Foreclosure lawyer found guilty in house break-in (OC Register)
A Carlsbad lawyer today was found guilty of vandalism, attempted burglary and
other charges after encouraging his client, a foreclosed homeowner, to break
into his Newport Coast house to repossess it. . Michael Theodore Pines, 59,
was led away in handcuffs after Orange County Superior Court Judge Andre
Manssourian set bail at $50,000. Pines could face up [...]
Foreclosure lawyer found guilty in house break-in is a post from: Mortgage
Insider
ETHIOPIA: Government moves to address road-accident toll (IRIN)
ADDIS ABABA 08 November 2011 (IRIN) – Improved access to emergency medical
care and compulsory third-party insurance coverage could help to lower
Ethiopia’s high road-traffic accident death toll, say officials.
Lawmakers will try again to curb phony car accident claims (St. Petersburg Times)
**By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau **
Thursday, November 17, 2011
TALLAHASSEE — For Gov. Rick Scott and state legislators, the problem is
painfully obvious: Car insurance fraud costs drivers nearly $1 billion a year
in increased premiums.
Now they must confront the problem and reduce fraud in a minefield of
interests including insurers, doctors, chiropractors, hospitals and lawyers.
Scott says they can fix it. But many have tried before and failed and as a
result, fraud in personal injury protection (PIP) is worse than ever, and
insurance premiums are higher than ever.
The latest reform effort began in earnest this week as Senate and House
committees tackled PIP fraud. A solution, if there is one, is months away.
“I believe we can and should save PIP,” Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater
said in testimony before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. “It’s
been hijacked.”
Government Accountability Office: $36.8 Billion Sitting in Asbestos Trusts (Med Worm)
An estimated $36.8 billion in assets remain spread among 60 personal injury
trusts designed to pay out claims related to present and future asbestos
litigation, according to a report released this week by the Government
Accountability Office. The trusts stem from the increased number of bankruptcy
filings over the past decade. Since the first trust was established in 1988,
all the trusts have distributed $17.5 billion, including $3 billion to 475,000
claimants in 2010. The trust fund money is in addition to an even larger pot
that is being paid by companies that remain solvent. The GAO study was
requested by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, and was fueled by critics who want more transparency in the
asbestos-trust process. The study concluded that…
Fukushima: How much radiation are the workers really getting? (crofsblogs)
Via The Mainichi Daily News: Journalists keep close eye on Fukushima nuclear
worker radiation exposure (Part 3). Excerpt: The wide perception gap that has
surfaced between Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the tsunami-hit
Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant,…
