Muncie Lawyer Blog

Rise in Foreclosure Rates May Impact Bankruptcy Filings

2007-11-24T15:42:07Z

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank President said Monday he expects the U.S. housing market to continue decline and that the foreclosure rate will rise for several more quarters.

]]> As more adjustable rate mortgages continue to reset over the next few months and quarters, borrowers will face having to search for alternative financing in a ever-constricting credit market or else losing their homes. Many, no doubt, will choose to leave their homes behind, while others will file bankruptcy to protect their homes and other assets.

In my experience, by the time my clients have come to see me, their only option to consider is bankruptcy. I think part of this is due to the stigma attached with filing bankruptcy. In early times, countries like the United States and Britain had debtor’s prisons, where people were sent who could not pay for their debts.

In our time, though, bankruptcy has become more routine, just like any other financial decision. Not only have major international companies filed for bankruptcy protection, but so have several famous individuals. I recently came across this list:

Abraham Lincoln
Andy Gibb
Anita Bryant
Benedict Arnold
Bjorn Borg
Buster Keaton
Chaka Kahn
Corey Haim
Cyndi Lauper
Dorothy Hamill
Frank Baum
Gary Coleman
George Frideric Handel
George Jones
Henry Ford
John DeLorean
John Wayne Bobbitt
Kim Basinger
M.C. Hammer
Marvin Gaye
Meat Loaf
Melvin Belli
Mick Fleetwood
Natalie Cole
P.T. Barnum
Red Foxx
Toni Braxton
Ulysses S. Grant
Walt Disney
Wayne Newton
Willie Nelson
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Ted Nugent
Burt Reynolds
Mickey Rooney
Anna Nicole Smith
Mark Twain
Oscar Wilde
Tammy Wynette

This is not to say that bankruptcy does not affect your ability to get credit, buy a house or car or have some impact on the amount you may pay for credit in the future. However, by the time most of my clients see me, their debts and late payments have already been reported on their credit report and will remain there for years.

If you find yourself in too deep to pay your debts, don’t continue to avoid seeing an attorney. Whether it’s me or someone else, be sure you talk to someone about your rights. You can take charge of the situation and take control back from the collection agents!

Boston Scientific Increases Amount of Guidant Settlement

2007-11-21T14:20:55Z

The Massachusetts-based medical device company that bought Indianapolis-headquartered Guidant in 2006 recently announced it will pay an additional $45 million into a fund to settle more than 8,500 products liability claims.

]]> The claims arose after the Guidant announced a worldwide recall of certain defibrillator and pacemaker models in 2005 and 2006. The additional money brings the entire settlement to $240 million, still about one-third of the amount that the company originally set aside for litigation of the product liability actions.

Guidant is not the only company to experience litigation brought due to defective devices and leads; Medtronic also has seen many lawsuits filed against it.

Defibrillators and pacemakers are implanted into the chest, underneath the skin and sometimes the muscle. Lead wires run from the devices into the heart muscle and deliver electric shocks to the heart when it experiences dangerous rhythms or stops beating. These devices are referred to as “safety nets” for many patients – because if the device ever failed to work when it was needed, the patient would most likely die.

Hopefully, besides compensating those who had to undergo replacement surgeries and suffer the worries of not knowing if their device would work when they needed it, these lawsuits will result in Guidant and other manufacturers making these devices safer.

Kugel MDL Is Organized in Rhode Island

2007-11-21T14:16:18Z

Recently, the panel of federal judges that oversee consolidation of products liability cases throughout the country consolidated cases involving the Kugel Mesh Patch in the District of Rhode Island.

]]> The federal judge appointed to oversee the actions will direct the pretrial and possibly some of the trial efforts that will take place in the near future. Multi-District Litigation, or MDLs for short, are commonplace in products liability and other complex actions.

After an individual files a case in a federal court, or if it is filed in state court and removed to federal, the case will be transferred to the District of Rhode Island for further proceedings. As issues arise in the litigation, the judge or judges in charge of the litigation can make decisions that affect all of the cases in a uniform fashion rather than having literally hundreds of different judges throughout the country deciding the issues in different ways. MDLs also help to keep judges assigned to the cases who are knowledgeable about the legal issues and merits of the cases.

Other famous MDLs include the Vioxx MDL in New Orleans, the Guidant litigation in Minneapolis and the Permax litigation in New York.

Merck Agrees to Settle Vioxx Litigation for $4.85 Billion

2007-11-12T02:55:32Z

On Friday, Merck & Co., Inc. announced that it had agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed against the company by patients who took Vioxx and suffered either a heart attack or stroke. While this sounds like a lot, it is far less than original estimates of liability the company faced when it withdrew its blockbuster arthritis drug on September 30, 2004.

]]> There are also several conditions attached to the offer, which will, no doubt, exclude a number of individuals who had earlier filed suit.

