| Powerhouse lawyer loses $35.7 million ruling
Powerhouse Houston lawyer John O'Quinn, one of the nation's most feared personal injury litigators, must repay $10.7 million improperly withheld from clients and forfeit $25 million for a "serious violation of a lawyer's duty," an arbitration panel ruled. Interest payments could raise the total penalty to almost $59 million, said Joe Jamail, another legal legend who represented 3,450 breast implant clients who claimed that O'Quinn's law firm overcharged them for expenses related to their lawsuits. .
Sepracor's 2Q Profit Falls
Drug developer Sepracor Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit fell 44 percent as research and development and sales and marketing costs rose. The company earned $6.1 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a profit of $11 million, or 10 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue rose 5 percent to $278.1 million from $264.4 million. .
Man sues florist after wife sees note to his lover
Leroy Greer meant to say it with flowers to his girlfriend, but his wife heard about it too, and now the whole arrangement is in federal court. Claiming 1-800-flowers.com made his life considerably less rosy, Greer sued the flower delivery company, alleging it made his divorce case thornier by faxing his wife a receipt for flowers he had sent his girlfriend along with the romantic words he wrote for the card. The suit, filed this week in Houston, asks that the company pay for his mental anguish and for the increased amount he figures he'll have to pay in his divorce case, pending since 2005 in Fort Bend County, because his wife has new evidence against him. Greer, a luxury car sales manager, complains the florist breached the contract made when he called and ordered long-stemmed red roses and a stuffed animal for his girlfriend.
ECONOMIC REPORT: Jobless Claims Inch Up For Second Week
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- First-time filings for state unemployment benefits inched up for the second consecutive week, rising to their highest level since the end of June, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In the week ending Aug. 4, initial claims rose by 7,000 to 316,000, the highest since June 30. The four-week average of initial claims also rose in the latest week, by 1,750, to 307,750. The average is sometimes considered a better indicator because it smoothes out one-time events like strikes or weather. "We continue to view claims as indicating that job creation remains solid," wrote Bear Stearns economists in an email. At the same time, the number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits continued to rise, increasing by 39,000 to 2.55 million in the week ending July 28.
Health care facility could lose Medicare eligibility
A local health care facility has been notified it will lose its Medicare eligibility if deficiencies are not corrected.
A recent public notice shows Jefferson City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC., has been cited with a 23-day termination track from the Health Insurance for the Aged and Disabled Program (Medicare) and will be terminated on Aug. 18, at the close of business, if the deficiencies noted by Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) surveyors are not corrected.The Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services has determined that the facility is not in “substantial compliance" with Medicare regulations.“Earlier this month, the state went into the facility and completed a survey based on a complaint, and a deficiency was cited," said Julie Brookhart, public affairs specialist with the center.“Last week, state surveyors were in the facility again, based on another complaint, and an Immediate Jeopardy was cited."Brookhart described Immediate Jeopardy as “a situation in which the provider's non-compliance with one or more requirements of participation has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment or death to residents."Administrators at Jefferson City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC., released a statement saying the facility is working with the health department to resolve the issues.
Former Qwest Chief Executive Nets 6 Years In Prison For Insider Trading
DENVER - Joe Nacchio, the former Qwest Communications chief who was forced to resign during a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal, was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for illegally selling $52 million in stock while not telling investors that his telecommunications company faced serious financial risks. Nacchio was ordered to forfeit the $52 million within 15 days. He received a maximum $19 million fine and two years' probation after he serves his sentence. Once a federal prison is chosen for him, he is to report within 15 days. He was denied bail while he appeals his conviction. "The crimes the defendant has been found guilty of are crimes of overarching greed," declared U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham as Nacchio stood before him. Nacchio, 58, a former AT&T executive, is the latest in a string of former top-level executives to be convicted in recent years in corporate fraud scandals at companies such as Enron and WorldCom.
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