Last month one of our lead articles was Cyber Security: Forewarned is Fair-Warned.

Last week the New York Times published an article reporting that at least 1.2 billion usernames and passwords were hacked by a Russian cybercrime group by the name of CyberVor from upwards of 420,000 distinct web sites.

A very interesting CNN

For those of you who took an interest in our Affluenza article from June, you may be interested to know that there are developments in the real-life story. Frederick Couch, the father of “affluenza” defendant Ethan Couch, was arrested for impersonating a police officer in North Richland Hills, Texas.

Thanks to NBC5’s Scott Gordon for

Sure, fireworks are fun, but be cautious and careful.

Below are Texas’ Top 10 fireworks laws (but remember, laws may vary county to county) reposted from our July 2008 blog.

For a great Independence Day Parade, check out the Rotary Club of Park Cities 4th of July Parade for parade route and time.

Happy Independence Day to America, this July 4, 2014!

THE TOP TEN TEXAS FIREWORKS LAWS, HOW TO AVOID GETTING POPPED

  1. Ever notice how we don’t shoot fireworks off for Easter? Fireworks can only be sold from June 24th through July 4th and December 20th through January 1st.
  2. It is illegal to sell or shoot fireworks within 100 feet of a place where flammable liquids, flammable compressed gasses or fireworks are sold or stored. Makes sense to me!
  3. Despite what you may have seen in the movies, it is illegal to shoot fireworks from or towards a motor vehicle, including boats.
  4. It is illegal to shoot fireworks from a public roadway, public property, park, lake or U.S. Corps of Engineer Property. Would hate to set a lake on fire.
  5. The minimum age to buy or sell fireworks was recently changed from 12 to 16. Should probably be 26.
    Continue Reading Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Taking advantage of his car dealership owning parents being on vacation in the Bahamas, Cache Bar, a minor, invites his high school buddies over to liberate his parents’ locked libation cabinet. Well lubricated, Cache builds quite the bonfire in the backyard knowing that no one in their hometown of Daughtry, Texas, can water their lawns because of the severe drought.  The bonfire consumes Cache’s backyard grass, and then spreads and destroys three million-dollar mansions on Cache’s street. When Cache is charged with intentionally starting a fire that recklessly damaged his neighbors’ homes, his parents scramble for a defense to help him avoid arson charges – a state jail felony. Cache’s parents read a news article about another Texas teenager who avoided jail by asserting an “affluenza” defense – that the teenager was the product of wealthy, privileged parents who never set limits for their son.  Will “affluenza” keep Cache out of jail? If so, does that affect his parents?


Continue Reading Affluenza – Is It Contagious?

Willa Bepayed is a standout attacker and a Senior on State Tech’s volleyball team. Willa read about Kan Doit, the Southeastern quarterback who’s leading the unionization drive before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Like Kan, Willa Bepayed and her teammates also routinely spend 40 to 50 hours a week on volleyball – a full-time job. She also contends that her commitment discouraged her from entering State Tech’s pre-med program. Can Willa Bepayed and her teammates form their own union and bargain collectively? If so, do they risk encountering negative consequences if they are permitted to unionize?

Not likely to unionize, in Texas. The NLRB decision is limited to private universities as public institutions are governed by state labor laws. And, given that 24 states, including most of the South, are right-to-work jurisdictions, the vast majority of major college football teams could not unionize as Southeastern may.


Continue Reading Gimme a U-N-I-O-N!

Special thanks to guest blogger Alex Fuller for this month’s post.

            Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;

            ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

            But he that filches from me my good name

            Robs me of that which not enriches him,

            And makes me poor indeed.

                        –Othello Act 3, Scene 3

While on a date to the Laugh Factory Comedy Club, Terry Tellsall busted a gut laughing and was rushed to Texas General Hospital. Incensed by the treatment and bedside manner he received from Dr. B.D. Manner, Terry barraged his friend Cindy Cussin with texts detailing Dr. Manner’s inability to remember critical surgical procedures and his comments that “with a belly that size, you’re lucky you only busted one gut.” The next day, Terry posted his accusations on a popular doctor-rating website.

Luckily for Terry, the attending Nurse Nancy smelled Dr. Manner’s whiskey breath, heard his comments, and thankfully reminded him of the right procedure. However, Terry’s friend Cindy Cussin was Dr. Manner’s cousin and forwarded Terry’s texts to him. When Dr. Manner read the texts and received the early morning Google Alert with Terry’s website posts, he immediately instructed Able Attorney, Esq., to file a defamation lawsuit against Terry. Is Terry liable for libel?

Probably not. Truth is still a defense to any claim of verbal (slander) or written (libel) defamation. Better yet, the 2011 Texas Anti-SLAPP statute makes it harder for defamation lawsuits to be used as a bullying tactic.


Continue Reading The Case of the Defamed Doctor – SLAPP’ing Down Defamation Cases in Texas

During the holiday season, Bullseye, a big box retailer, was the victim of a cyber attack that compromised the credit and debit card information (including PIN and CVV codes) of nearly 40 million of its customers.  The attack immediately spawned dozens of class action lawsuits against Bullseye by customers, alleging that the retailer was negligent in protecting their financial information. What liability does Bullseye face and what can be done to mitigate that exposure?


Continue Reading Don’t Be a Target: Mitigating Liability From Cyber Attacks