From the beginning, Merck vowed to fight each and every lawsuit without settling a single claim. And, while Merck did fight hard during these last two years, the settlement acknowledges a rather common and typical outcome with these types of cases.

Defendants often settle cases based on not only their potential exposure to liability but also based upon the hard costs associated with trying cases. In the end, Merck’s directors and shareholders will agree that it is by far much cheaper to settle these cases than to try each and every one.

And, so, there will be a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking about this deal. Some will say that Merck executed the deal with tactical skill and precision. Others will say that the Plaintiffs’ lawyers rallied together and drove the settlement by increasing litigation costs and pushing hundreds of cases through expedited discovery.

Let’s hope, though, that in the end, the lesson we take from this is that drug companies must be more accountable for their actions and must make safety a top priority in both the research and development of medications.

Dram Shop Act

2007-11-05T20:11:55Z

Did you know that in Indiana, any bar or restaurant who knowingly serves alcoholic beverages to someone who appears to be intoxicated can be sued if that person then is involved in an automobile accident with another person and injures or kills the other person? They can according to Indiana Code § 7.1-5-10-15.5(b)(1)-(2). In addition, bars can be found liable if the person drinking is over 21 or older and suffers injury or death due to the overintoxication. Indiana Code § 7.1-5-10-15.5(c).

]]> This statute, also known as a dram shop act, is meant to discourage bars and restaurants who serve alcohol from overserving their patrons and to decrease the number and threat of drunk drivers in our state. In addition, it helps provide compensation to accident victims and their families in cases where the drunk driver ends up going to jail and/or has no money to pay any judgment for the victim’s injuries. In these cases, often the bar will carry insurance coverage to protect itself against such claims which can provide money to pay for the medical expenses, physical therapy or other needed expenses for the victim.

Even though individuals should ultimately be responsible for their own actions, our legislature agreed that in cases where people are overserved, that alcohol can sometimes prevent them from realizing the consequences of their own actions.

As you might imagine, bars often will deny liability for the actions of drunk drivers even though they knowingly served someone an excessive number of drinks, far in excess of the amount needed to make that person legally intoxicated.

If you or a loved one has been injured at the hands of a drunk driver, you should seek the assistance of a lawyer who has handled dram shop cases.

--JD

Wrongful Death Action

2007-11-05T20:09:31Z

An acquaintance of mine recently asked me whether it was appropriate to bring a wrongful death action on behalf of someone’s estate even though criminal charges had not yet been filed against a defendant.

]]> I represent the estate of a young father of four children who was believed to be hit and killed by someone who had too much to drink at a local bar. Although the driver’s identity had been determined, the filing of the wrongful death action occurred prior to criminal charges being filed.

In Indiana, the ability to bring a wrongful death action is not based upon the existence of some criminal activity. In fact, a good many wrongful death lawsuits are filed against defendants who have committed no crimes. Instead, the action is based upon allegations of some negligence. Take for instance a case involving a doctor or hospital who fails to make a proper diagnosis of a patient and that failure results in the person’s death. There is nothing criminal about their actions. But the family and survivors are still allowed to sue the doctor and hospital for the death of their loved one.

Wrongful death actions can also occur as a result of car accidents; from the use of a defective product or generally, in any case where someone’s death was caused by someone who acted negligently according to the circumstances.

Wrongful death actions can also arise if the defendant’s actions were intentional. People may remember the criminal case against O.J. Simpson in the mid-1990s. Although O.J. was acquitted of all criminal charges, the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman received a verdict in a civil lawsuit of $33.5 million in a wrongful death action against the former NFL superstar. Although this type of wrongful death action is more unusual, it does arise in cases where the defendant is famous and wealthy.

Wrongful death actions cannot replace a lost loved one; nor can they serve as a substitute for criminal charges – when and if they should be filed. But wrongful death actions can help provide money to the victim’s family to provide the financial support that is oftentimes much needed. In cases involving children who have lost a parent, money is often needed to buy clothes, provide shelter, food and pay for education. For this reason, they serve a very important role.

--JD

Welcome to Muncie Lawyer Blog!!!

2007-05-30T15:15:13Z

Welcome to Muncie Lawyer Blog!

The main objective of this blog is to keep the public aware of the recent updates of laws, the way they’re interpreted, and to give you my read on any situation at hand, including local and national current events.

The practice area focus will be on Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Law. Obviously within these broad areas of law are many sub-areas such as Premises Liability within Personal Injury and Drunk Driving Defense within Criminal Defense.

And considering the newness of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which primarily took effect on October 17, 2005, there will no doubt be reporting on first impression issues within the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy focus area.

I look forward to the many blogs-to-come, but I also look forward to hearing feedback from anyone who visits the page!

Feel free to visit my personal webpage here!

Until Next Time,

B. Joseph Davis