Support for Fiduciary Duty Standard

(Daily Bar news) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:34:34 -0700

On August 30, 2010 the Securities Law Firm of Menzer & Hill, P.A. submitted comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s congressionally mandated study of implementing a fiduciary duty standard for brokers.

COMMENTS SUBMITTED TO SEC:

Michael Hill, Esq., CFP
Managing Partner of Securities Law Firm of Menzer Hill, P.A.
Boca Raton, Florida

The Securities Law Firm of Menzer Hill, P.A. supports the Study Regarding Obligations of Brokers, Dealers, and Investment Advisers pursuant to the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. As an attorney, and former chief compliance officer for about 10 years, it is time that the Commission simplifies and codifies the roles of brokers and investment advisers.

Public investors are confused between the two roles and cannot discern whether a financial advisor is operating as a broker or as an investment adviser when dispensing advice. Many times industry persons are dually-registered and even retain customers having both a brokerage account and an investment advisory account. The Commission should enact standards of conduct for the dually-registered person so that the investor is treated fairly and consistently.

The Commission should enact fiduciary duty standards when a broker solicits or recommends the purchase or sale of a security. It should not be whether the broker is handling an investment advisory account (i.e., fee-based account) or commission-based account but whether the investor is entrusting him or herself to the professional advice, guidance, and disclosure by the broker.

Investors should also be afforded the ability to seek private recourse should the broker/investment adviser breach his or her fiduciary duty and not be left solely to the investigatory efforts of regulators.

The Securities Law Firm of Menzer Hill, P.A. primarily represents investors and practices in the areas of securities arbitration and litigation annuities and insurance arbitration and litigation investment adviser arbitration and litigation hedge fund and alternative investment arbitration and broker representation.

Menzer Hill, P.A.
7777 Glades Road
Suite 100
Boca Raton, FL 33434
http://www.menzerhill.com

NY appeals court halts Indian cigarette tax plan

(Daily Bar news) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:33:27 -0700

The latest in a tangled series of state and federal court decisions has halted New York state's plan to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American retailers to non-Indian customers.

A state appellate court judge in western New York on Wednesday restored an order stopping the collections, Gov. David Paterson's office said. An earlier order had been lifted Monday by a state judge, a decision appealed by the Seneca and Cayuga nations.

Those tribes won a separate federal court order Tuesday temporarily barring collections against them. But the state had said it would start imposing the $4.35 per pack levy on other reservation retailers starting Wednesday.

"We are disappointed today that the appellate division has stayed the implementation of our statute and regulations with respect to licensed stamping agents," Paterson spokeswoman Jessica Bassett said. "Despite this ruling, we believe the state's legal arguments are sound and we believe that ultimately the state will prevail in this matter."

The Indians' challenges are in multiple courts because they're attacking the taxation on several levels. The Senecas' federal court suit, which the Cayugas joined, seeks to invalidate the state tax law by arguing New York lacks jurisiction to regulate Indian nations within their territories. The tribes' state court challenge, meanwhile, opposes the expedited way New York tax officials chose to adopt the regulations to implement the law, not the law itself.

Facebook sued in California over teen endorsements

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:25:17 -0700

Two Los Angeles County teenagers are suing Facebook, claiming the social network effectively sold their names and images to advertisers without parental permission.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles challenges a Facebook feature that allows members to note that they like an advertised service or product. Facebook broadcasts those endorsements to the user's friends.

The lawsuit also claims minors unwittingly endorse Facebook when people typing their names in a search engine are steered to a Facebook sign-up page.

The plaintiffs say Palo Alto-based Facebook is violating a California law that requires parental consent for children to make commercial endorsements. The teens seek unspecified damages.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes says the lawsuit is meritless. He notes Facebook doesn't allow users under 18 to let their profiles appear on public search engines.

Utah court rejects appeal from polygamous sect

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:24:57 -0700

Utah's Supreme Court has rejected a petition from members of a southern Utah-based polygamous sect seeking a reversal of changes made to its communal land trust.

In a ruling issued Friday, justices say members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints waited too long to challenge the state's intervention in the United Effort Plan Trust.

Valued at $110 million, the trust holds the property in Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., the twin border towns where most church members live.

Utah seized the trust in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement by church leaders. A court-appointed accountant has since converted the trust into a secular entity.

FLDS members consider state control of the UEP a violation of their religious rights.

Ginsburg talks about television and the high court

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:24:45 -0700

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says television has profoundly changed confirmation hearings but declined to say whether she'd oppose televising arguments.

Ginsburg told a Colorado judicial conference Friday that TV has made Supreme Court confirmation hearings much longer because senators posture for cameras.

"The people on the Senate Judiciary Committee have all that free time" to stump for the audience, Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg demurred, however, on the question of televising arguments before the high court. She talked about former justices who opposed cameras.

Without naming anyone currently on the court, Ginsburg said, "When you're sitting on a collegial bench, if there is any of you who would be extremely discomforted ... you would defer to that colleague."

Ginsburg talked to several hundred judges gathered for a judicial conference of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court. The justice delivered a speech written by her recently deceased husband, Martin Ginsburg. Martin Ginsburg, a prominent lawyer in his own right, was originally scheduled to address the gathering and prepared the remarks before his death from cancer in June.

