Androvett Legal Media Blog

Political consultant Chris Gober: IRS actions against conservative groups only tip of the iceberg

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:00 -0500

The Internal Revenue Service’s apparent targeting of tax-exempt conservative groups has set both Republicans and Democrats on a mission to get to the bottom of what’s happening at the agency.

If political biases were in play at the IRS, or even in the Oval Office, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

Political consultant Chris Gober says the reports of the IRS’ apparent selective treatment of conservative political groups are symptoms of a larger problem within the federal government’s tax-collection office.

"The IRS is aware that it also has a problem with its employees illegally disclosing pending applications and donors, having reached out to those who were victims of the improper disclosure,” says Gober of Gober Hilgers PLLC. “But they have not taken steps to quell the fears of further disclosures. Nor have they been completely upfront when saying no targeted applications were denied, as they have not released the number actually approved."

While Steven Miller, the agency’s acting commissioner was forced to resign in the wake of the scandal, it’s possible more heads will roll before all the dust settles.

The Case for Citizen Jurors

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:30:00 -0500

Like voting, the call of jury duty is one of those widely underappreciated privileges of citizenship. In courthouses across the country, judges often have a difficult time getting enough qualified jurors to show up for any given trial.

If anything, a bill making its way through the California legislature is prompting a reexamination of our cavalier attitude about jury service. The proposed bill would expand the jury service privilege to allow permanent legal residents – those living in the U.S. legally but who are not citizens. While this may appear to be a practical solution to the problem of dwindling jury pool numbers, it represents a dilution of the responsibilities of citizenship, says Brian Hail of Dallas' Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank.

"As someone who regularly tries cases before juries, it concerns me to see what could be an erosion of the rights and importance of citizenship," he says. "To serve on a jury is to serve as a representative of your country. To be judged by those without true ownership – citizenship – seems fundamentally contrary to our nation's founding principles."

The proposal is prompting a necessary debate about jury service. Writes the LA Times: Jury service is not burdensome drudge work imposed by an overbearing government on an unwilling citizenry. Nor is it a favor that citizens do for their courts. To the contrary, it is a citizen's chief means of oversight on the judicial branch, allowing him or her not merely to help rule on the facts of a particular case but to keep tabs on the judge, the prosecutors, the public defenders and the court system itself. It's the place where citizens observe firsthand the effect of court budget cuts.
Just as citizens, and only citizens, have the power to elect their executive branch leaders and their delegates to the legislative branch, citizen jurors have the final check on at least some judicial branch decisions.

With storm, hail season upon us, now's the time to prepare for storm damage, unscrupulous insurance adjusters

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:30:00 -0500

Severe thunderstorms in the Houston area last month brought large hail, strong wind gusts and lightening that caused extensive property damage, broken tree limbs and downed power lines. Home and business owners reported roof damage, broken windows and pock-mocked cars.

The hailstorm and flash floods provide a stark reminder that the severe storm season is upon us, and home and business owners should be prepared. After all, a recent study ranks Texas tops for wind and hail damage claims, noting that such storm damage is among the most common and severe causes of property damage.

Houston attorney Phillip Sanov, head of The Lanier Law Firm's Bad Faith Insurance Practice Group, says nows the time for property owners to make sure polices are up to date and to document the pre-storm condition of homes, offices and belongings. "Too often, we see insurance companies that deny, delay or vastly underpay legitimate claims, often citing 'pre-existing' conditions," he says.

Among other things, Sanov recommends taking photos and videos of structures and personal property as proof of ownership and existing conditions. "But those pictures do no good if they too are lost in a storm, so be sure to store them online or at a friend's or relative's house," warns Sanov, who represents home and business owners following storms and other disasters.

Defective Remington 700 Rifles Focus of Lanier Law Firm Investigation

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:20:00 -0500

Theres a well-documented problem with one of the worlds most popular hunting rifles a defect in the trigger mechanism makes it susceptible to firing when the trigger is not pulled. Accidental discharges are blamed for two dozen deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Houston attorney Mark Lanier says Remington has known for decades that the design flaw in the trigger mechanism has made the rifle unreasonably dangerous. "Gun owners and their loved ones are literally taking a bullet because Remington Arms decided to put profits over safety," says Lanier. In 2012, The Lanier Law Firm successfully represented a Texas man who was severely injured when his Remington Model 700 rifle fired unexpectedly, striking the man in the foot.

