Author: Law Firm Newswire

New York, NY(Law Firm Newswire) March 5, 2019 – A New York high school teacher was suspended indefinitely for showing his students a video about due process related to sexual assault and rape on college campuses. The Bedford Central School District extended his original month-long suspension in connection to seven new charges.

Mike Poplardo taught economics at Fox Lane High School in Bedford for 30 years. He was suspended without pay after showing his senior classes a 41-minute Fox News documentary titled “The Truth About Sex and College.” The school district described the video as containing “inappropriate sexual content” and claimed it “presents a one-sided, biased political viewpoint.”

District Superintendent Dr. Christopher Manno sent Poplardo a letter on January 25 stating that his suspension “will continue until further notice” pending a second hearing in relation to the additional charges filed against him. The suspension was originally scheduled to end on February 1. The new charges were “misconduct and conduct unbecoming a teacher, misconduct, incompetence and insubordination.”

“All teachers and educators accused of misconduct have the right to a disciplinary hearing,” commented Peter Brill, a New York criminal defense attorney with Brill Legal Group, who is not involved with the case. “A hearing allows the accused individual to present their side of the case. It is important to have an experienced attorney by your side to aggressively protect your rights and interests. The quality of representation can have a significant impact on the severity of any penalties.

The new charges were leveled against Poplardo after he shared with his students’ parents a lesson plan that included a link to the Fox News video. According to the superintendent’s letter, the teacher was not allowed on school district property for the duration of his leave of absence except to attend a scheduled disciplinary hearing. Manno also prohibited Poplardo from discussing with his students the disciplinary charges and the circumstances surrounding his suspension.

Prior to his current suspension Poplardo had received near perfect evaluations during his time at the school. District officials said Poplardo refused a proposed settlement that consisted of a fine, training and counseling without any suspension.

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) March 4, 2019 – Concussions are common when playing contact sports and even most of the fans understand there is some risk to the players involved. Broken bones are one-thing, serious head injuries are another.

Head injuries involved in contact sports have players, coaches and parents concerned. Head injuries kill. And if by chance they do not kill right away, they can do extensive and serious brain damage that ultimately may take a player’s life due to disease or by their own hand.

Between 2017 and 2018, at least 291 concussions were sustained in the National Football League (NFL). In English rugby, per 1,000 hours of play, there was, on average, one concussion per match, a three-fold increase from five years ago. Furthermore, a 2017 study of 111 deceased NFL players revealed the that 110 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

An in-depth study of the collisions players had sustained suggested that 20 to 45 percent of players run the risk of sustaining CTE. Severe, repetitive concussions greatly increase the risk of dementia, depression, cognitive issues, substance abuse and short-term memory loss. For spectators, the risk of serious brain injury does not seem to diminish the entertainment value of the sport. In fact, fans seem to relish the big hit or the big blow.

Despite the fact that concussions are prevalent in sports today, many improvements in how concussions are dealt with are helping injured players. What is more, awareness of head injuries in contact sports is growing. “Players are now more readily willing to express concern about a head injury, a fact that increases the ability to diagnose and treat a concussion sooner rather than later,” indicated Austin traumatic brain injury attorney, Brooks Schuelke. Coaches and medical personnel also pay more attention to players and look for signs of concussion. The increase in the ability to diagnose brain injury sooner is beneficial to players, especially since one of the bigger risks of permanent problems is athletes sustaining a second concussion before they are healed from the first.

The ability to diagnose concussions earlier is a huge success. However, with the advancements in football helmets, which reduce skull fractures, players are increasingly using their heads during games. This is a counterintuitive move that may mean concussions remain a serious issue in contact sports. And it is not just football or rugby that result in head injuries. It is other sports such as boxing, soccer, hockey, baseball and even cricket.

