Chattanooga Bar Assoc. honors its dearly departed

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10 | Friday, March 9, 2012 Hamilton County Herald www.hamiltoncountyherald.com Family settles case over skydiving crash By Kelly Wiese e family of a man who died after he was paralyzed when a skydiving plane crashed settled a wrongful death case a few days before trial was to begin for more than $3 million, their attorney said. Steven Parrella was a cameraman aboard the plane to record other skydivers, explained his family’s attorney, Morry Cole, of Gray, Ritter & Graham in St. Louis. e plane crashed near Sullivan, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis, after it experienced engine failure. Six of the eight people aboard died in the crash. Parrella suff ered extensive injuries, including paralysis. He committed suicide two years later because of those injuries, his lawyer argued, and his family continued with the case he initially fi led. Some other plaintiff s tried their claims against Doncasters Inc., an aftermarket parts dealer, in 2011. In that case, a jury heard that Doncasters used a substandard alloy to make the plane’s Last October, after a joint FBI- Ft. Lauderdale Police Department investigation, 13 individuals from a Florida timeshare resale company were charged in federal court in Miami in a massive telemarketing scheme to defraud timeshare blade. e jury then returned a $48 million verdict, including a sizable punitive award. After considering post-trial motions, a judge in the Delacroix v. Doncasters case in September threw out the punitive award, which accounted for $28 million of the total, but upheld the compensatory award. Both sides have appealed that ruling to the Eastern District Court of Appeals. e Parrella case had two main claims, Cole explained: one for medical expenses and care incurred from the time of the crash until the man died, and a second for wrongful death. “His death was caused by the physical and psychological injuries he suff ered in the crash,” Cole argued. Particularly helpful in resolving the case, he said, was a state Supreme Court ruling that came down last year, Kivland v. Columbia Orthopaedic Group, a few months before this case was set for trial. In that medical negligence case, plaintiff s pursued a wrongful death claim, alleging a man committed suicide after back surgery caused severe pain and paralysis. e state’s high court allowed the case to Many fraud victims are timeshare owners trying to sell their properties. UNDER ANALYSIS Cont. from page 5 just walk the 10 blocks a bit to quickly. I would have been offended if I hadn’t been preoccupied by the chills that were now invading my essence. I got into my car to head to the offi ce, but suddenly realized driving might be a daunting task. Figuring it was now or never, however, I turned the ignition. Rather than heading to work, however, I headed back home. I fi gured a glass of Orange Juice, a owners who were trying to sell. e Federal Trade Commission then fi led a complaint against the defendants’ company – Timeshare Mega Media – to shut down its operations, which had allegedly bilked millions from couple hours sleep, and some Tylenol would dispatch the blackness from my sole. I was wrong. e chest congestion congealed. My head fogged up to a point where thought was impossible. oughts of working from home never got past the “where was I just going?” stage. Fever lead to sleep, which lead to mucinex, which lead to decongestants, which lead to antibiotics, which lead to antivirals, which lead to a long, dark tunnel of fog. Case Digest Verdicts and Settlements proceed, saying the family didn’t have to show the man was actually insane, but rather simply that his suicide was a direct result of the doctor’s negligence. Other lawyers in Cole’s fi rm handled that appeal. In the plane crash litigation, the family agreed to settle with Doncasters for $3.1 million, Cole said, and had settled with other defendants earlier for a collective $65,000. Cole said his case made the same liability arguments as in the Delacroix case that went to trial. Doncasters made a part of the From the FBI owners across the country. Fraudulent timeshare schemes are becoming a very real problem…especially in these economically challenging times as more timeshare owners decide they can no longer aff ord them. A timeshare involves joint ownership of a property – usually located within resorts in vacation hotspots (i.e., Florida, Colorado, Mexico). A property can have up to 52 owners – one for each week of the year – although some timeshare owners purchase larger blocks of time. e property is usually managed by the resort in which it is located. Earlier this year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued an alert on timeshare telemarketing scams after seeing a signifi cant increase in the number of complaints about these scams. e victims – mostly owners trying to sell – were scammed by