Law Offices of Evan Aidman

06/26/2023

Here is complimentary code for free attendance: IJECOMP. Here's the link for the registration:

An enchanting CLE-accredited webinar that merges the timeless tale of Goldilocks with US law, Talmudic law, and Jewish ethics. Is Trespassing or Squatting Ever "Just Right"? The Porridge Predicament: Borrowing Without Consent Goldilocks Meets Robin Hood: Can one Steal for a Noble Cause? Can the Bear...

06/26/2023

https://ijethics.org/products/goldilocks-on-trial

An enchanting CLE-accredited webinar that merges the timeless tale of Goldilocks with US law, Talmudic law, and Jewish ethics. Is Trespassing or Squatting Ever "Just Right"? The Porridge Predicament: Borrowing Without Consent Goldilocks Meets Robin Hood: Can one Steal for a Noble Cause? Can the Bear...

03/07/2017

Donald Trump and “Tort Reform”
February 14, 2017 //

President Donald Trump is not a typical Republican President and he may not toe the party line on “tort reform”. We don’t hear him speak against “junk lawsuits” the way George W. Bush did. What can we expect from the POTUS on tort issues?

Injuries from fi****ms: The NRA strongly supports Trump, given his promises to “protect our 2nd Amendment”. Whether that protection extends to civil lawsuits is an open question.

Class actions: Some believe there will soon be legislative and regulatory efforts aimed at curbing class actions. George W. Bush’s first bill introduced after the election in 2004 was the Class Action Fairness Act. Trump’s victory may reinvigorate this Act, but he has yet to discuss introducing legislation immunizing corporations from lawsuits and tightening restrictions on class actions.

The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2016 was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but floundered in the Senate under a certain Obama veto. The new Congress may try again soon.

Forced arbitration: Big business favors forcing litigation away from jury trials and into arbitration systems that favor big business. The new Congress and Administration may seek to slow or reverse new or proposed rules from a half-dozen federal agencies restricting arbitration clauses. This could include the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Many of Trump’s supporters and Republicans in Congress have been at odds with the pro-business Chambers of Commerce when it comes to limiting access to the courts. So what would Trump’s position be if a Republican Congress pushed through “tort reform” measures such as damages caps, forced disclosure of litigation financing contracts and court approval of legal fees? It seems unlikely that Trump would put up much of a fight against such measures.

You can expect the trial lawyers associations to do everything they can to protect civil access to justice. The trial lawyers rallied around the campaign of Hillary Clinton. Five big law litigation firms were among Clinton’s top 20 donors, contributing a combined $5 million to her presidential bid. The Clinton transition team also vetted several injury attorneys for appointments to a committee that recommends judicial nominees to the White House counsel and the president. Whether the notoriously prickly Trump attempts revenge is anyone’s guess. Stay tuned.

If you need more information or think you need an attorney, please contact Evan Aidman, Esq..

05/18/2015

Amtrak Derailment Disaster Spawns Litigation

The litigation over the Amtrak derailment tragedy has begun. Amtrak is required by statute to maintain coverage of no less than $200 million for rail disasters. Click here to review this statute.

While this may sound like a lot, with 8 tragic deaths and as many as 200 serious injury claims, it will surely not be adequate to compensate the many victims, especially if punitive damages come into play.

Often the largest component in major injury claims are lost earnings and diminished earning capacity. When you hear about multi-million dollar jury verdicts in injury cases, it is usually because the plaintiff was a large wage earner. These Amtrak riders were mostly wage earners.

I represent two individuals with claims arising out of this tragedy. My focus will not only be on their physical and emotional trauma, but also on their earnings losses.

Amtrak is likely to interplead the $200 million into court and walk away from any further litigation. That will leave the claimants to divide up the money. Perhaps Kenneth Feinberg will be called in to mediate the division of this money. Mr. Feinberg was the Special Master of the government’s September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, administered the victim assistance fund established after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, mediated the Penn State s*x abuse scandal, and much more.

