Category Archives: Political and/or Judicial

AAJ Assails Supreme Court Ruling That Credit Repair Firms Can Require Binding Arbitration

Written On January 25, 2012 By Bob Kraft

The ABA Journal reported that the Supreme Court “has ruled that consumers who received the Aspire Visa credit card are bound by a mandatory arbitration provision in their applications.” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion in the case, CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the only dissenter. The class-action lawsuit under [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial

Texas’ New Insurance Chief Being Watched by Consumers, Lawmakers, and Industry

Written On January 24, 2012 By Bob Kraft

Texas has long had one of the weakest insurance departments in the nation — a department controlled by the insurance industry, and not at all helpful to consumers who have complaints. But now there is a new head of the department, and we can at least hope for improvement. However, so far there does not [...]

Posted in Insurance Company or Government Misconduct, Political and/or Judicial

The “I Have A Dream” Speech

Written On January 16, 2012 By Bob Kraft

It is difficult to comprehend the profound impact on millions of people that a 16-minute speech delivered almost 50 years ago has had. We need to listen to this speech more often than once per year. Here are links to the text and to the audio.
Please take a few minutes on Martin Luther King, Jr. [...]

Posted in Miscellaneous, Political and/or Judicial

Governor Perry’s Texas Supreme Court Picks Criticized as Too Business-Friendly

Written On January 4, 2012 By Bob Kraft

Anyone in Texas who is involved in consumer rights or plaintiff law has had concerns for years about the makeup and the big-business proclivities of the Texas Supreme Court. So it came as no surprise to us to read a recent article in the Dallas Morning News regarding Governor Rick Perry’s appointments to the Court. [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial

PolitiFact Calls Governor Perry’s Tort Reform Claims False

Written On August 30, 2011 By Bob Kraft

The Hill “Healthwatch” blog reported, “The website PolitiFact.com on Friday threw some cold water on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) claims about tort reform in his state — claims tort-reform supporters often tout as a model for other states.” While campaigning, the governor has said that “Texas gained 21,000 new doctors because of malpractice reforms [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Businesses’ Fear of U.S. Jury System is Irrational

Written On August 9, 2011 By Bob Kraft

Why does the business community seem to be so afraid of jury trials? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent many millions of dollars in the past few years lobbying Congress to loosen regulations on business and to restrict the use of jury trials in disputes between consumers and businesses. The Houston Chronicle ran an [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

A Lawsuit Is Never Frivolous When It’s About Your Family

Written On July 5, 2011 By Bob Kraft

The Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow wrote last weekend about a local couple who have been picketing a nursing home because a relative died there. The couple is frustrated because every lawyer they’ve talked with has told them that lawsuits against nursing homes are essentially worthless in Texas since passage of “tort reform” in [...]

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Strange Bedfellows — Pharmaceutical Companies and Fancy Restaurants

Written On June 23, 2011 By Bob Kraft

The Boston Globe ran an interesting article last week detailing how expensive restaurants have banded together to fight for repeal or amendment of a 2008 Massachusetts law banning pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts of $50 or more to doctors. The restaurants say this ban is hurting their business, because the pharmaceutical companies frequently bought expensive [...]

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Political and/or Judicial, Prescription Drug Claims

I’m Typing This While I’m Driving

Written On June 20, 2011 By Bob Kraft

But it’s OK. Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that would have banned texting while driving in Texas. I assume writing blog posts is no worse than texting.
Governor Perry said the ban would be a misguided government effort to “micromanage” the behavior of adult drivers. The cynical side of [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Vehicle Law or News

Who Represents Me in Washington and in Austin?

Written On May 12, 2011 By Bob Kraft

We are in the midst of some very bad legislative proposals, both in Washington and in Austin. Whether you’re concerned about the loss of Medicare (Washington) or passage of a corporate immunity bill (Austin), you should contact your representatives and make your concerns known.
There is a handy site for Texas who want to know who [...]

