Miscellaneous

• Salmonella Peanut Butter Recall Spreads

  Ben Glass | March 02, 2007 5:45 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration expanded the scope of its Salmonella warning regarding ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia processing plant. Apparently bulk peanut butter was used in several types of ice cream toppings:Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans.Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cansJ. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6...

• Bad Peanut Butter from Peter Pan

  Ben Glass | February 15, 2007 9:20 PM | 1 CommentNorthern Virginia, VA

  ConAgra Foods Inc., has recalled peanut butter linked by federal officials to nearly 300 cases of salmonella in 39 states.ConAgra Foods sells Peter Pan peanut butter and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand. Dirty jars or equipment at the plant of the manufacturer, ConAgra Foods Inc, is susected as the culprit in the outbreak.Shoppers across the country were warned to throw out...

• New York Advertising Rules Under Immediate Challenge

  Ben Glass | February 03, 2007 5:54 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  I'm all for effective, ethical marketing by attorneys but state regulation of attorney ads must be weighed against First Amendment protections. Generally, states cannot regulate "taste" and are limited to limiting advertising by attorneys (or any business) that is false or deceptive. If the state wants to restrict advertising, it generally must show that a particular marketing technique results...

• Infant Deaths Linked to Cold Medicine Use

  Ben Glass | January 27, 2007 6:40 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  According to a recent report from the Centers For Disease Control, at least three babies have died and one in 1,500 children needed treatment in hospital emergency rooms during 2004 after being given over-the-counter cough and cold medicines.This is important information: According to the report there is no safe dosage of the cough and cold medication that has been established for babies, nor...

• Merck Lawyer's Conduct Called "Unethical"

  Ben Glass | January 26, 2007 3:04 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  In a Vioxx trial going on right now, apparently the judge and the Merck & Company lawyer are really going at it. Apparently, Judge Carol Higbee has chastised attorney Diane Sullivan for "deliberately violating [court] orders on repeated occasions."According to a Bloomberg article on the Vioxx trial: Higbee repeatedly clashed with Sullivan at Humeston's first trial, which ended in November 2005....

• Rocket Ship Liability Crisis in Virginia

  Ben Glass | January 25, 2007 12:49 PM | 1 CommentNorthern Virginia, VA

  Ok all you folks lining up to take sub-orbital space flights originating in Virginia--beware that if the rocket ship provider launching you atop a couple million gallons of explosive fuel screws up and kills you, you might not be able to sue them for their carelessness.I kid you not. There is a bill that has been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would shield spaceflight entities...

• You Can Fight City Hall

  Ben Glass | January 21, 2007 5:55 AM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  There is a great article in the Washington Post this morning about how one guy took on the government and won. It seems that Robert Eberth owned a car that he was saving for his son. He kept it parked and didn't have it inspected.While the car was parked on a private road at his housing complex it was ticketed by Prince William County police. Eberth thought that was wrong so he looked up the...

• Virginia Police Shooting Case Heats Up

  Ben Glass | January 14, 2007 10:39 PM | 3 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  The sad case of Salvatore Culosi, the local optometrist gunned down by a Fairfax County SWAT team last year when they went to arrest him for allegedly running a gambling ring got sadder as investigators confirmed that the SWAT team should never have been there for his arrest in the first place.According to published reports, a police review says Fairfax County police went overboard in using a...

• Court orders lawsuit against John Grisham reinstated.

  Ben Glass | January 13, 2007 10:24 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  The Supreme Court of Virginia has overruled a trial court and ruled that a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging that legal thriller author John Grisham intentionally inflicted emotional distress on her be allowed to go forward. The lawsuit, filed by Katharine Almy, alleged that Grisham and a co-defendant agreed to obtain documents bearing Almy's handwriting from her children's file at a local...

• Here's a Dumb Idea from New Jersey

  Ben Glass | January 05, 2007 5:55 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  What better way to make sure that no doctor treats an accident victim than to tell doctors that their fees for accident cases are capped? This is what is being proposed according to a post at the on-line Insurance Journal.For once I agree with the head of a medical society:Michael Kornett, chief executive officer of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said blocking the price controls is the...