criminals posing as representatives of timeshare resale companies or by actual employees of companies that were committing fraud. In the IC3 complaints, perpe- I am told that I spoke to several people and even hammered out some emails over the next few days, but I have to take their word for it. e reality is that I was hit with the worse case of the fl u I’d had in recent, or ever, memory. As deadlines came and went, and work piled higher and higher, I realized I literally simply could not work. I could not think. One thought did not fl ow to the next. It was not a lack of desire to work from home, but a airplane engine, a compressor turbine blade, that the plaintiff s argued was defective. An expert on Federal Aviation Administration regulations said the company didn’t follow FAA rules regarding the part. e blade broke, plaintiff s argued, because it couldn’t withstand the heat and pressure in that engine. In general, the defense argued the crash was due to improper maintenance and that the blade in question had FAA approval, plaintiff s’ attorneys explained. Defense attorney Larry Kaplan didn’t return messages seeking comment by press time. $3.2 million settlement Wrongful death Auto collision claim settles without lawsuit By Alan Scher Zagier A 68-year-old St. Louis man has received a $125,000 out-ofcourt settlement after a July 2010 car accident in the city’s Tower Grove neighborhood. Bonaventure Sala, who was 66 at the time, collided with a car driven by Ian Spaeth as Spaeth attempted to turn left onto Chippewa Street from a QuikTrip convenience store near the Oak trators telephoned or e-mailed timeshare owners who, in many instances, had advertised their desire to sell in industry newsletters and Web sites. ese company representatives promised a quick sale, often within 60-90 days. Some victims reported that sales reps pressured them into a quick decision by claiming there was a buyer waiting in the wings, either on the other line or in the offi ce. Timeshare owners who agreed to sell had to pay an upfront fee – anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars – to cover various costs such as advertising or closing fees. Many victims provided credit card numbers to cover the fees. And then, as time went on and no sales were made, victims tried reaching back out to the companies, but their phone calls and e-mails went unanswered. And to add insult to injury, some of the complainants reported being contacted by a timeshare fraud recovery company that promised assistance in recovering money lost in the sales scam… lack of ability. Literally. I could not do any lawyering. e crucial tool, the brain, was awol. Yesterday, fi ve days later, the fog fi nally broke and health returned. By eight pm I was feeling 100 percent chipper. I was in bed by nine, to ensure a good night’s sleep and continued health. I woke up this morning feeling fi ne, until I attempted to speak. All systems were go, except my voice. It is now totally gone. Yet, today I am at work, plowing through the pile of emails, faxes, Hill Avenue intersection, said plaintiff ’s attorney Julia M. Kerr. e driver of a third vehicle waved Spaeth into the oncoming traffi c “even though it was not safe to do so,” the attorney said. Sala was taken by ambulance to Saint Louis University Hospital after suff ering a concussion and a torn tendon in his right knee, which required surgery. He spent a week in the hospital and further recuperated at a skilled nursing facility, Kerr said. “He was pretty severely injured,” she said. Kerr issued a demand letter on Oct. 3 to State Farm Insurance Co., which represented both drivers. e insurer agreed on Nov. 9 to settle Sala’s negligence claim against Spaeth for $100,000 without admitting liability, Kerr said. State Farm didn’t use attorneys to resolve the case. One day later, State Farm agreed to settle a second claim under Sala’s underinsured motorist policy for $25,000. State Farm claims representatives did not respond to several telephone calls seeking comment. $125,000 settlement Motor vehicle collision for a fee. IC3 has identifi ed some instances where people involved with the recovery company have a connection to the resale company, raising the possibility that victims were being scammed twice by the same people. What’s the FBI’s role in these kinds of cases? Many of these types of complaints are handled by each state’s attorney general’s offi ce and local law enforcement. As in the above-mentioned Miami case, the FBI can become involved when there’s evidence that the fraud extends across state lines (usually wire or mail fraud on the part of the perpetrators) and/or involves a large number of victims, large dollar losses, and an organized criminal enterprise. If you suspect you’ve been scammed, fi le a complaint with your state attorney general’s offi ce and the IC3. e IC3 not only collects complaints but also analyzes them, links similar complaints, and discerns patterns in order to help law enforcement identify the scammers. (www.fbi.gov) letters, messages and documents that awaited me. You see a lawyer may be a “mouthpiece”, but a voice is not the oil that keeps the engine humming. I think, therefore I am. ©2012 under analysis lc. Under analysis is a nationally syndicated column of the Levison Group. Charles Kramer is a principal of the St Louis based law fi rm Riezman Berger, PC. Send comments to the Levision Group c/o this paper or direct via email to comments@levisongroup.com
