Miscarriage: lawsuit raises questions re hospital's handling of the remains.
The mother was informed by her obstetrician at a routine prenatal visit that the fetus inside her had expired at approximately fifteen weeks gestation. The obstetrician had her admitted to the hospital for delivery of the deceased fetus. The Parents' Expressed Wishes The...

Master Sleuths: litigators and consultants now search through gigabytes of data instead of boxes of paper files. Finding, collecting and reviewing all that digital information, however, is a very costly endeavor.
SUMMARY * Brokers and carders are offering more electronic discovery services to clients, a role traditionally done by lawyers. * Discovery can sometimes eat up as much as 90 percent of total litigation costs. * Insurance carders will begin adding e-discovery language within...

Ex-parte contact with plaintiff's treating physicians prohibited.
CASE ON POINT: In re collins, TXCA12 12-06-00078-051407(05/14/2007) S.W.3d -TX ISSUE: Discovery of each side's evidence in all suits has not only been adopted by virtually all courts, but is, in fact, encouraged. However, one area where courts are careful to recognize limitations in the discovery process...

Diet-shake lawsuit shines light on Robertson's empire.
A bodybuilder's lawsuit against TV preacher Pat Robertson over a high-protein diet drink has opened a rare window on the inner workings of the televangelist's business empire--and may expose tax abuses. The legal action by Phillip Busch goes back to 2001. Robertson had been promoting an "age-defying"...

MS: request for 'admissions' in discovery: 'failure to respond' constitutes 'admissions'.
CASE FACTS: David Scoggins underwent a colonoscopy at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto. Subsequently, he brought suit against the hospital, its CEO, and two nurses identified only as "Unknown Surgical Nurse One" and "Unknown Surgical Nurse Two," alleging that a malfunction in a cauterizing machine caused him a damaged colon, a...

Are you ready for new electronic discovery requirements?
They've been looming on the horizon for months, if not years, but on Dec. 1, 2006, it finally happened: new electronic discovery rules (called Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or FRCP). The amendments to FRCP 16, 26, 33, 34, 45 and revisions to Form 35 are aimed at one...

Criminal discovery of Internet communications under the Stored Communications Act: it's not a level playing field.
I. INTRODUCTION In the nearly twenty-one years since the Stored Communications Act (SCA) was added to Title 18 of the United States Code, online service providers of many different stripes have received tens of thousands of requests for information about their subscribers from government agencies and private...

NY: defendants fight plaintiff's discovery effort: were all records protected by 'peer review'?
CASE FACTS: In June, 2004, Elizabeth Ryan brought suit in federal court against Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), Dr. Gilbert Lederman, his professional group, and others, alleging fraud, medical malpractice, and violations of the New York's consumer protection and health laws. She alleged the her husband, terminally ill from...

83-year-old sustained brain injury in fall from hospital bed.
CASE ON POINT: Williams v. Notami Hospitals of Louisiana, Inc. 2005 WL 2898069 So.2d--LA ISSUE: Were the nurses in this case responsible for injuries sustained by an 83-year-old patient who fell out of bed? CASE FACTS: On January 1, 2000, 83-year-old Franklin Williams presented to...

A choice-of-law rule for conflicts involving stolen cultural property.
TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE PROBLEM 1. The Problem and the Challenge 2. A Typical Case: The Stolen Angels 3. The Conflict of Laws 4. The Court's Choice of Law 5. Right Result, Wrong Law II. THE PROPOSED RULE III. ANNOTATIONS TO THE RULE 1. The Rule's Residual Character...