Posted in Government, Medicaid, Medicare, Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Tell Your Senator to Vote NO on the Corporate Immunity Bill

Written On May 10, 2011 By Bob Kraft

This is a follow-up message from Texas Watch to go along with the blog post from yesterday:
Dangerous legislation pushed by lobbyists for polluters, insurance companies and other corporate wrongdoers is on its way to the floor of the Texas Senate. The bill (HB 274) is designed to intimidate Texas families and small businesses into foregoing [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Perry Thinks Corporate Immunity Is an Emergency… Really?

Written On May 9, 2011 By Bob Kraft

This press release is from the consumer organization Texas Watch:
Under the House Rules, an emergency item is one that is “of such pressing and imperative import as to demand immediate action.” After 20+ years of pro-defendant legal changes, Rick Perry believes that making it even more difficult for Texans with valid claims to access [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Featured Link — Bill of Rights

Written On May 5, 2011 By Bob Kraft

Years ago I posted a link to the Constitution of the United States. Recent political discussions have prompted me to post another link — this one to the Bill of Rights. If you haven’t read it recently perhaps you should.

Posted in Featured Link, Government, Political and/or Judicial

Texas Laws Offer Enough Protection To Insurance Companies Already

Written On March 24, 2011 By Bob Kraft

Fort Worth attorney Bob Halsam wrote an excellent editorial for the Star Telegram this week. The topic was some of the off-the-wall “tort reform” bills that have introduced in either the House or Senate recently. Here are the opening paragraphs of the editorial. You can read more after the break.
Gov. Rick Perry’s proposals for Texas’ [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Stop Giving Away Our Legal Rights — The Reality Of Tort Reform Is Unfair System

Written On March 10, 2011 By Bob Kraft

Houston attorney Paul Simon wrote an excellent Letter to the Editor of the Houston Chronicle this week:
For the fourth time in recent memory, business interests and insurance companies want to further tilt the scales of justice in their favor. Called tort reform and pitched as being aimed only at frivolous lawsuits, the reality of these [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Babies and Grandmas: Who Will Texas’ Medicaid Cuts Hurt Most?

Written On February 8, 2011 By Bob Kraft

The Texas Legislature is facing a huge budget deficit and must either cut expenses or raise taxes. This is Texas, so we know our taxes won’t be increased. That means severe cuts in services, and the only question is which services, and therefore which residents, suffer the most.
The Houston Chronicle ran an article about proposed [...]

Posted in Medicaid, Political and/or Judicial

State Budget Cuts May Mean Hundreds of Nursing Homes Close

Written On February 7, 2011 By Bob Kraft

The proposed budget cuts put forward by the Texas Legislature could have a devastating effect on the nursing home industry and the patients who live in nursing homes. This blunt fact was detailed in a recent article in the Dallas Morning News. Here are excerpts:
Hundreds of nursing homes, including dozens in Dallas-Fort Worth, may close [...]

Posted in Medicaid, Political and/or Judicial

A Conservative Republican Speaks Out Against Tort Reform

Written On February 2, 2011 By Bob Kraft

This article in the Tennessean was a surprise to me. Republican former presidential candidate Fred Thompson speaks out strongly in objection to Tennessee imposing a cap on damages in medical malpractice claims. I wish Texas politicians were this wise.
I have been asked why I want to take part in the discussions when the state legislature [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial, Tort Reform

Big Business Finds Friends on U.S. Supreme Court

Written On December 30, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The New York Times tells us what most lawyers already know — that the Supreme Court of the United States is very “business-friendly.” Not as much so as the Texas Supreme Court, but that would be a hard record to match.
Please read the article; you may be surprised at the influence big business has on [...]

Posted in Political and/or Judicial

Senate Food-Safety Bill Strengthens FDA Authority

Written On December 20, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Washington Post (12/20, Layton) reports, “A bill that would overhaul the nation’s food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake made three weeks ago and a filibuster threat that seemed likely to [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Political and/or Judicial