While a solution to the problem of sustaining concussions in contact sports is partway there, more action needs to be taken in contact sports. Human brains are not fully developed until the mid-20s, thus any head injuries sustained prior to that are often missed in high school players, a possibly deadly precursor in later life if the student chooses to continue to play contact sports.

“If you play contact sports and feel you are not being given proper training in relation to concussions, have sustained a concussion or suspect your training is not adequate to prevent head injuries, you can talk to me about your legal rights,” said Schuelke.

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) March 1, 2019 - A federal appeals court decided on January 29 that Vietnam War veterans who developed health problems due to Agent Orange exposure while serving on offshore ships were entitled to disability benefits. The ruling means more than 50,000 veterans nationwide may now be able to receive several thousand dollars in disability payments each month.

A 9-2 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed past court rulings backing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA has for years denied the disability claims of “blue water” Navy veterans who patrolled waters off Vietnam’s coastline. The department claimed they were ineligible for the same benefits as service members who were stationed inland.

“The court ruling marks an important step in the effort to win benefits for all veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, no matter where they were located,” commented Florida veterans lawyer David W. Magann. “The hope is that the VA will now extend disability payments to blue water Navy veterans. These service members, who sacrificed their own health, have been suffering from the effects of toxic exposure for a long time through no fault of their own.”

Currently blue water veterans can receive medical treatment for their illnesses through the VA. However, they cannot receive disability benefits unless they prove their health problems are directly linked to toxic exposure while on duty. That is not the case for other Vietnam veterans, who are awarded presumptive benefits for ailments linked to Agent Orange exposure. The U.S. military sprayed the cancer-causing chemical herbicide to destroy crops in Vietnam.

Advocates for blue water veterans cited research that indicated they were exposed to Agent Orange through contaminated water used for drinking and laundry on board their ships. VA officials have argued that the studies do not warrant presumption of Agent Orange exposure for the group and fought legislative efforts to reverse their decision. In their ruling, federal judges sided with advocates saying that obtaining proof of exposure is impossible and unjust. Blue water veterans should be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to showing their medical conditions are connected to toxic exposure.

The court decision centered on a case filed by 73-year-old Alfred Procopio Jr. who was stationed on a vessel off the Vietnam coast. Procopio was denied disability benefits for claims linked to diabetes and prostate cancer due to Agent Orange exposure. He was deemed ineligible because he was not located “on the landmass or the inland waters of Vietnam.”

VA spokesman Curt Cashour said the department is reviewing the recent court decision. The government may launch a Supreme Court appeal.

Waxahachie, TX (Law Firm Newswire) February 28, 2019 - The Hale Law Firm is pleased to announce that its founder, Attorney John D. Hale, has been named to Super Lawyers 2019.

Hale started The Hale Law Firm, in his hometown of Waxahachie, Texas in 2006. There he practices elder law, business law, and wills and trusts. He is a member of the Texas Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and serves on the Litigation Committee.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of exceptional attorneys across more than 70 practice areas. To be selected for this prestigious designation attorneys are first nominated by their peers. Then, the process of independent research and peer evaluation begins, which results in only the best attorneys being named Super Lawyers. The selected attorneys are featured in Super Lawyers Magazine and other regional publications.

Hale represents the high professional standard that embodies a Super Lawyers rating. In addition to being licensed to practice law Hale is also a registered investment advisor and insurance agent. His knowledge in these areas make him uniquely qualified to handle estate, retirement and asset protection plans.

Hale is the published author of a textbook used by thousands of business students. He is also an in-demand speaker, frequently lecturing about long-term care and Medicaid planning. He is heavily involved in community outreach programs and uses his professional talents to serve others as often as possible.

The entire The Hale Law Firm team congratulates John D. Hale on his achievement and is proud to work alongside him.

Irvine, CA (Law Firm Newswire) February 27, 2019 - Enterprise Counsel Group, ALC (ECG), a leading business trial, appellate and corporate law firm, announces a major decision in the Delaware Court of Chancery in a case brought by Applied Energetics, Inc., an Arizona-based energy technology company, against its former Principal Executive Officer, George Farley.

