There is a great article appearing in the Atlantic written by Conor Friedersdorf on the monks at Saint Joseph Abbey in Covington, Louisiana and their legal battle which they had to take to Federal Court to win the right to manufacture caskets.

It’s a great story and a testament to a small group of determined men who fought an industry trying to take away their competition and won.  You can read the full article here.

Fines of $800 a month kicked in on May 1 for more than 350 Louisiana families still living in FEMA trailers.

Congratulation to Loyola Law School and María Pabón López, J.D., the new dean of the school.

After an exhaustive search, Loyola has chosen María Pabón López , professor of law at Indiana University School of Law and an expert in immigrants’ rights.

We’re excited for this new chapter at Loyola Law School, a powerful institution which has contributed some of the best legal minds to this community, region and country.

You can read the full press release here.

The Houston Chronicle is carrying a story from Michael Kunzelman of the Associated Press telling the difficulties of some companies and small business owners who were hired on behalf of BP in being paid.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

“I figure it’s BP trying to worm out of paying,” said Matthew Creel, who owns a Carriere, Miss.-based excavation company.

Mike Cook, executive vice president of EMR Inc. of Lawrence, Kansas, said his company is owed more than $2 million for environmental monitoring and other services it provided after the spill.

“I’m really concerned about the littler guys in this deal,” he said.

You can read the full story in the Houston Chronicle.

Troy King, Alabama’s Attorney General wrote a great opinion piece in editorial section of USA Today.

Here is the opening paragraph and it is a powerful statement from the Republican Attorney General of Alabama:

Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth Feinberg cannot be trusted. While Feinberg has tried to persuade residents of the Gulf Coast that he works for them — referring to himself as their advocate and friend — he was hired by BP, his law firm is being paid $850,000 a month by BP, and every action he has taken has benefited BP.

It’s interesting to learn Mr. Feinberg lives in New York and flies in a BP-provided corporate jet to do his work which he is paid by BP $850,000 per month.

The article is a very informative, quick read. Here is a link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-12-29-editorial29_ST1_N.htm

Last week, an administrative law judge for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled Entergy overcharged customers in four states by selling higher priced power to its own subsidiaries.

“A judge has now found by compelling evidence that Entergy has overcharged ratepayers by selling them its most expensive electricity. This is one of the company’s methods of cheating ratepayers,” said Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission brought the case. LPSC Executive Secretary Eve Gonzalez said Monday the commission was pleased with the ruling and will be following the case closely.

One of Mississippi’s three elected public service commissioners, Brandon Presley, said Monday that the administrative judge’s order, “Is as strong as 10 acres of garlic.”

See the full article in the Picayune Item here:

http://picayuneitem.com/statenews/x1531217231/Regulatory-judge-Entergy-overcharged-customers

A 28-page interim report by the National Academy of Engineering said several failures in the monitoring of the Macondo well contributed to the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

The panel found that BP and its contractors, in ignoring several warning signs, showed “insufficient consideration of risk and a lack of operating discipline” that helped cause the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Read the full article here on USA Today:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/11/technical-experts-bp-oil-spill/1

An article in WCHL News says a Chapel Hill nursing home might have to pay fines in relation to violations that investigators say led to the death of a patient in February.
The article states “Nine patients in the Alzheimer’s unit tested positive for a type of pain management substance called opiates. Officials say most of the patients shouldn’t have been receiving any pain medications.”

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.wchl1360.com/details3.html?id=15530

People need to be attentive to the various facets of the medical care their loved ones are receiving.

The Irpino Law Firm handles all aspects of nursing home abuse and neglect cases.

Please contact Anthony Irpino at 504.525.1500 for further information.