Writes USA Today: The 700 series of rifles dates back to the 1940s, when Remingtonwhich had been purchased a decade earlier by the giant chemical company DuPontwas transitioning from a major supplier of the war effort to a more consumer-oriented company. DuPont, which sold Remington in 1993, declined to be interviewed, referring inquiries to Remington.

The rifle serieswhich debuted with the Remington 721featured a unique trigger system patented by a young Remington engineer named Merle "Mike" Walker. Walker has called his design "a perfect trigger," with a smooth pull favored by expert shooters. According to Walker's patent, the secret was a tiny piece of metal called a "trigger connector," which is mounted loosely inside the firing mechanism. But critics, including ballistics experts who have been hired to testify against the company, say small amounts of rust, debris, or even a small jolt can cause the trigger connector to become misaligned, forcing the trigger itself to lose contact with the rest of the firing mechanism. Then, the gun can be fired when other parts are operated, such as the safety or the bolt.

But internal documents obtained by CNBC show that in 1948before the gun went on the marketMike Walker himself proposed a design change to prevent the trigger's internal parts from falling out of alignment. Other documents show the added cost for Walker's "trigger block" came to pennies per gun, but with the rifle already over budget, officials decided against making a change.

Associated Press Twitter breach illustrates Corporate Americas vulnerabilities to hacking

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

As traditional media outlets have migrated toward Twitter, Facebook and other social media, it would seem inevitable that they would be susceptible to hacking, just as other users have.

The Associated Press learned this lesson in dramatic fashion on April 23, when a hacker erroneously tweeted on the APs Twitter account that explosions were reported in the White House, and that the president was injured. Almost immediately, the U.S. stock market tumbled. The S&P 500 index momentarily dropped in value by more than $100 billion before the report was proven false.

In a recent interview on KLIF-AM, Dallas cyber security attorney Matthew Yarbrough said that the hacking of the Associated Press Twitter account typifies the vulnerability of Corporate Americas data.

As you can see, tweets are becoming incredibly popular, Mr. Yarbrough said. Look at what happened up in Boston, when the police announced the capture of one of the Boston Marathon bombers via tweet. We must believe it's true, because it came from a tweet, right? I think these sorts of hoaxes are something hackers like to do, to point out vulnerabilities in systems and networks. And it does show we're putting more confidence into a very short electronic message. I can't believe people are trading upon that, but it does happen. And there will be people at some point in time, who will be prosecuted for things like this.

Mr. Yarbrough added that many corporations are extremely vulnerable to password hacking. I often find that typically, when I audit major companies for their cyber security, people in the CEO position have the worst passwords. There's a lot that people can do to really make sure that they're using more complex passwords that aren't so susceptible to something called a password cracker that's easily downloaded and someone could point at your account and gain access.

While the Associated Press reports that it has resolved its vulnerabilities to Twitter hacking, its likely only a matter of time before the next major news outlet falls victim to hackers.

Sequester cuts begin impacting air travelers

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:20:00 -0500

Travelers at major airports in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas have started experiencing delays and interruptions as mandatory furloughs for air traffic controllers kick in as part of the 2013 budget sequester.

Writes the LA Times: After the first week of furloughs because of light traffic and good weather, the nation's air travel system operated without serious problems. The FAA warned Monday that more delays are on the horizon when air traffic is heavier and severe weather puts pressure on understaffed air traffic control facilities.

Furloughs of air traffic controllers have prompted an outcry from Washington lawmakers and litigation by pilots and airlines who say they could have been avoided. Airline workers have even started to urge frustrated passengers to pressure the FAA to reconsider the budget cuts. To help cut more than $600 million called for by budget sequestration, the FAA ordered air traffic controllers starting Sunday to take one furlough day in every two-week pay period. That would cut the total of the nation's nearly 15,000 air traffic controllers about 10% on any given day.

Also on the list of cuts is a plan to close smaller air traffic control towers nationwide, including 14 in mostly smaller communities in Texas. The proposal is indicative of the significant struggle the federal agency is encountering in trying to balance mandates to cut costs as part of the 2013 budget sequestration against its primary purpose of preserving safety in the national airspace system, says Dallas aviation attorney and pilot David Norton.

"There are procedures in place that certainly make it possible to safely operate an airport without a control tower," says Norton, a partner at Shackelford, Melton & McKinley. "However, the larger and more active the airport is, the more important it is to have an active control tower in order to ensure the safety of pilots, passengers and everyone on the ground."

Seat belt requirements arrive too late for victims of Cardinal Coach charter bus crash

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:23:00 -0500

Its been nearly 45 years since seat belts became mandatory in all U.S. passenger cars. The anniversary would seem almost quaint, save the fact that bus manufacturers and operators still dont have to install seat belts in buses and motor coaches.