In a 40-page decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an order preliminarily enjoining the transfer, sale or otherwise disposal of 25 million shares of Applied Energetics stock, issued to that company’s former sole Director and Principal Executive Officer, George Farley. In so doing, the Court found Applied Energetics, Inc., a military contractor with market capitalization exceeding $1 billion during its peak in the mid-2000s, with 40 patents on Ultra-Short Pulse (“USP”) Lasers, Laser Guided Energy (“LGE”) and Direct Discharge Electrical Products both military and commercial applications, met “its considerable burden,” demonstrating it was likely to win its lawsuit against Farley and his family-owned company, AnneMarieCo.

Specifically, after reviewing evidence and expert testimony presented by Applied Energetics’ and Farley’s lawyers, the Court found it was “reasonably probable” Farley had arranged for the shares to be unlawfully issued, Farley had breached his duty of loyalty to Applied Energetics, Farley was unlikely to prove the stock issuance was procedurally or substantively “fair” to Applied Energetics, and Farley had fraudulently transferred 20 million of the shares to his wife and six children through AnneMarieCo.

Finally, the Court ruled because Farley and AnneMarieCo’s 25 million shares represented one-eighth of Applied Energetics’ outstanding ownership, the injunction was necessary to protect Applied Energetics’ capital structure, the company’s ability to attract new investors, ability to raise new capital, and ability to continue deployment of its plans, now underway, to revitalize its defense contracts, as well as the ability to expand its technology to meet the demands of other markets, including clean energy and law enforcement.

According to Applied Energetics’ lead attorney, Benjamin P. Pugh, “We are pleased the Delaware court recognized the strength of our case against Mr. Farley. We look forward to a successful conclusion to the litigation.”

Benjamin P. Pugh is a litigation partner at Enterprise Counsel Group, ALC (https://www.ecg.law/), an Irvine, California-based business trial, appellate and corporate law firm, with expertise in aggressive courtroom and boardroom representation for a broad spectrum of successful businesses in California, Colorado, Nevada, and across the US.

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) February 26, 2019 - The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal in an employment discrimination Title VII case. In a rare move, the Court is accepting the case to address a procedural issue with filing Title VII cases. Title VII is the Federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based upon someone’s sex, race, religion, color and national origin.

The case is Fort Bend County v. Davis. In the case, Lois Davis alleged she was wrongfully fired because she reported that her supervisor engaged in sexual harassment and sexually assaulted her. She initiated the matter by filing a claim with the Texas Workforce Commission who, after an investigation, gave Davis permission to file a lawsuit. In filing the lawsuit, Davis claimed retaliation due to her sex as well as a religious discrimination claim because she claims she was fired for not working on a Sunday when she went to church instead.

The problem arose because she did not bring the religious discrimination claim in front of the Texas Workforce Commission. Gregory D. Jordan, an employment attorney with the Law Offices of Gregory D. Jordan in Austin, Texas, who is not involved in the case, commented, “It is not uncommon for an individual filing a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission or the EEOC to be less than thorough. That can lead to serious problems.”

Fort Bend argued that the religious discrimination claim should be dismissed because Davis failed to exhaust all of her administrative remedies before filing suit, as required by Title VII. Davis argued that the exhaustion requirement is actually a “waivable” requirement, and is not a “jurisdictional” one, and in this case, Fort Bend did not raise the issue until five years after suit was filed.

The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. That court found the exhaustion requirement is waivable. The appellate court reasoned that Congress, when drafting the legislation, made no mention of whether the exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional, but it could have. Therefore, this requirement could be waived by an employer.

Fort Bend filed a petition for review at the United States Supreme Court, arguing that the exhaustion of remedies requirement is clearly stated in the statute and is stated in language that is “jurisdictional” in nature, similar to other statutes that the Court has previously deemed jurisdictional. The Supreme Court has accepted the case and will hear arguments in the next term.