www.hamiltoncountyherald.com Hamilton County Herald Friday, March 9, 2012 | 11 By Jay Edwards e tornadoes that stretched from northern Kansas to southern Alabama amassed a death toll of 39 people, with Kentucky sustaining the greatest loss of life with 21. After the chaos, there was some happy news for a North Carolina family, where a 7-year old boy who was sucked out of his house by a twister and dropped 350 feet away by the side of a road has returned to his parents from the hospital. Jamal Stevens came away with only minor injuries after the tornado destroyed his parents’ home in Charlotte and carried him to a spot near Interstate 485, where his family found him within minutes. Jamal’s grandmother Patricia said afterward, “I’ve never seen or heard anything like that. It sucked out the walls. It was a terrible sound. I never want to go through that again. I don’t want anyone to ever go through that again.” Stevens was asleep on a sofa downstairs when the tornado arrived. Her daughter-in-law and her four young grandchildren were all upstairs. She said there was a loud noise, and her daughter-in-law began passing the children downstairs. She hid with the 3-year old twins behind the sofa while their mother went back upstairs for Jamal and his 5-year old sister. at was when the force of the By David Laprad A fi rst-of-its-kind Internet tool for fi shermen is making its debut in Tennessee to help answer their top question: where are the fi sh biting? Hookemnow. com is an interactive, map-based Web site that allows anglers to see what others are catching, and to share information and photos about their catches. “Unlike other Internet fi sh- Twin tornadoes spawned from the same supercell, somewhere in the U.S. Great Plains. (NOAA Legacy Photo; OAR/ERL/ Wave Propagation Laboratory) storm hit and Stevens says the “walls were sucked out.” e twins were under some rubble but unharmed. e 5-year old was blown into the next door neighbor’s yard and also fi ne. After Jamal was found, all were taken to the hospital and soon released. ••• Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh apologized to Georgetown student Sandra Fluke on his Web site, saying, “in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize.” Several days after criticizing a ing sites, hookemnow.com uses maps to pinpoint catches,” said Robert Sherborne, the site’s founder and president. “Rather than just reading about the fi sh that others are catching, fi shermen can now see on a map where the fi sh are being caught. “ is gives anglers information they’ve not had before, and helps put them on the spots where the fi sh are most active. When fi shermen are planning The Week That Was Georgetown student who advocated for the availability of birth control and calling her a “slut,” e controversy began on Limbaugh’s show when he criticized Fluke over her support of the Obama administration’s new policy on contraception. He fueled the fi re when he repeated the charges the next day, saying: “Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You’d call ‘em a slut, a prostitute or whatever.” Limbaugh later retracted on his Web site saying, “For over 20 a trip, we hope they come here fi rst.” In its debut, hookemnow.com covers 32 major lakes in Tennessee, ranging from South Holston in the east to Reelfoot in the west. Other lakes will be added as the site grows. Finding it is easy: just go to www.hookemnow.com. Once there, fi shermen can view a map of each lake to see what’s being caught and where, years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, fi ve days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.” ••• When the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 13,000 last month, it was the fi rst time it had reached the level since back in 2008, just before the nation’s fi nancial debacle began. Less than a year later, in March of 2009, the Dow had lost nearly half its value, down to near 6,500. add their catch to the map with a few clicks, see photos of catches from across the state, and share their photos for others to see. Sharing information is the heart of the site. “Fishermen love telling their friends about their recent catches,” Sherborne said. “We all do it. We’re proud of a good day on the water. Hookemnow.com gives us an opportunity to share that information with a broader com- Another painful result of the recession and fi nancial crisis has been the nation’s job market. Ten percent