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This Week's Feature
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For Every Class Action, There Is an Equal and Opposite Reaction
By Alan L. Rupe and Ashley J. Shaneyfelt
Kutak Rock LLP, Wichita, Kansas
Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated, “When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike you, do not wait until he has struck before you crush him.” Roosevelt’s advice is particularly useful in class action litigation. A specific preemptive strategy, which is not often utilized, is filing a motion to strike class certification before the plaintiff files his own motion to certify the class. This technique can be especially useful because, if successful, the strategy reduces the time, discovery, and resources that are dedicated to determining the issue of class certification.
[FULL STORY]
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Legal News
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Debate or Litigate
On August 25, 2009, The New York Times reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce petitioned the EPA to hold a public debate on the science of global warming or face litigation. This move is in response to the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision and the EPA’s plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Click here to access the full article. (If you are not a New York Times member, you will need to register. It's free.)
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DRI News
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Supreme Court Swearing-In Ceremony
This year’s United States Supreme Court Swearing-In Ceremony will take place on November 3 in Washington, D.C. Twelve DRI Young Lawyers will have the opportunity to be sworn in before the Court. They will travel to Washington, D.C. the night before the ceremony to attend a reception sponsored by DRI, followed by a networking dinner. The next morning, the candidates will be sworn in before the Supreme Court and allowed to observe oral arguments.
[FULL STORY]
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Southwest Regional Meeting
The Southwest Regional Meeting at San Antonio’s Westin Riverwalk Hotel on August 28-29 was a great success. The regional meeting followed the training session for DRI’s newly elected Regional Directors: James D. Holland, Southern Region; Steven R. Schwegman, North Central Region; and Kevin Driskill, Southwest Region.
[FULL STORY]
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Don’t Wait Until After Labor Day—Advanced Registration and Hotel Deadlines Are Fast Approaching!
Registration Deadline
The September 9 deadline to save $100 off the regular registration fee of $795 for members and $895 for non-members is fast approaching. To ensure your name is listed on the advance registration list distributed at the Annual Meeting, DRI must receive your registration on or before September 9, 2009. (Please allow 10 days for mail registrations). Registrations received after September 9 will be processed on-site. Register today!
Hotel Deadline
Hotel rooms will be at a premium during the DRI Annual Meeting because it convenes at the same time as the Chicago Marathon. We encourage you to make your hotel reservations now at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers! Please make your room reservations directly with the hotel at 312.464.1000, and be sure to mention the DRI 2009 Annual Meeting to be eligible for the special rates: $249 Standard Single/Double and $299 Towers Level Single/Double. Rooms are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations must be made by September 9, 2009, to guarantee these special rates.
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PROMOTE YOUR FIRM ONLINE!
DRI is pleased to offer online advertising on www.dri.org! In this challenging economy, this new opportunity provides firms with an economical and effective way of reaching a wide target audience.
• Prominently place your firm logo, tagline and homepage link on several DRI website pages, including the DRI homepage, all seminar description pages, Expert Witness Database and the Membership Directory
• Rates vary depending on page selection
• 4-week run and multiple-month discount packages available
2009 is nearly sold out!
Reserve your 2009 and 2010 placements now!
Please contact Laurie Mokry, DRI Advertising Representative, at lmokry@dri.org or 312.698.6259.
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Learn How to Grow Your Practice with this Upcoming DRI Webcast
Online Networking 101 – How to Grow Your Practice Using the Internet
Thursday, October 1, 2009
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central
Successful lawyers know that relationships are the foundation of a robust practice and that relationships develop because of interaction and collaboration. Are you aware of the new tools for interaction and collaboration available on the Internet through Web 2.0? If not, and if you want to learn how to use them to build successful client relationships, this 90-minute, live webcast is for you. To learn more about this webcast, click here or register online at www.dri.org.
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And The Defense Wins!
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DRI member John Dalton of Baugh, Dalton, Carlson & Ryan, LLC in Chicago teamed with an associate recently to secure a dismissal with prejudice for USAA Life Insurance Company in a negligent misrepresentation claim, less than four months after the plaintiffs’ Complaint was filed. In its motion for dismissal in Grayson v. USAA Life Insurance Company, Case No. 09 C 861, USAA relied on the Illinois Supreme Court case of Moorman Mfg. Co. v. National Tank Co., 435 N.E.2d 443 (1982).
