The State of the Gay Union
In President Bush's January 20th State of the Union Address, he spoke of a need to halt the movement toward allowing same-sex couples to marry. If activist judges insist on changing the traditional characterization of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, he said, a change to the U.S. Constitution will be needed to preserve the "sanctity" of the institution of marriage. Judges have "begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people or their elected representatives," he stated, apparently alluding to the November 2003 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holding that it is contrary to that state's constitution for gay couples to be denied the right to marry.
Tax Returns Can Make or Break Your Case
The primary purpose of a tax return is for government entities to assess income taxes on the earnings of a business or individual, but in divorce, the role of the tax return is much broader and serves various purposes. Business and personal tax returns should be thoroughly analyzed before marital assets are divided and before income is set for the purpose of determining spousal maintenance and child support. If analyzed properly and creatively, they can help show whether: 1) there was financial irresponsibility; 2) income is much greater than appears on the surface; or 3) assets no longer exist that one spouse assumes still do exist.
Breaking News...
An audit by Wal-Mart of 128 stores and over 25,000 employees has reportedly revealed thousands of labor violations at the Arkansas-based retailing chain, including 1371 violations of child labor laws, 60,000 missed breaks and16,000 skipped meal times, primarily in violation of state labor laws. The July, 2000 internal audit was apparently distributed to high-level company executives but has now come to public attention through lawsuits filed against the company, which employs more than 1.2 million U.S. workers.
The Litigation That Will Not Die
Fen-Phen litigation is entering a critical phase that promises to be at least as complex and contentious as anything that preceded it. The national settlement that was supposed to buy peace is now smack in the middle of the storm that swirls, as always, around Wyeth. Claims against the Madison, NJ-based drug manufacturer are moving slowly through the $3.75 billion trust Wyeth funded to compensate people whose heart valves were damaged by its diet drugs. Lawyers and clients have been highly critical of the delays.
Case Briefing
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Keep from Drowning in the Sea of Mass Torts!
In order to avoid drowning in the sea of mass tort litigation, drug and medical device companies must aggressively and "offensively" defend these actions -- and do so as soon as the mass tort litigation emerges. Critical to stemming the mass tort tide is an understanding of the factors that drive the filing of these actions against pharmaceutical and medical device companies: 1) the ease with which controversial issues relating to drugs and medical devices can be recognized; and 2) complicated causation issues. Armed with that understanding, the single most important pre-trial goal for any defendant must be the early exposure of frivolous claims based on tenuous causation and junk science.
Illinois Asks for Permission to Import Drugs
Illinois governor Rod R. Blagojevich sent a letter on December 22 to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson asking that Thompson approve Illinois' plan to import pharmaceutical products from Canada for use by the state's employees and retirees. The governor, who has been pushing for months to gain the right to purchase drugs for Illinois from less-expensive sources in Canada, stated in his letter, "I was encouraged by your recent statements regarding your willingness to approve a small-scale demonstration project around the issue of re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada. We would like to work with you to design an effective pilot program that complies with the law." Blagojevich hopes his state will become the "small-scale demonstration project" Thompson spoke of.