After reading the speech, she Ginsburg joined the chief jurist of Canada's Supreme Court, Beverly McLachlin, in a question-and-answer session.

Ruling overturning Prop 8 shaped for higher courts?

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:55:45 -0700

When U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's Proposition 8—the 2008 ballot initiative to outlaw gay marriage—he said the motivation for the majority of voters was clear.

"The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples," Walker wrote in his sweeping, 136-page decision announced August 4 in San Francisco. "These interests do not provide a rational basis for supporting Proposition 8."

In Walker's reasoning, religion amounts to a "private moral view," which should not infringe upon the constitutional rights of others. While some legal scholars say Walker's decision lands on firm legal ground—a law must advance a secular purpose to pass constitutional muster—some religious leaders accuse the judge of trying to scrub faith from the public square.

On August 5, Prop 8's supporters filed an appeal of Walker's decision. Jim Campbell, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian law firm involved in the litigation, said the religious freedom argument will play an important role as the case moves up the federal judicial ladder—including, potentially, the U.S. Supreme Court.

Medical Malpractice Case: The Emma Mejias Story

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:56:00 -0700

The Sharon Boxie Louisiana Injustice Story - Nelson & Hammons

Every day, somewhere in America, more than 300 innocent men, women and children become victims of medical malpractice at the hands of incompetent and negligent doctors, maybe just like your own family doctor, and end up either dead or permanently injured. Last year, over 98,000 victims were killed by doctors; that’s like two 737’s crashing each and every day, killing every single passenger, 365 days a year. And more than 4 million victims are permanently injured each year due to medical errors, surgical tools left in patients and hospital-caused infections. Today, the Insider Exclusive will meet one of those innocent victims, Sharon Boxie, now a total quadriplegic caused by the medical malpractice of her own doctors. We will also visit with her lawyer, John Hammons, who has been fighting for almost thirty years for quality medical care for his clients and their families, as well as obtaining just compensation for those who have been seriously injured by incompetent and negligent doctors. John will show how the State of Louisiana’s medical malpractice laws are full of traps, adding insult to injury with draconian laws capping medical malpractice awards. The $5 million judgment awarded by the trial court to Sharon Boxie was itself reduced substantially by Louisiana law. And if America is to make progress in medical malpractice cases, it needs to be make strides in patient safety, not limit the rights of patients who have been injured through no fault of their own.

http://www.insiderexclusive.com/show-content/224-the-sharon-boxie-louisiana-injustice-story-nelson-a-hammons.html

Armstrong Teasdale Adds Three New Associates

(Daily Bar news) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:55:00 -0700

Armstrong Teasdale LLP announces the arrival of associates Irina Sandler, Lauren Ashley Smith, and Adam R. Wuller.

“The subtle shift in the economy has brought about additional business and afforded us the opportunity to add talent,” said Michael A. Chivell, Armstrong Teasdale’s managing partner. “As we position Armstrong Teasdale as a premier firm in this region, we’ll continue to place a premium on attracting exceptional attorneys in key practice areas.”

Former legal counsel at the affiliate of Emerson Electric in Moscow, Irina Sandler joins the firm’s International practice group and will focus on international trade, import and export controls, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and antitrust compliance. She earned her LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Technology Law from Washington University School of Law, was an Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Program Fellow at the University of Illinois College of Law, and received her Degree in Law from Russian Law Academy of the Russian Ministry of Justice.

Lauren Ashley Smith, a recent law school graduate, is a member of the firm’s Public Finance and Real Estate, and Financial Services practice groups. Drawing on her research and scholarship in land use, and state and local government law, she will focus on public/private real estate development and municipal finance. Additionally, Smith will assist lenders and other creditors seeking to maximize their recovery against debtors in litigation, liquidation, reorganization, and bankruptcy including all aspects of post-judgment collection efforts. She earned her J.D. from Washington University School of Law and her B.A. from Marquette University.

Adam R. Wuller, also a recent graduate, is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and joins the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. The majority of his work will involve the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and medical devices. Wuller received his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law and his B.S. in engineering physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About Armstrong Teasdale: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law. For more information, please visit www.armstrongteasdale.com.

Texas man sentenced to life in prison for 9th DUI

(Daily Bar news) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:28:01 -0700

A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison in Texas after receiving his ninth DUI.

On July 3rd police say Bobby Stovall crossed several lanes of heavy traffic and was struck by a car, injuring a woman.

Police dash cam video shows Stovall trying to walk a straight line, stumbling in the process.

He had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit.

Paralegal, husband indicted in $1 million law-firm embezzlement

(Daily Bar news) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:26:00 -0700

A paralegal and her husband have been indicted on suspicion of embezzling more than $1 million from the law firm where she worked.

The suspects are Rosanne and Michael Stogner. A grand jury indicted them this month in a series of thefts from Oaxaca, Bernal & Associates between March 2001 and May 2007.

Rosanne Stogner declined Monday to talk about the charges and her attorney, Dolph Quijano, did not return calls.

Rosanne Stogner was employed at the law firm at 1515 Montana as a paralegal and an office manager from 1999 to 2007, according to a complaint affidavit by police. Her responsibilities included preparing case files and paying bills.

But she also allegedly paid herself money to which she was not entitled.

Police alleged in the affidavit that Stogner made out checks to herself, to her husband, to his fence company and even to her daughter's personal trainer.

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