[FULL STORY]
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An insurer was justified in disclaiming coverage for a copyright infringement action where the allegations in the complaint did not allege "advertising injury," according to the New York Appellate Division, First Department in Axelrod v. Magna Carta Cos. The appellate court upheld the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Public Service Mutual Insurance Company (PSM). Partner Michael S. Savett of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP in Philadelphia, who litigated the case in the trial court, briefed the appeal and partner Kenneth M. Portner successfully argued the matter before the First Department panel.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members Gary Pullin and Wendy Greve of Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe, PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia won a defense verdict in Kanawha County Circuit Court in June. The case evolved out of an incident wherein the plaintiff, John Slater, was arrested by the West Virginia State Police when his neighbor Adam Scott, also a West Virginia State Trooper home on leave from the military, made a complaint regarding Mr. Slater's reckless and threatening behavior.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI members John G. Trice and Jeff Fletcher of the law firm of Davis, Clark, Butt, Carithers & Taylor, PLC in Fayetteville, Arkansas, recently received two defense victories. The first was a unanimous defense verdict in an admitted liability trucking accident case. The plaintiff filed suit after his tractor trailer was struck in the rear bumper by another tractor trailer, while parked at a truck stop in Russellville, Arkansas. The plaintiff claimed that, at the time of the accident, he was dressing in the sleeper compartment of his tractor and was violently thrown into the dash. As a result of his injuries, the plaintiff claimed that he suffers from post concussion syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and psychosis (hallucinations involving aliens).
[FULL STORY]
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A group of more than 70 defendants has obtained the Opinion of the California Appellate Court, 2nd District, affirming in full the dismissal of claims brought by more than 200 former employees of a Southern California plumbing supply manufacturer. On June 22, 2009, the appellate court issued a Notice of Remittitur in Roberto Navarrette, et al. v. Armite Laboratories, et al., (B203997 Div. 2), finalizing the appellate opinion issued in April 2009. DRI members involved in the defense group were Jason Booth from Dongell Lawrence Finney LLP in Los Angeles; Robert B. Katz from Katz & Associates in Woodland Hills, California; Thomas Tobin and Kara Persson from Gordon & Rees, LLP in San Diego; Lisa Rice from Walsworth Franklin Bevins & McCall, LLP in Orange, California; and John Grannis from Poole & Shaffery, LLP in Los Angeles.
[FULL STORY]
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DRI wants to hear about your latest win! Send a short summary and recent photo of yourself to Barb Lowery by email (blowery@dri.org).
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New Member Spotlight
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DRI is pleased to welcome new member Kerry P. Hastings. Mr. Hastings is a partner in the Cincinnati office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and was selected by Cincinnati Magazine as a 2005 and 2006 “Super Lawyers Rising Star.” He was recently awarded a BV Peer Review Rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell.
[FULL STORY]
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Quote of the Week
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You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.
—M. Scott Peck
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DRI CLE Calendar
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Construction Law
September 10-11, 2009
The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California
Nursing Home/ALF Litigation
September 10-11, 2009
The Westin Kierland, Scottsdale, Arizona
MMSEA Section 111 Reporting: Are You Ready? (webcast)
September 10, 2009
Aviation Crisis Management (webcast)
September 15, 2009
Claims Involving a Medicare Beneficiary (webcast)
September 17, 2009
Expanding Your Reach (webcast)
September 22, 2009
The Impact of Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. (webcast)
September 24, 2009
Strictly Automotive
September 24-25, 2009
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, La Jolla, California
Preparing Local Governments for New E-Discovery (webconference)
September 29, 2009
Online Networking 101 – How to Grow Your Practice Using the Internet (webcast)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Appellate Advocacy
November 5-6, 2009
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, La Jolla, California
Asbestos Medicine
November 12-13, 2009
Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Miami, Florida
Insurance Coverage and Practice
December 3-4, 2009
Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, New York, New York
Best Practices for Law Firm Profitability
December 3-4, 2009
Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, New York, New York
For all other seminars, webconferences and webcasts, click here.
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Current Issues in Medical Liability and Health Care Law
Defending Damages Claims in Business Tort Cases
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