July 2022

Florida man wrongfully convicted of murder is freed by an attorney fresh out of law school

Florida man wrongfully convicted of murder is freed by an attorney fresh out of law school

“Who remembers where they were on a given night five months ago?” Figgers said.

“I never asked anybody to believe what I was saying,” James said. “What I did was say for any and everybody to simply admit that if what I was saying was true, that I had been wrongly convicted. But the only way you can reach that conclusion is to delve into the depths of my situation. Natlie Figgers did. I owe her my life.” 

Figgers, the wife of Freddie Figgers, an inventor and founder of Figgers Communication in Florida, where she had been head of HR, said releasing her emotions helped break the case, especially when in May 2021 she approached Dorothy Wilson, the prosecution’s crucial witness. 

“She didn’t want to give any statements,” Figgers said of Wilson. “She didn’t want to talk to people for years. When I went to interview her, she cracked the door open. I knew at that time she was giving me an opportunity to show her why she should do the right thing. It was such an emotional point for me, I couldn’t help but cry to her. And I told her, ‘If God tells you to give me

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July 3, 2022 by LAW

Fired-up N.J. Senate President calls opposition to costly auto insurance plan ‘nonsense’

New Jersey’s top lawmaker came out swinging in fierce defense of his legislation that could force more than 1 million people in the state to pay more for car insurance each year.

Senate President Nicholas Scutari on Monday defended the bill that would hike the minimum amount of liability insurance in the Garden State from its current $15,000 coverage to $25,000 beginning in 2023, and a minimum of $35,000 starting in 2026. He says it’s long overdue to protect victims of crashes.

“This is all nonsense,” said Scutari, D-Union, during a Senate committee hearing, arguing the cost to drive in the state would not immediately increase.

“(Insurers) cannot raise rates for a minimum of three and a half years. They cannot substantiate a raise in rates when we go to $25,000 in coverage. The industry cannot substantiate it. It is an impossibility. The Department of Banking and Insurance will not allow it,” he said.

“The people of New Jersey need this Legislature to protect them from themselves because we tell them what they need to get, and that’s what they get.”

He added taxpayers are the ones who are stuck with the costs to “subsidize unpaid medical bills” and

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July 2, 2022 by INSURANCE

Texas abortion law: What the Supreme Court ruling means here

Abortions up to about six weeks in pregnancy can resume at some clinics in Texas for now after a Harris County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday that blocks an abortion ban that was in place before Roe v. Wade.

“It is a relief that this Texas state court acted so quickly to block this deeply harmful abortion ban,” Marc Hearron, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a press release. “This decision will allow abortion services to resume at many clinics across the state, connecting Texans to the essential health care they need. Every hour that abortion is accessible in Texas is a victory.”

A hearing has been set for July 12 to decide on a more permanent restraining order.

However, Tuesday’s ruling is only a stopgap measure that, at most, will extend abortion access in the state for two months.

Paul Linton, an attorney for the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life, said he thought a higher court would soon vacate the temporary restraining order and that the pre-Roe abortion ban should stand.

“I don’t think it has any merit,” Linton said. “I don’t think there’s any plausible argument

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July 2, 2022 by LAW

Citizen’s Property Insurance facing 900 new lawsuits a month

One month after state lawmakers were summoned back to Tallahassee to fix Florida’s broken homeowner’s insurance industry, the crisis continues.

“As we sit here today, we are just under 19,000, but quickly approaching 19,000 lawsuits,” said Elaina Paskalakis of Citizen’s Property Insurance, during a claims committee meeting earlier this month.

Citizens, the sate-backed insurer of last resort isn’t just facing mounting litigation, it is also absorbing some 12,000 policies a month.

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“Last year at this time they (Citizens) were growing at about 5,000 policies a week, so they are growing exponentially more,” says State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-Pinellas). “They have about $6 billion in cash and about $300 billion in potential liability if they have a big storm.”

With police and lawsuits piling up, Citizens recently approved $50 million for litigation costs, with the state-backed insurer set to approve another $50 million when it meets again in July.

“It is all hands on deck at Citizens, and frankly I don’t know how they are going to manage all this, we would never let a private insurance company grow as fast as citizens is growing right now,” says Brandes.

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July 1, 2022 by INSURANCE

Everything you need to know before July 4th

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A new fireworks law goes into effect July 3 across Ohio, but not all fireworks are legal everywhere, and exceptions apply.

The law newly allows people to set off “consumer fireworks” on their own property or on another person’s property with permission.

Consumer fireworks are sandwiched in the middle of Ohio’s fireworks classifications between “trick fireworks” and “display fireworks.”

Trick fireworks

Trick fireworks (or “novelty fireworks”) are smoke bombs, snaps, glow snakes and sparklers. For the most part, these fireworks can be purchased anywhere and used anytime, but some local communities have passed ordinances that prevent even these from being sold.

In jurisdictions where novelty fireworks are allowed, the State Fire Marshal urges extreme caution.

“While legal, these can still pose serious health problems, including severe burns, injuries to the hands, eyes and face, and even blindness or hearing loss. For example, sparklers burn at up to 1800°, hot enough to melt gold. The risk of severe burns is real. In addition, puncture-type injuries to the eye are not uncommon,” a DOC spokesperson says.

The City of Cincinnati permits these fireworks, but a decades-old ordinance remains in effect prohibiting consumer fireworks, meaning

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July 1, 2022 by LAW