Contrast the damage caps mandated by statute for the City of Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The City cannot be required to pay more than $250,000, regardless of the extent of damages caused by its negligence. SEPTA’s liability is limited to $500,000. The same cap applies to all other Pennsylvania state agencies.

For a fascinating discussion of train safety technology and much more, click here.

09/09/2014

IRONY, THY NAME IS SEPTA.

08/14/2014

Matthew Maher has been released from prison. This is the pro soccer player who killed a man while driving drunk. I represented the family of the man who died. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Maher

Matthew Maher (born April 13, 1984 in Cape May, New Jersey) was an American soccerdefender who was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for aggravated manslaughter and drunken driving. He was released from prison on August 3, 2014.

08/12/2014

You Be The Judge!

I am working on a “slip and fall” case slated for jury trial in early November.  My dear readers, I would like for you to “sit on the jury” for this trial. Please let me know what you think of my case and how I can improve the chances for a successful verdict.

03/06/2014

To locate the owner of a property in Philadelphia, click here.
http://www.phila.gov/brt/propertyinformation/Pages/default.aspx

01/03/2014

Here is a blog by my colleague, Dale Larrimore that I hope you will find useful for conducting your own legal research.
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There are alternatives available to WestLaw and Lexis. Many of us are already aware of them but not all of us are aware of all of the options. Here is some general information on some of the alternatives.

Keep in mind that while most of these are substantially less expensive than the big two (some are free), you are also not necessarily getting the same quality. The alternative sites do not always give you the most accurate version of a document. Even after reconsideration has been granted in a case, some of these sites may continue to provide links to the original decision.

But as long as the risk is known and avoided, the alternative sites may be worth using as you do research in 2014. See info and links below.

Alyssa Altshuler provides a 2001 Overview of Five Internet Legal Research Alternatives to Westlaw and LexisNexis, specifically Loislaw, NationalLawLibrary, Quicklaw America, theLaw.net, and VersusLaw6, at
www.vsb.org/publications/valawyer/oct01/altshuler.pdf

Google Scholar provides very simple searching capability with links to a variety of law journals and many court decisions.
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en

Findlaw for Legal Professionals provides you with access to cases and codes on West's portal for freely available federal and state case law, including Supreme Court cases since 1893 and recent federal circuit and state appellate case law. Cases may be searched, but older cases are not available.
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/

LexisONE Community - Lexis offers a freely available case law database, including Supreme Court opinions from 1781 to present and the last 10 years of select federal and state case law. There is also additional coverage that is available for some states. Users are required to register. Those who use the American Law Sources Online ( http://www.lawsource.com/also/) link to LexisONE for cases.
http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/portal/user/createlexisoneuser.aspx

Justia provides freely available searchable database of all US Supreme Court opinions, all appellate court cases in the Federal Courts since 1950, along with some federal district court opinions, and some state materials.
http://law.justia.com/

HG.org Global Legal Resources provides you with links that access cases, statutes, articles, and other materials. The articles are not law-review articles but law-firm publications on various topics.
http://www.hg.org/

The Public Library of Law is an interesting source of freely available federal case law. It includes all Supreme Court opinions, some lower federal court materials from 1950 to the present, and many state court opinions starting in 1997. It also links to Fastcase for additional material.
http://www.plol.org/Pages/Search.aspx

And, don't forget that the official web sites of the U.S. Supreme Court, and of the various Circuit Courts of Appeal and many state appellate courts include the latest slip opinions and full opinions (For the Supreme Court - back to 1991), along with docket information, rules, merits briefs, orders, and other materials.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/ and other sites.

10/30/2013

Here's a really cool tool you can use when you need to send an email that needs to be really secure, like your godaddy password. https://privnote.com/

Share a confidential note via a web link that will self-destruct after it is read by your intended recipient.

10/25/2013

In order to hold people accountable for their actions, they must know that you have their name.