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Ron Fox Speaks at National Marine Conference
December 2004
Ron Fox was the principal speaker and moderator of a panel presentation on the handling maritime personal injury claims at the Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeters Association seminar. The seminar was attended by over 350 members of the maritime industry. This is the third time that Ron has been a speaker at this annual conference.
Jones Act Defense Judgment
December 2004
Fox Galvin attorneys Ron Fox and Greg Erickson recently obtained a defense judgment in a Jones Act lawsuit against a well-known marine towing company. While he was working as a deckhand on a company vessel, plaintiff suffered a serious elbow injury requiring two surgeries. Plaintiff filed suit in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois. Following a three-day bench trial, the trial judge ruled in favor of defendant, represented by Ron and Greg, on all counts. Plaintiff had asked for $750,000.
Fox Galvin Attorneys Headline the 2004 St. Louis Maritime Law Seminar
December 2004
Fox Galvin attorneys Greg Erickson and Mike Downey recently spoke at the 2004 Maritime Law Seminar in St. Louis. Ron Fox served as the seminar’s moderator. The program’s topics included welding rod litigation, ethics in maritime litigation, and recent developments in marine law, with an emphasis on the Hutton decision in which Ron Fox and Greg Erickson obtained a ruling from an Illinois Court of Appeals that maritime employers are entitled to a jury trial in Jones Act cases.
Defense Verdict on Seaman Status
November 2004
Ron Fox was involved in a Jones Act case tried in Indiana federal court which involved multiple profound traumatic injuries. The dispositive issue at trial was seaman status, and Ron was asked by underwriters for the defendant to work with Cincinnati counsel in defense of the case. The case was won when the District Court found plaintiff was not a seaman. The victory saved the client millions of dollars.
Breach of Warranty Case Dismissed
November 2004
Jon Garside recently won a dismissal with prejudice of a breach of warranty lawsuit against a major farm equipment manufacturer. Plaintiffs had purchased a hay baler from the manufacturer in 1999, and alleged that it repeatedly broke down over the next few years. The equipment dealer that sold the baler made several efforts to repair the machine, but plaintiffs remained unsatisfied, and filed suit in Monroe County, Illinois. The lawsuit, filed almost five years after plaintiffs purchased the baler, sought more than $100,000 in repair and replacement costs and lost profits.
Jon responded to plaintiffs’ lawsuit with a motion to dismiss, pointing out the statute of limitations for breach of warranty claims is four years. Plaintiffs asked for leave to amend their complaint, and added allegations intended to try to delay the beginning of the statute of limitations. Jon responded to the amended complaint with another motion to dismiss, arguing plaintiffs’ new allegations were insufficient to avoid the effect of the statute of limitations. After a hearing, the court agreed, dismissing plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice.
Suzanne Galvin Elected to the Board of Directors of the Missouri Baptist Medical Center Foundation
September 2004
Fox Galvin partner Suzanne Galvin has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Missouri Baptist Medical Center Foundation. Missouri Baptist Medical Center is a member of BJC HealthCare, St. Louis’ largest health care system, with nearly 500 beds, more than 1,400 staff physicians and more than 2,700 employees. Suzanne brings to the Board her 10+ years of litigation experience, in addition to her background in the risk management department of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Suzanne has previously served on the Board of Legal Advocates for Abused Women, and is currently on the Board of the West County Community Church School.
Fox Galvin Wins Summary Judgment in Chiropractic Negligence Case
September 2004
Tom Smith and Katherine Fowler recently won summary judgment in a case pending in St. Louis County Circuit Court in which plaintiff alleged chiropractic negligence. The plaintiff had treated for several years with the defendant chiropractor. Plaintiff alleged that on her last visit with the chiropractor he adjusted her inappropriately and caused a disc herniation. Defendant denied negligence. In his deposition the plaintiff's standard of care chiropractic expert was unable to identify any specific acts of negligence by the defendant. As a result the defendant moved for and won summary judgment.
Michael Downey Selected to Moderate and Speak at Ethics CLE Seminar
September 2004
Michael Downey has been selected to moderate and speak at the upcoming CLE entitled "The Ethics of Practice Management: Playing by the Rules," an interactive telephone seminar taking place on Wednesday, December 1, 2004. For more information or to register, go to www.mobar.org.
Dana Tucker Selected as an Adjunct Professor at Washington U. School of Law
September 2004
Dana Tucker has been selected as an adjunct professor in Pretrial Litigation at the Washington University School of Law. She will be instructing second- and third-year law students in all aspects of trial preparation, including investigation, pleadings, discovery, and alternative dispute resolution.
Bart Sullivan named to the Board of Directors for Children of the World
September 2004
Bart Sullivan has been named to the Board of Directors for Children of the World, Inc., a Clayton, Missouri entity focusing on the placement of foreign children for adoption with local adoptive parents. Bart is involved in the Board's efforts in strategic planning, finances, and governance.
$2 Million Judgment for St. Louis-Area Adoption Agency Client
September 2004
Bart Sullivan recently obtained a judgment for $2,000,000 in a suit brought on behalf of a St. Louis adoption agency against a New Mexico adoption agency in a matter involving international adoption. The allegations included breach of contract and fraud. Bart's client also was able to provide relief to a Guatemalan foster home for adoptive children, and obtained control over a number of adoptions the New Mexico agency's actions had put into jeopardy.
