least 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S, nearly 7 million of whom come from Mexico. Migrant workers, whether legal or “illegal”, documented or undocumented, play a vital role in building this country and fueling our economy. The average undocumented family pays more than $4200 in annual federal taxes, but that same family earns far less than the average yearly salary of all Americans. As many as 85% of the 1.6 million farm workers in this country are undocumented.

Serious Injury Lawyers: Eighteen Wheeler, Truck Accidents and Collisions

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:28:17 GMT

The John T. Floyd Law Firm Houston Trial Lawyers, have seen the physical injuries and extreme emotional damage done when a trucking company or individual driver is negligent behind the wheel. In order to maintain safe highways and prevent future tragedy, our lawyers believe it is vitally important to aggressively and fully litigate all cases involving trucking accidents. The physical injuries resulting for trucking accidents is often horrific and can lead to a lifetime on physical and emotional pain to the victim and the victim’s family. It is vital in these serious cases that an injured person have lawyers skilled at litigating injury claims against the negligent drivers, the companies they work for and the insurance companies that fight to prevent a fair and just resolution of these cases.

Maritime Lawyers: Severe Injuries, Accidents, and Deaths

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:20:41 GMT

Floyd, Kirby and Singhal are proud to help offshore and maritime workers, crew members and their families obtain maximum compensation for their injuries suffered while working offshore in these important and dangerous industries.

Our offshore workers often suffer on the job injuries while working in what can be very dangerous conditions on tankers, freighters, passenger boats, push boats, fish processing boats, fishing vessels, barges, oil plat forms, drilling units, jack-up rigs and other vessels in U.S. Ports and on the high seas.

Qui Tam, Whistleblower and the False Claims Act Lawyer

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:25:54 GMT

Whistleblower cases are an important tool in alerting the federal government of theft occurring in federally administered programs or fraud occurring under contractual relationships with the federal government. Whistleblower, or Qui Tam, cases can be successfully prosecuted in cases involving almost every imaginable area in which the government does business, including those who intentionally commit Medicare Fraud, Tax Fraud, Prescription Drug Fraud, Federal Securities Fraud, and fraud on the Department of Defense or any other government agency under various procurement contracts.

Damages awarded to Victims of Sexual Assault

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:16:31 GMT

While it is commonly known that victims of crimes, such as sexual assault, can seek justice in the criminal courts by criminal prosecution of the offender, it is also possible that the victim can seek financial awards in the civil courts to help in the recover of the emotional and physical pain of the criminal act. A victim should be able to seek redress in the civil courts to obtain damages that are intended not only to punish the offender but also to compensate the victim for medical expenses, pain and suffering, psychological care and other expenses related to the assault.

Sexual Harassment and the Perils of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:12:07 GMT

We have discussed the procedural pitfalls that await unsuspecting victims who bring sexual assault claims against medical care providers. Of note in these discussions is the requirement that a plaintiff’s lawyers know and appreciate the technical and procedural issues that arise in these difficult cases. As we’ve noted, a health care liability claim by any other name is still a health care liability claim, and failing to plead her case properly (by failing to file an expert report in a timely fashion, for example) can lead to the dismissal of part of the plaintiff’s case.

SEC Regulations, Insider Trading and Relief Defendants

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:44:21 GMT

Floyd, Kirby and Singhal: Lawyers with both civil litigation and criminal defense experience represent clients in securities and commodities investigations and white collar criminal defense

Relief Defendants

Relief defendants, sometimes known as nominal defendants, are defendants who have no ownership interest in the property that is the subject of litigation, but may be joined in the lawsuit in an effort to aid the recovery of relief. Typically, a relief defendant will be a trustee, an agent, or a depository. Relief defendants are not accused of any wrongdoing, but a federal court may order equitable relief against the relief defendant where that person has received ill-gotten property, and does not have a legitimate claim to that property. Federal agencies, like the SEC, can move for emergency orders to freeze assets and bank accounts of relief defendants to preserve the assets for disgorgement, or repayment, once a final judgment is entered in an enforcement action

Insider Trading

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:09:43 GMT

With a Board Certified Criminal Defense Lawyer and a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, Floyd, Kirby and Singhal has extensive experience and expertise in representing individuals and businesses accused of insider trading and other securities related allegations.

Insider Trading is an activity that can lead to civil or criminal investigations, often both at the same time. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will investigate a person suspected of insider trading for the purpose of assessing civil penalties against the individual, usually in the form of substantial monetary fines, but also, in some cases, by making the person forfeit his or her authorization to deal in securities. The Department of Justice Criminal Division will investigate a person suspected of insider trading for the purpose of imposing a prison sentence on the defendant, assessing a monetary fine against the person, and often both. The trial lawyers at Floyd, Kirby & Singhal are highly experienced in defending individuals against both kinds of investigations.

Insider Trading

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:34:54 GMT

Recovering Civil Damages for Criminal Acts

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:24:02 GMT

Many victims of criminal acts do not realize that they have the ability to sue a criminal defendant for monetary damages in a separate civil lawsuit for the criminal acts committed upon them. Holding the criminal defendant civilly responsible for the wrongful act is not the only course of action a victim can take, however. There are, in fact, a number of defendants who can be held responsible for certain criminal acts. For example, if a sexual assault was committed in a school, a church, or a place of business, the victim may file suit against the individual committing the sexual assault, the entity owning the property at which the sexual assault occurred, and occasionally, other individuals who knew the sexual assault occurred but said or did nothing to prevent it from happening.

Signal Piracy

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:29:17 GMT

Civil and Criminal Litigation for Theft of Cable Programs on the Rise

The United States Department of Justice uses the term “signal piracy” to classify violations of Title 47 of the United States Code sections 553 and 605. These statutes are also known as the Communications Act of 1934. Section 553 is captioned “Unauthorized Reception of Cable Service,” and section 605 is captioned “Unauthorized Publication or Use of Communications.”