Alabama Injury Attorney Blog

A recent article by the AP notes that over half the Federal Judges in the southern states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas have links to the oil and gas related industries. The article "Many Federal Judges Have Oil Links" raises serious questions about whether a Judge who has an interest in the oil and gas industry should preside over these Oil Spill Claims. Currently there is a fight amongst BP's attorneys and various Plaintiff's attorneys as to which Judge(s) should preside over these cases. The ethics rules on this subject are at best fuzzy. Essentially these rules state that a Judge who has a direct financial interest -owns BP stock-would be disqualified from hearing such a case; however, if they own a mutual fund which has oil stocks as a part of its makeup they do not have to disqualify themselves. The handling of the over 200 filed lawsuits over this disaster may become a little clearer once the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation meets next month to hear arguments on consolidation of the oil spill cases.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that protects consumers from harassment and abuse from debt collection agencies. The FDCPA requires debt collectors to validate debts and provides consumers with statutory damages and attorneys' fees for violations. Examples of violations of the FDCPA include:

1. Calling the consumer at work after the debt-collector has been told that it's inconvenient or that the consumer's employer prohibits personal calls.
2. Telling others such as family members, co-workers, and neighbors that the consumer owes money.
3. Continuing to contact the consumer when the debt-collector knows that an attorney represents the consumer.
4. Calling repeatedly, or calling consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
5. Asking neighbors to deliver phone messages to the consumer.
6. Falsely implying that a debt collector is an attorney.
7. Falsely implying that the consumer has committed a crime and could go to jail for not paying a debt.
8. Threatening to seize, garnish, attach, or sell the consumer's property or wages, unless there is already a legal judgment.
9. Sending anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency, when it isn't.
10. Collecting any amount greater than the actual debt, unless allowed by law.

If you have been harassed, sued by a debt collector or have experienced one of the above examples of violations of the FDCPA, then you may be entitled to money damages.

Continue reading "Consumer Rights Under the FDCPA" »

As Alabama Consumer Rights Attorneys we know how important it is for consumers to check their credit report and verify everything on it. In today's computer age when people are routinely paying bills and making purchases etc... on the internet your identity is more likely to be stolen now more than ever. Set forth below is how any consumer can obtain a yearly free copy of their credit report. Be careful; however, there are many companies out there that say they can get you your free credit report, but what they don't tell you is you have to sign up for a monthly service.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") is a federal law that provides consumers with rights and remedies. It is important to consumers for credit reporting agencies ("CRAs") to maintain accurate and complete consumer credit records. Consumers have the right to know what is in their file. Consumers are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three nationwide CRAs (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) once in a 12 month time period. The CRA must provide the consumer with their credit report within fifteen days of receiving the request.

The credit reporting agency may request additional identifying information from the consumer before it sends the credit report, but the CRA may only do so to process the consumer's request, process a simultaneous transaction as requested by the consumer, update the consumer's personal identifier, or comply with any of the other requirements of the FCRA.

A consumer may request all three credit reports in the following ways:

1. Online http://www.annualcreditreport.com
2. By Telephone 1-877-322-8228
3. By Mail: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

If you have you have been denied credit, employment or insurance because of incorrect information on your credit report, then you may be entitled to money damages.
If you have discovered incorrect information on your credit report and the credit reporting agency has refused to delete or modify the information, then you may be entitled to money damages.

If you have requested a free copy of your credit report once in a twelve month time period, and the credit reporting agency has failed or refused to provide you with your credit report, then you may be entitled to money damages.

Continue reading "How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report " »

Huntsville Trial Lawyers George Beason and Morris Lilienthal received a jury verdict for their client in a breach of contract case last week. The jury trial centered on commissions owed from a car dealership to one of its former salesman. After a two plus day trial the jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff awarding him most of the damages he was seeking in the matter. Our client was extremely satisfied with the result we were able to obtain and we were very excited to see the system continue to be a venue for the little man to stand up to Corporate America. While most civil cases do settle prior to trial, it's important in selecting an Alabama personal injury attorney to hire one that has courtroom experience and is willing to take the matter to trial to achieve the best possible result for their client.

The state of Alabama has announced it has reached an $89 million dollar settlement with 14 drug manufacturers over alleged Medicaid fraud. This settlement comes on the heels of several large Alabama jury verdicts surrounding the alleged Medicaid fraud. Most recently, a Montgomery Alabama jury returned a $78 million dollar judgment against the drug manufacturer Sandoz, a subsidiary of Novartis. Private law firms were hired by the state of Alabama to prosecute these lawsuits. There are several advantages to the state hiring Alabama law firms to handle these suits as opposed to the state attorney's general office handling these cases. First, prosecuting large scale fraud cases such as these requires a large investment of time and resources the attorney general's office is unable to devote to such cases. It is a certainty with so much at stake these large drug companies will have corporate lawyers who will devote massive amounts of time and resources to fight these claims, then so should the state of Alabama. Second, the attorney general's office does not have the experience in handling Average Wholesale Prices (AVP) litigation that an experienced Alabama trial lawyer does. Consequently, it is a win - win situation for the State of Alabama as the state gets the maximum amount of compensation it can by having experienced Alabama attorneys to represent it.