Birmingham Injury Law Blog

Category: Current Affairs

Alabama Government Run by Special Interest Groups

                A campaign financing report was filed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and their political action committee, T Pac stating State Senator Slade Blackwell of Mountain Brook  was the recipient of $10,000.00 from the group.  The Poarch Band of Creek Indians has been using T Pac to buy gambling influence in Montgomery for years.  Sen. Blackwell claims that he was the recipient of an unsolicited $10,000.00 from the group; however, Sen. Blackwell claims to have promptly returned t...

COURT FUNDING CRISIS – IMPACTING EVERYDAY ALABAMIANS

Court Funding Crisis in Alabama                 On November 4, 2013, Gov. Robert Bentley released an extra $2 million in funding for the state court system, derived from a small surplus in FY2013.  Despite this recent lifeline, Chief Justice Roy Moore has requested an additional $6.5 million in funding for FY2014 for our cash strapped judicial system.  This new money will allow the courts to continue functioning at current staffing levels and avoid further cuts to its workforce, but the court...

Pulling Back the Curtain on Obamacare in Alabama (The Affordable Care Act)

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to bring more choices at competitive prices to the healthcare marketplace. However, in states like Alabama, large private insurers still have a stranglehold on everyday Alabamians. Because there is virtually zero competition, they are free to set prices as they see fit. The ACA aims to fix this by bringing more options to more people, thus keeping prices low by forcing competition. In a rather transparent move, companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield are stick...

“The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill”

DeLeal Wininger, Judge Helen Shores Lee, and David D. Wininger were guests recently at a meeting of the Friends of the Hoover Library where Judge Lee commented on her book “The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill” where the subject was her late father, the Honorable Arthur Shores. During his career he represented Dr. King and Autherine Lucy and was counsel for many significant decisions in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. The Shores family lived on Center Street in Birmingham where twice their house was bombed.

Alabama Supreme Court Says Parents Don’t Have to Pay College Expenses

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  --- The Alabama Supreme Court today overturned a 1989 decision requiring noncustodial parents to help pay college expenses for children 19 and older. In a 6-2 decision, the court ruled that the 1989 decision “failed to recognize the ordinary and common-law definitions of ‘child’ as a minor,” which the Legislature has defined in Alabama as under 19.  The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Roy Moore, said the ruling would not affect cases where final decisions...

The Wininger Law Firm makes Birmingham pay for actions of dangerous employee

The Wininger Law Firm recently made the City of Birmingham pay dearly for injuring one of our long-time friends. Our client was walking on a sidewalk in downtown Birmingham when she attempted to cross the street at the corner of an intersection upon seeing a "WALK" signal. A city employee operating a motorized vacuum sweeper made an abrupt right turn, running over our client. After being hit, she was unable to stand or walk and was taken to a local hospital emergency room for treatment. Our f...

Post Minority Support, Ex parte Bayliss

Decided in 1989, Ex Parte Bayliss, a domestic relations case which was heard by the Alabama Supreme Court, has recently been under fire. The Court’s decision, which allowed for post-minority educational expenses to be ordered by a court and paid by the contributing parent, post-divorce support has recently been attacked as an undue hardship. However, the chief complaint with the Bayliss decision is that it stands as an exemplar violation of separation of powers. The scoffers of Bayliss insist...

Opposition to Bill SB 286

Alabama Senator Scott Beason’s proposed bill, SB 286, has created quite a stir. If passed, the bill would allow for concealed carry in vehicles without a permit, prohibit sheriffs from denying a carry license without showing cause, and permit the carrying of firearms at demonstrations. Not surprisingly the bill has been met with hostility from many sides. In challenging the proposed legislation, the Business Council of Alabama per CEO Canary has stated that the group will oppose the bill beca...

Colonial Properties shareholders left holding an empty bag after merger

Mid- America Apartment Communities is in the process of working a merger with Colonial Properties Trust, a publicly held Birmingham company. Colonial CEO Lowder has stated that the merger has been contemplated for years. Troubling however is that the deal provides that the Memphis-based company will collect 56% of the merger profits from its takeover of Colonial and further reserves a seat for Lowder on MMA’s board of directors. Moreover, after posting a $5.6 million earning and 16% percent s...

The Big Business Lobby in Alabama and How it Really Does Hurt individual Alabamians

Originally applied to shield architects from ongoing liability for design defects, statutes of repose serve as ultimate cutoffs to potential claims. The doctrine, now adopted by many states, provides that the rights of plaintiffs cease once a threshold date is met. Birthed out of an effort to curb litigation, the statute of repose is steadfast and, unlike statute of limitations, will not give way to subsequent discovery nor toll. The crux of the debate concerning the doctrine hinges upon fair...

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