Working with Bill Marler and the talented team at Marler Clark, we filed today the class action complaint in Straka v. Townsend Farms, State of Oregon, Multnomah County Circuit Court Case No. 13060-8425 Further background is here, including links to the CDC recall and related information. For those interested,… Continue Reading →
It’s a good day for the Oregon Qarmat Ali veterans. Today, the Court confirmed the jury verdict in favor of the first 12 Oregon Army National Guard veterans who suffered contamination injuries at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Iraq in 2003. Here is a link to the PDF… Continue Reading →
So we’ve been hearing a lot from class members about Sallie Mae efforts at collection of debts arising from loans for those who attended Western Culinary Institute and Le Cordon Bleu Portland who are part of the class action against those defendants. If you are in that situation, please understand… Continue Reading →
For those interested, I’m posting our recent motion to dismiss and motion for reconsideration in Surrett v. Career Education Corp., our consumer fraud class against Career Education Corp for Western Culinary Institute/Le Cordon Bleu Portland students. We had cleared all pretrial motions and were steaming toward our January trial date… Continue Reading →
I was not surprised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, No. 10-277 (June 20, 2011). Even so, how the Court got there reveals more agendas. It also bodes poorly for consumers. About class actions: While class actions are often criticized, the reality is… Continue Reading →
Maybe the hardest thing about my busy solo law practice is taking time off. Between one child still at home, a busy, hard-working spouse and the demands of my case load, I am hard-pressed to get away. So I jumped at the chance when our schedules aligned. Even with all… Continue Reading →
I’m not a flag waver. Never have been. Like the vast majority of Americans, I have treated Veterans Day as one of those days in the fall that I might have off from work. No thought to the meaning; no thought to the sacrifices that lie beneath. That changed in… Continue Reading →
This is something of a rant directed at spammers. Regular readers and interested visitors aren’t covered by this. But you know that! Allowing comments on this blog is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing when I get thoughtful feedback that makes think about something. Ditto for those… Continue Reading →
Portland’s KOIN 6 did this report KOIN 6 News Report on Trade Schools covering our consumer fraud class action against Western Culinary Institute/Le Cordon Bleu Portland and their parent, Career Education Corp. The coverage helps tell the story, though it maybe compresses the issues a bit too much. I… Continue Reading →
A Boy and His Dog was a mid-1970’s science fiction movie set in the rubble of the U.S. destroyed by nuclear war. It features a young Don Johnson and his telepathic dog. The title is fetching. The film–while flawed and violent–is darkly comic and memorable. I’m reminded of the… Continue Reading →