That inconsistency became painfully apparent for passengers traveling aboard a Cardinal Coach charter bus, which crashed April 11 en route to the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla., killing two passengers and injuring more than 40 others. According to police reports, the vehicle lost control on northbound State Highway 161 near the Beltline Road exit and crashed into a concrete median barrier, tumbling over onto its side.

Dallas attorney Frank L. Branson says bus owners and manufacturers have known for years that they need to improve the safety features of buses.

In a recent interview on NBC Ch. 5 (KXAS-TV), Branson says that a federal law passed in 2012 requires bus operators and manufactures to install seat belts and other safety measures, but implementation of the measure has been delayed. The law also requires regulations to improve structural standards for buses. The bus manufacturers need to be held accountable theyve known of this danger for a long time, says Mr. Branson, who was part of a legal team that obtained an $80 million settlement on behalf of families whose relatives died aboard a chartered bus that burst into flames while fleeing Hurricane Rita in September 2005.

The legal team's independent investigation into the September 2005 incident revealed a defect in the bus' hub-and-axle system that was prone to failure. Defendants in the lawsuit included the manufacturer of the bus and the designer and manufacturer of the hub-and-axle component, among others.

In the case of mandatory seat belts for passenger cars, and later, airbags, manufacturers resisted the requirement as too expensive, but history has proved otherwise. In fact, safety features like additional side-impact airbags have become some automakers best selling points.

Unfortunately for the passengers traveling aboard the Cardinal Coach charter on April 11, further delays in seat belt installation and other safety measures likely played a role in contributing to injuries during the crash.

In asking for ZIP codes, stores might be swiping more than credit cards

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:30:00 -0500

Dallas corporate marketing and advertising attorney Jane Fergason of the Dallas office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP has a few words of warning to consumers who innocently give their ZIP code information to merchants during everyday transactions.

Once you give the merchant your ZIP code, that information can be sold to a data broker, or the merchant can use that to find out your address or phone number, and other types of publicly available, but hard-to-get information, Ms. Fergason recently told KLIF-AM radio show host Kurt Gilchrist. The result can be unwanted junk mail or, much worse, identity theft. The abuse of ZIP code and other information has become so pervasive that some states have banned stores from collecting it, Fergason says.

In California and Massachusetts, theyve passed laws that say you cant ask for ZIP code information because that is personal identification information, prohibited by the statute.
Other states, including Texas, are considering similar measures, she says.

Whats a consumer in other states to do?

For starters, consumers shouldnt give merchants personal information such as ZIP codes, email addresses or phone numbers, Fergason says. Consumers arent required to give that information to venders to complete transactions, she says.

Fergasons one exception: There are certain times, such as when youre at a gas station, when you have to type in your ZIP code, and thats to help protect you from fraudulent purchases. Thats the credit card company asking for that information; that is not the store where youre getting your gas using that information.

Trade secret theft can yield prison time

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:24:00 -0500

Corporate espionage and trade secret theft goes back hundreds of years, by some accounts.

The fact that it was documented in North Texas a few years ago should surprise no one. What might alarm perpetrators, however, is the fact that executives who are caught red handed in the act of stealing company trade secrets can serve hard time for their misdeeds.

Such is the case of Michael Musacchio, who faces a June 14 sentencing date for criminal computer hacking charges relating to trade secret theft that occurred against Exel Transportation Services. Mr. Musacchio was found guilty of one felony count of conspiracy to make unauthorized access to a protected computer (hacking) and two substantive felony counts of computer hacking. Each conviction carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Court documents say Mr. Musacchio and others hacked Exels computers so they could direct Exels clients to Frisco, Texas-based Total Transportation Services LLC, where they had become employed.

"Much of the evidence used to convict Mr. Musacchio was collected more than six years ago, for a civil trade secret theft case I filed against Total Transportation Services. That lawsuit resulted in a $10 million settlement," says Dallas trade secret theft attorney Matthew Yarbrough, founder of the Yarbrough Law Group.

The upcoming criminal sentencing for Mr. Musacchio ratchets up the stakes for those considering hacking into their employers or former employers trade secrets.

Today's Search Challenges: So simple, so complicated

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:30:00 -0500

Love this series of videos from Google Analytics video that illustrates the challenges and nuances that we all face in the quest for relevant visibility in todays search engine landscape.

Effective efforts require sophisticated thinking, a true understanding of your audience and their search habits as well as a focused approach to relevant, quality content.