Mike Downey Quoted on Lawyer Advertising in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
September 2004
Mike Downey was recently quoted on lawyer advertising in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin; the article can be found by clicking here. Also, his column on legal ethics can be found in the September 2004 issue of "St. Louis Lawyer."
Marine group compiles Jones Act verdict/settlement survey
August 2004
Recently, the marine lawyers at Fox Galvin compiled a survey of over 60 verdicts and judgments in cases pending in Madison or St. Clair County, Illinois, Circuit Court or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The data includes both settlements and judgments or verdicts rendered in a variety of Jones Act cases. The survey covers a period of time from approximately 1995 to the present. “Our clients are always interested in knowing the value of cases should they be settled or tried,” said Ron Fox. This survey provides information about the injuries alleged, the amount of medical and lost wages, the jurisdiction, judge and other important information needed to evaluate a particular case. As additional cases are tried or settled, they will be added to the survey data. For additional information, contact Ron Fox.
Preliminary Injunction Saves Employment Law Client $1 Million
May 2004
Dana Tucker recently obtained a preliminary injunction that is estimated to have saved HealthSouth Corporation more than $1 million. HealthSouth had an agreement with a former partner providing that upon termination from the partnership, the partner would not own a competing facility for two years after resignation and within a thirty-mile radius of the HealthSouth facility in Lake Ozark, Missouri. When the former partner began competing in violation of the terms of the agreement, HealthSouth hired Dana to seek emergency relief from the Court. Dana successfully argued in support of the covenant not to compete under the very stringent laws of the state of Alabama. Judge Mary Dickerson of the Circuit Court of Camden County upheld enforcement of the agreement including the covenant not to compete provision against the former partner until February 2006.
Fox Galvin Helps Expand Federal Officer Jurisdiction
April 2004
The oil industry faces an onslaught of more than fifty new cases filed in state courts across the country alleging a gasoline additive, MTBE, has contaminated or threatened public water supplies. Oil refiner defendants, including Fox Galvin’s client, Shell Oil Company, removed all of the cases to federal court and asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to reinstate MDL-1358, in which the transferee court had previously denied class certification in MTBE product liability cases brought on behalf of private well owners.
Arguing federal jurisdiction exists in the new wave of filings, the oil industry relied on an argument developed by John Galvin and Mike Downey, relying on the Federal Officer Statute. Judge Shira Scheindlin of the U.S.D.C. of the Southern District of New York recently issued an opinion finding the Federal Officer Statute applies to the refiners of MTBE gasoline, and denying the plaintiffs’ Motions to Remand. This is the first decision upholding a Federal Officer removal in this type of product liability setting, and may provide a new avenue for product manufacturers to get cases transferred from challenging state court jurisdictions into federal courts. (Download Opinion)
Suzanne Galvin Obtains Summary Judgment in Legal Malpractice Claim
April 2004
Fox Galvin was asked to defend a prominent Chicago law firm that had been accused of failing to adequately represent a physician in connection with proceedings in which his hospital privileges were revoked. These claims were made despite the fact that the law firm had agreed to represent the physician without charge, and spent considerable time and money putting forth a defense on the physician’s part. Suzanne Galvin managed the defense of the legal malpractice claim, first removing the case to federal court, then filing Motions to Dismiss and for Summary Judgment based on the statute of limitations and on plaintiff’s failure to support his claims with adequate expert testimony. Judge Terry Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted the Motions, dismissing the case with prejudice. (Download)
Mike Downey to Lead Legal Ethics Seminar
April 2004
Fox Galvin attorney Mike Downey is slated to chair a seminar entitled, “What’s New in Legal Ethics” sponsored by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Mike is the chair of BAMSL’s Professional Ethics & Methods of Practice Committee, teaches legal ethics as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law and is a member of the committee that writes advisory ethics opinions for the Illinois State Bar Association.
Fox Galvin's Tom Smith gets Unanimous Defense Verdict in the City of St. Louis
March 2004
Tom Smith recently obtained a unanimous defense verdict in a medical malpractice case tried in the City of St. Louis. The plaintiff, a 75 year old patient, fell and suffered serious injuries while being moved by a nurse from his bed to a chair in his hospital room. As a result of the fall, plaintiff sustained a retroperitoneal bleed which resulted in a femoral nerve palsy that forced plaintiff to walk with a wheelchair or walker. Plaintiff incurred over $100,000 in medical expenses. Tom Smith was able to successfully demonstrate to the jury that the nurses were aware of the plaintiff's condition, were monitoring the patient closely at the time of the fall and did not violate the standard of care.
Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeters Association Asks Ron Fox to Speak at Annual Maritime Law Seminar in September, 2004
January 2004
The Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeters Association holds an annual maritime law seminar which is widely attended by members of the maritime industry. Ron Fox has been a speaker on two prior occasions at the GNOBFA seminar. This time, Ron has been asked to serve on a panel with a maritime operator, marine broker, and surgeon to discuss the various issues that surround personal injury claims and litigation.
