Goodman Firm Blawg

Ever Heard of "Keylogging"?

You are probably familiar with "key-logging" if you are the parent of a teenager and you have purchased a security program to monitor the computer activity and chatting of your teen. The program basically records all key strokes made on the computer's keyboard. The bad news is that hackers may be secretly planting these programs in your computer and learning all your passwords and codes without you having the slightest clue... just something else to add to concerns over computer viruses, etc.

Medical Misdiagnosis

Here is an eye-opening NY Times article discussing the current state of medical care in the US. According to the article, doctors still misdiagnose nearly 20% of all major illness. This may not seem like much, but the numbers are important...and the doctors themselves realize they could be doing much better. The problem lies in the fact our medical system is geared towards testing and dispensing drugs and not necessarily taking the time to confirm the original medical diagnosis.

Duty to Defend Under Homeowner's Policy

Under the facts of this MS Court of Appeals decision, a homeowner began a letter writing campaign against a local doctor. The homeowner was angry and hoped to influence public opinion regarding the doctor. The doctor in turn, sued for loss of business profits and tortious interference with business relationships. The Court of Appeals held the insurer under the homeowner's policy owed no duty to defend since there had been no "accident" as defined in the policy and that the doctor was not seeking recovery of covered damages (bodily injury/property damage) under the policy.

Important Supreme Court Ruling on Arbitration

Here is a recent US Supreme Court ruling addressing the proper forum to determine the validity of a questioned contract:
BUCKEYE CHECK CASHING, INC. v. CARDEGNA ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA

No. 04–1264. Argued November 29, 2005—Decided February 21, 2006.

For each deferred-payment transaction respondents entered into with
Buckeye Check Cashing, they signed an Agreement containing provisions
that required binding arbitration to resolve disputes arising out of
the Agreement. Respondents sued in Florida state court, alleging that
Buckeye charged usurious interest rates and that the Agreement violated
various Florida laws, rendering it criminal on its face. The trial
court denied Buckeye's motion to compel arbitration, holding that a
court rather than an arbitrator should resolve a claim that a contract
is illegal and void ab initio. A state appellate court reversed, but
was in turn reversed by the Florida Supreme Court, which reasoned that
enforcing an arbitration agreement in a contract challenged as unlawful
would violate state public policy and contract law.

Held: Regardless of whether it is brought in federal or state court, a
challenge to the validity of a contract as a whole, and not
specifically to the arbitration clause within it, must go to the
arbitrator, not the court.

SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C.
J., and STEVENS, KENNEDY, SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined.
THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion. ALITO, J., took no part in the
consideration or decision of the case.

Law practice in New Orleans- Post Katrina

While Katrina caused severe damage to the Mississippi Gulf coast; Jackson, Mississippi, was basically slowed down by lack of gasoline and electricity for one week. I remember thinking what hell it was living in extreme heat/humidity without good a/c and hot showers! It is hard to imagine many places in Mississippi and Louisiana are still without electricity and housing. Here is an article outlining the view of law practices (varied sizes) trying to make it in the largely deserted city of New Orleans.

Public Dissemination of Private Health Information

If a newspaper runs an article and identifies a person in the story as HIV positive, has the newspaper violated that person's rights? There is freedom of speech, but there are also many state laws prohibiting the publication of such information. This article discusses a suit filed in Texas for $1.1 billion based upon these facts. The Texas Court of Appeals applied the state statute which makes it unlawful to publish health information based upon medical test results. The Appeals Court found no wrong was committed by the newspaper and focused on the fact no medical test results were ever reviewed by the paper- rather, it was simply publishing known true facts about the plaintiff. I tend to agree with the Plaintiff that the intention of the statute was to prevent exactly what occurred in the article... but the statute does specifically address the issue of dissemination of test results in order to have a claim.

Sen. Bill Frist & His Congressional Deal to Benefit Drug Companies?

This newspaper report discusses recent legislation that was passed in some alleged back-room deal making without going through the full discussion process. Apparently language was added to legislation which will insulate (or at least protect) drug companies from litigation pertaining to damages caused by the consumption of newly manufactured drugs. The language was added to the bill on the 11th hour just before the Senate & House holiday breaks.
Seems kinda sneaky to me.

In Praise of Slowness

Here is an article that is right up my alley! The benefits of slowing down and enjoying life-even in the middle of work- are now being recognized. This is certainly one benefit of having a solo practice; but one that requires balance to achieve. For example, if there is 4:00 baseball practice, take off....but be prepared to pick up the slack some other time. As an associate I was amazed at friends who would work (translated as "remain at the office and gossip") late since the firm frowned upon leaving before a certain hour. There was even one firm that required associates to come in to the office on designated Saturdays...and most associates would simply bring some light reading to pass the time...another example of form over substance.

Is Your Firm Name Dropping?

This article takes note of the growing trend among law firms of shortening the firm name. It is now common to see large firms drop the multi-partner name and condense down to a two-person name. I still get a kick out of small family firms that go by "Jones, Jones, Jones & Jones".....

Curious About Gladwell?

Here is a NY Times article about Malcolm Gladwell. He is an author (The Tipping Point & Blink)and a journalist at the New Yorker magazine. He is very readable and does touch on some important topics in today's culture.