Gregory D. Jordan has advised that “in order to avoid the situation presented in the Fort Bend County v. Davis suit, any person considering filing a charge with the TWC or EEOC should first consult a lawyer.”

The case is Fort Bend v. Davis, No. 18-525.

Chicago, IL (Law Firm Newswire) February 20, 2019 - The Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) Board of Directors and staff welcomed their new Executive Director, Elizabeth Evans, to the organization on January 14, 2019.

Elizabeth is a seasoned and savvy nonprofit executive and an experienced lawyer. Elizabeth served in the Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for eight years, was a staff attorney in the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and worked as a policy analyst in Washington, D.C., before attending law school.

ILAO is an award-winning nonprofit that uses technology to lower barriers to the law so that people can understand their legal options, make informed decisions, and represent themselves in court when they cannot afford a lawyer. “ILAO is going to undertake significant growth based on advances in machine learning, AI , and other technology,” said Paul Seeman, Board Chairperson. “We will seize the opportunity to lead another transformation in access to justice and extend the capacity of legal services. We’re delighted to have Elizabeth lead our drive toward increasing access to justice for low and moderate income people and families.”

Elizabeth has successfully launched numerous social enterprises and led innumerable policy campaigns on topics that make our country better, fairer, and more just. She previously served as the Executive Director of Bluestem Communications, The VIVA Project (a teacher leadership network working on K-12 education policy), and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. She established and ran the government relations and nonprofit resource center for the IFF and worked at the Child Welfare League of America in Washington, D.C.

“I am delighted to join the team and entirely impressed with the groundbreaking work ILAO has done to expand legal services’ capacity. I am anxious to join our colleagues in helping improve outcomes and access to the civil justice system,” said Ms. Evans.

About Illinois Legal Aid Online

Since 2001, ILAO has improved the lives of millions of people by connecting them to the resources they need to resolve their legal problems. ILAO puts the law within reach for all Illinois residents, regardless of their location, income, and education, by simplifying our complex legal system and connecting people to legal information and assistance on ILAO’s innovative statewide website, IllinoisLegalAid.org.

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) February 20, 2019 – This wrongful death lawsuit involves the family of a 19-year-old young man who fatally shot himself in 2017 in the backseat of an Austin, Texas police cruiser. The family wants to make sure something like this never happens again.

The young man had been previously charged with several other crimes, including drug possession and burglary. Those who knew the deceased indicated he struggled with mental health issues and had a history of substance abuse.

The federal wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the police in Austin have a “pattern, practice, and custom of performing plainly incompetent and unreasonable searches of pre-trial detainees.” These allegations were based on the circumstances of their son’s case.

It all began with a call to the police reporting a shoplifter at the Macy’s store in southwest Austin. Store security had detained the young man for cutting tags off clothing, earrings and a watch and attempting to walk out of the store. On placing the young man into custody, the police found what they believed to be methamphetamine tucked inside a folded dollar bill. “Apparently, for whatever reasons, the pat down search missed a Glock semi-automatic .380 in the waistband,” indicated Brooks Schuelke, an Austin wrongful death attorney, not involved in this case.

Dispatch recordings indicated that the teen told the arresting officer that he was suicidal. The officer then saw in his rear-view mirror that the 19-year-old was holding a gun to his head. Four minutes later, the trigger was pulled and the teen lay dead in the backseat of the cruiser.

In a subsequent Internal Affairs (IA) interview with the arresting police officer, the cop admitted he only patted down the suspect and did not do a thorough inspection for weapons. He did not see the inside-the-waistband holster inside the teen’s pants. The officer was suspended for 20 days and the case was not forwarded to the grand jury.

According to the wrongful death lawsuit, the Austin Police Department (APD) did not find weapons that were carried by suspects on 54 occasions between 2013 and 2017. Although the police leadership knew about this, nothing was done and no new training for weapons searches was implemented.

