Posts

Dr. Russell Toomey is an Associate Professor of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona, researching issues of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents and Latinx youth. Dr. Toomey is also a transgender man, who transitioned to live consistently with his male identity in 2003 and sought a hysterectomy in 2018. His healthcare plan, provided by the state to state university employees, refused to cover the surgery, and, in fact, denies all coverage or “[g]ender reassignment surgery....

Recently, a Connecticut judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre against the gun manufacturer of the weapon used for the killings. Pursuant to a 2005 act signed into law by George W. Bush, the Protection of Lawful Commerce of Arms Act (PLCAA), the case was dismissed as the judge ruled the gun manufacturer could not be held liable. Under the PLCAA, a gun manufacturer or dealer cannot be held liable for how a gun is used if the gun was sold legally....

Before deciding to get a divorce, couples often will physically and legally separate. Sometimes it is an effort to repair the marriage, but more frequently than not, it is just the first step in the divorce process. Living separately does not end the marriage, but for many couples, living separately is preferable to divorce. Alternatively, long-term separation can allow spouses to start rebuilding their personal separate assets and get stable before divorce proceedings begin....

A fun day at Six Flags turned tragic Friday when a Dallas woman died after falling from a 14-story roller coaster. Rosy Esparza, fell from a roller coaster car at Six Flags Over Texas while riding the “Texas Giant” coaster, a 23-year-old ride originally promoted as the “tallest wooden roller coaster in the world,” reports Reuters. While details of Esparza’s fatal fall have yet to emerge, the Esparza family can potentially sue the park for wrongful death....

Legislation aimed at assisting small businesses has been stalled in the Senate. The Small Business Jobs Act would renew now-expired breaks on Small Business Administration loans, provide $30 billion in cheap capital that community banks could use for small-business loans and give small businesses $12 billion in tax breaks. According to Portfolio.com, the Small Business Jobs Act has something that could assist nearly every small business. The Jobs Act would make it easier to for small business owners to get a loan and enable small businesses to write off more of the cost of capital investments immediately, instead of depreciating them over time....

Lawmakers in Colorado and Nevada are debating the merits of state laws that place a limit on the amount of money damages that can be awarded to plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. Earlier this week, Nevada lawmakers heard arguments from both sides of the medical malpractice reform debate on a proposed state law that would remove a $350,000 cap on “pain and suffering” damages in med mal cases, KTNV Las Vegas reports....

Making food choices these days practically requires a dictionary. With labels like sustainable, organic, free-range, natural, and fair trade, it’s hard to keep track of what they all mean. Even McDonald’s is now calling the fish for its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches “sustainable,” NPR reports. If you’re carting around a dictionary, you probably still won’t have much luck deciphering these definitions. Some of these “ecolabels” are regulated by government organizations, while others are defined by private groups....

What supposedly gives you a high, is legal and is hard to detect with drug testing? A synthetic form of marijuana called spice, genie, or K2. It can also land you in the hospital or give you tremors or seizures, but these warnings are often drowned out by hype over a legal high. That is until state lawmakers make K2 illegal, as they have already done in several states. This week, Missouri became the sixth state to ban the use of K2....

Subletting your apartment can be a great way to pay your rent while you’re on an extended vacation or away for work. But there are some legal pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. Short-term subletting is more popular than ever thanks to online services like Airbnb. However, these same sublets are also increasingly leading to eviction and even lawsuits. Case in point: a New York artist who’s being sued for renting out her rent-controlled loft; she allegedly charged renters three times what she herself paid in rent, according to The New York Daily News....

People do not expect their doctors to be perfect. But they do expect them to communicate clearly. When they don’t, patients are more inclined to sue, according to Ultra, a helathcare insurance underwriter that manages physician risk. Communication is the most important aspect of any relationship. The physician-patient relationship is no exception. Often, we reveal aspects of ourselves or our bodies to doctors that we would not show anyone else. So, it is perhaps not surprising that when things go wrong and physicians are not forthright, patients are more likely to fight back....

You’ve got questions … we’ve got answers. If you have not yet asked or answered a question in FindLaw’s Answers community, what are you waiting for? This amazing free resource supports a dynamic community of legal consumers and attorneys helping each other out. Simple as that. We see a lot of great questions in our Answers community every day. Here’s a look at some recent questions relating to disability insurance from our FindLaw Answers boards:...

Model Carolyn Giles is suing Ford Models, Volvo, and Hertz for $23 million for allegedly misappropriating her image in ads. Giles claims that a former boyfriend living in Argentina spotted her image on a Hertz ad in that country. After a little bit of research, Giles discovered that Volvo had used her image in ads for different car models in 30 different countries, reports the New York Daily News. In addition, Giles claims Hertz was also using her image....

On July 28, the Utah Supreme Court reversed two convictions for accomplice to rape for Warren Jeffs, the leader and “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeffs had been convicted in 2007 of using his power over the followers of his religious faith to force a fourteen year-old girl into marriage with her nineteen year-old cousin. The court found that the instructions given to the jury in Jeff’s case were erroneous and that error affected the outcome of the verdict....

It’s par for the course these days for entrepreneurs to seek outside funding for a small business or start-up. Some draw the attention of venture capitalists, while others head to crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter. Though these investors are technically contributing to your business, they’re not doing so without expecting something in return. As much as entrepreneurs would like to take the money and run, the reality is that investors have rights....

When you’re injured at work, you’ll want to file for worker’s compensation benefits as soon as possible. This is simple to do when you break an arm on the job or slip and fall on your way into the office. But what if you developed an ailment like carpel tunnel syndrome and aren’t sure when it started? When do you file for compensation then? What is the time limit for worker’s comp, and when does the clock start ticking on your claim?...

Ho, Ho, Tampa, Florida. Santa has a gift for you. Did you know you are Number 2 on Business Insider’s list of The Most Obscene Cities in America? But fear not Tampa and Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. suburbs. This list isn’t really about obscenity, it’s about profanity, and that (in most cases) is protected speech. So you can tell the list to go … well, you know the words. So Business Insider decided to go Walters one better by tabulating Google searches around the country for the now infamous “7 dirty words” (per George Carlin, may he rest)....

A stolen package at Christmas time is a terrible thing. Whether it was a gift for your child, or something valuable sent from someone you care about – you are going to be mad. And you are going to want some compensation. Can you look to the delivery company for a little payback? Factors that will impact your ability to seek reimbursement include what delivery service you use, whether and how much the package was insured, and where it was stolen, among others....

Perhaps more astonishing than Mark Zuckerberg refinancing a 1.05% home mortgage rate is the fact that the 40th richest man in the world needed a mortgage at all. After all, why would someone worth over $15 billion need to borrow money to pay off a $7 million home? Well, if you can borrow money at 1.05%, you’re basically borrowing money for free, reports Bloomberg. Zuckerberg bought his Palo Alto house last year and took out an adjustable-rate mortgage for $5....

For many businesses, kids are a great source of temporary, low wage labor. However, there a lot of laws regarding child labor that limit how old kids must be to work, what jobs they’re allowed to do, and how long they can work. Violating these laws can mean hefty fines and even imprisonment. Here are five things you should know about hiring kids: 1. Minimum working age is 14. Under federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act sets the minimum age to work at 14-years-old....

Getting in an accident with another car is one headache, but your frown may get upgraded to a mega-frown when you hear you’ve hit a city or state government-owned vehicle. Or maybe it hit you. Don’t worry, you can fight City Hall. Whether you were in an accident with a police car or a trash truck, you do have options when crashes involve government-owned vehicles. Here are five tips for accidents involving state or city vehicles to get you started:...