of the nation’s workforce was reported out of work in October of 2009, the highest level since 1983. Today, that percentage is 8.3. According to the Labor Department, Latinos, who make up 15 percent of the nation’s workforce, have accounted for one half of the gains in jobs since the beginning of 2010. It’s because Latinos hold large numbers of positions in growth areas like health care and manufacturing. ••• At least one heroic story came out of the devastating storms last week. An Indiana mother saved the lives of her two children when she covered them as their house collapsed. Joe Decker was at work and communicating with his wife Stephanie through text messages about the deadly storm and had told her that a tornado was headed right at their home. Stephanie gathered her 8-yearold son, Dominic, and 5-year-old daughter, Reese, and went to the home’s basement. en she “just stopped texting me,” Joe Decker told reporters from outside his devastated home on Sunday afternoon. “She was on top of them.” When the storm passed, neighbors came to Stephanie Decker’s aid. She lost one leg above the knee and the other above the ankle and is in stable condition at a hospital in Louisville. New map-based fishing report debuting in Tennessee COURT OPINIONS Cont. from page 5 State of Tennessee v. Joshua Daniel Brookshire. Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court of Hamilton County Case Number: E2011-01658- CCA-R3-CD Authoring Judge: Judge Jeff rey S. Bivins Originating Judge: Judge Rebecca J. Stern Date Filed: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Joshua Daniel Brookshire (“the Defendant”) pled guilty to fi ve counts of burglary of an automobile and entered nolo contendere pleas to two additional counts of burglary of an automobile. e trial court sentenced the De- fendant as a Range I off ender to concurrent terms of two years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction on each of the seven counts. e Defendant then reached his determinate release date and was released onto supervised probation. Subsequently, a probation revocation warrant was issued alleging that the Defendant had violated his probation by committing new driving off enses, changing residences without informing his probation offi cer, failing to report, failing to obtain permission to leave his county of residence, and failing to pay his probation fees. e Defendant was taken into custody, and the trial court later conducted a revocation hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court revoked the Defen- dant’s probation and ordered him to serve his remaining sentence in confi nement. e Defendant has appealed the trial court’s ruling. Upon our careful review of the record, we affi rm the trial court’s judgment. Jim Hammond, Sheriff of Hamilton County, et al v. Chris Harvey, et al. Case Number: E2011-01700- COA-R3-CV Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr. Originating Judge: Chancellor W. Frank Brown, III Date Filed: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Six sergeants (collectively “the Sergeants”) employed by Jim Hammond, the Sheriff of Hamilton County (“the Sheriff ”), fi led a grievance with the Hamilton County Sheriff ’s Offi ce Civil Service Board (“the Board”) complaining that there is an unlawful disparity in pay among the 19 sergeants on the force. e Board found a disparity and ordered the Sheriff “to equalize their pay and if all [s]ergeants do the same job that they should be paid the same if there is no written criteria to establish standards.” e Sheriff appealed to the trial court by petition for a writ of certiorari. e court (1) held that the Board was without authority to order the Sheriff to equalize the pay of the 19 sergeants and (2) declared the Board’s decision “null and void.” e Sergeants appeal. We modify the trial court’s judgment and remand to the Board with instructions. munity of dedicated fi shermen.” Additionally, fi shermen can fi nd useful information about each lake – its history, its size and where it got its name, for instance. ey can also fi nd record catches from that lake, or from across the state. “We hope that fi shermen will fi nd this a friendly, informative place to visit,” Sherborne said. “And we hope they will participate often.” In Re Estate of Carl Robin Geary, Sr. Case Number: M2011-01705- COA-R3-CV Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett Originating Judge: Chancellor Jeff rey F. Stewart Date Filed: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 is appeal presents the issue of whether a widow who signed a prenuptial agreement is entitled to an elective share of her husband’s estate. e evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s fi nding that the widow signed the prenuptial agreement knowledgeably. Given the validity of the prenuptial agreement, we affi rm the trial court’s decision denying the widow an elective share.
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