The plaintiffs in this case were not in agreement with the minimal discipline and hope that something like this never happens to another person and their family. They are calling for the APD to retrain all officers on how to properly frisk suspects. “In this case, the suspect killed himself. He could just as easily have killed the officer in the cruiser, or harmed someone else,” said Schuelke.

Wrongful death lawsuits are difficult for everyone involved and this particular case is no exception.“We can help the family move forward by getting the true story out,” added Schuelke. “While it does not bring the loved one back, it may help the family find some sense of closure to have the death addressed in a just manner.”

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) February 18, 2019 - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a series of new partnerships in an effort to expand its telehealth network and improve access to health services for veterans living in remote areas. The agency has established virtual care programs with T-Mobile, Walmart and Philips.

Walmart stores will have telemedicine stations for veterans in rural locations. Private rooms will enable them to video conference with VA medical professionals across the United States for both basic checkups and specialty appointments. T-Mobile has arranged to provide free access to the VA’s video health app on digital devices to eliminate potential cost barriers preventing veterans from accessing telehealth options.

“It is great to see that there are strides being made toward expanding the availability of health care services for veterans, especially those who reside in remote areas where there is no conveniently located VA hospital,” commented Florida veterans lawyer David W. Magann. “While virtual care is undoubtedly a powerful tool, an important aspect of the VA’s telehealth initiative is making sure veterans are aware of the options that are available to them. It is hard to use these offerings if you don’t know about them.”

Philips Healthcare agreed to use its telehealth technology to offer remote care at 10 American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars sites in rural locations throughout the United States. VA officials announced the new initiatives at the Anywhere to Anywhere Together summit in Washington, D.C. The telehealth conference united top veterans officials, medical professionals and technology experts to discuss how to establish a national remote care network in coming years.

Fiscal 2018 saw more than 725,000 veterans make use of various telehealth appointments at home or in VA facilities. Forty-five percent of those patients resided in rural areas where a visit to the nearest VA hospital would mean more than a 100-mile roundtrip.

“Ninety percent of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart. Ninety percent of veterans don’t live within 10 miles of a VA medical center,” VA official Deborah Scher pointed out. Scher is adviser to the Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnerships. The new programs will allow veterans more convenient access to health care services, she added.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Law Firm Newswire) February 14, 2019 - It is very important for the general public to obtain accurate information about the financial advisors who help them to manage their assets and wealth. Yet, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) makes it difficult for reputable and honest brokers to ensure only accurate information appears on FINRA’s Central Registration Depository (CRD) and BrokerCheck websites.

BrokerCheck and CRD are free databases that the general public can use to look up information on financial brokers. While those sites provide an invaluable service by informing the public on broker activities, they often contain false or misleading information that honest brokers find too difficult to remove without experienced legal help. “It’s critically important that FINRA ensure the integrity of expungement information by providing only the most accurate information about financial brokers,” said securities litigation attorney Matt Wolper, of the Wolper Law Firm. “One false item could ruin the career of an honest and outstanding broker. We need to ensure only accurate information appears to protect the general public as well as honest financial advisors.”

The information might contain allegations of wrong doing that were proven false, but the general public does not know that. It only sees a complaint or dispute that might have been resolved amicably and with no malice or wrongdoing done. When false information appears on the FINRA sites, some brokers have had to spend a substantial sum of money in legal costs to remove it. Others simply have given up due to difficulties with challenging bogus information. Brokers do not need to give up. Instead, they can obtain legal help from experienced securities litigation attorneys, clear their names and continue providing quality financial services to clients.

Contact:

Matt Wolper
Wolper Law Firm, P.A.
Main Office—Fort Lauderdale, FL
1776 N. Pine Island Road
Suite 224
Plantation, FL 33324
Toll-Free: 800.931.8452
mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com

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