A New Orleans personal injury attorney was indicted by a grand jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on November 5, 2020 for wire and mail fraud based on his alleged role in filing lawsuits and obtaining settlements relating to staged accidents. In the indictment, the grand jury charged that the attorney conspired with a “slammer” and a “spotter” to stage at least 31 accidents.

At present, CDL holders must be at least 21 years old to engage in interstate commerce. This could soon change if the DRIVE-Safe Act (S.659, H.R.1745), which has received bipartisan support, is greenlit by Congress. The legislation is aimed at addressing a nationwide shortage of drivers by allowing CDL holders aged 18 to 21 to engage in a two-step apprenticeship program that would ultimately permit them to cross state lines. 

On July 11, 2017, while traveling Westbound I-70, just west of Kansas City, Kansas, five motor vehicle occupants, traveling in three separate vehicles, died when the driver of a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia allegedly failed to timely apply his brakes so as to avoid a collision with the decelerating traffic. Rather than bringing suit against the driver of the Freightliner and his motor carrier employer, the heirs of the decedents undertook the novel charge of holding the manufacturer of the Freightliner liable.

Long-standing case law in Nevada held that a common carrier owes a heightened duty of care to its passengers, at least for transportation-related risks. See Sherman v. S. Pac. Co., 33 Nev. 385, 405, 111 P. 416, 424 (1910) ("The rule . . . requires that a common carrier of passengers shall exercise more than ordinary care. It requires the exercise of extraordinary care, the exercise of the utmost skill, diligence, and human foresight.")

The overwhelming authority nationwide suggests that commercial motor vehicle drivers are held to the same standard of care as all other drivers – ordinary negligence. However, that has not stopped plaintiffs' attorneys from aggressively asserting that “professional drivers” should be held to a higher standard of care. 

Florida’s rear-end presumption rule and the loss of consciousness defense, in car accident cases, was recently the focus of a Third District Court of Appeals decision in Hernandez v. Mishali, 46 Fla. L. Weekly D1016 (Fla. 3d DCA May 5, 2021).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will revise a 2020 final rule clarifying requirements for water quality certification under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 85 Fed. Reg. 42210 (June 2, 2021). CWA Section 401 requires states and tribes to certify that any discharges associated with a federal permit will comply with applicable state or tribal water quality requirements.

Right on cue with mask mandates being lifted, a new NYC law aimed at the ever-popular facial recognition software takes effect on July 9, 2021. New York City’s Biometric Identifier Information Law applies to a broad array of biometric data and will have important implications for businesses going forward.