Miscellaneous

• Mandatory Closing Provisions Strictly Enforced in Real Estate Purchase Contracts

  Geoff Trachtenberg | March 11, 2008 12:41 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  That hissing sound you hear is not just air coming out of the real estate bubble, it's the folks at Mining Investment Group, LLC ("MIG") who today learned the importance of a mandatory closing date where a contract specifies that "time is of the essence." The case, Mining Investment Group, LLC v. Roberts, shows just how strictly the courts will interpret real estate purchase contracts - indeed,...

• Arizona Supreme Court Holds Professional Negligence Against Insurance Agent is Assignable

  Geoff Trachtenberg | February 06, 2008 9:16 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Surprising result in Webb v. Gittlen, a new opinion from the Arizona Supreme Court which holds that a professional negligence claim against an insurance agent is assignable. Although a long overdue holding, it highlights the badly misunderstood law concerning assignments, including the scope and justification of anti-assignment law (see my earlier article on Assignments vs. Liens in the...

• Peak Oil: A Crude Awakening

  Geoff Trachtenberg | December 30, 2007 3:39 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Ask most people, and they'll probably tell you global warming is our greatest global obstacle. Some will even say something like terrorism or illegal immigration. Frankly, I thought I was pretty damn clever spotting the global credit bubble, and believed it to be the greatest global crisis we'd face in our lifetimes (i.e., something on order of five times larger than the S&L crisis). Even if...

• Mortgage Rate Freeze: A Flim-Flam Scheme to Recharacterize Billions of Fraudulent Mortgages and Trick Investors

  Geoff Trachtenberg | December 09, 2007 11:56 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Imagine a loan of $100,000 based upon (1) a borrower's true income / ability to repay and (2) the true value of the real estate collateral. Now imagine a loan of $100,000 based upon (1) fictional income figures and (2) fictional valuation of real estate collateral. Which type of loan do you think predominated in the United States for the last five to ten years?Now imagine these "liar loans"...

• Wyeth Recalls Cold Medicine Due to Dosing Cup Issue

  Jenny Albano | November 02, 2007 11:07 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Wyeth is recalling several brands of nonprescription cold medicine because they come with a dosing cup that does not mark the half-teaspoon level recommended for children aged 2 through 5 years old. According to the Wyeth spokesperson, there is nothing wrong with the product.The cold medicines being recalled are: Robitussin Cough DM, Robitussin Cough & Cold CF, Robitussin Cough & Congestion,...

• Legal Malpractice Statutes of Limitation - Tort and Contract

  Geoff Trachtenberg | October 18, 2007 7:56 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Interesting legal malpractice case from Division Two, Keonjian v. Olcott, dealing with the issue of when the statute of limitations begins to run and whether the tort or contract limitation period applies.The essence of the alleged malpractice was that the plaintiff got bad advice from her attorney concerning the deeding of some land that she co-owned with another party. The trial court had...

• Court Blasts Sheriff's Office for "Arbitrary and Capricious" Action Against a Local Newspaper

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 28, 2007 2:16 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Another new opinion from Division One, West Valley View v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, blasts the Marcopa County Sheriff's Office. In short, Sherriff Joe decided he did not like the coverage by the West Valley View, a local newspaper, so he eliminated the West Valley View from the electronic distribution list for press releases and refused to respond to public records requests or provide...

• Dog Food Recalled Due to Salmonella

  Courtney Mills | August 22, 2007 11:38 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Mars Petcare has announced in tandem with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it is recalling its 'Red Flannel Adult Formula' dry dog food and its 'Krasdale Gravy' dry dog food. Mars Petcare has issued this recall because of a potential for the dog food to be contaminated with Salmonella.The FDA and Mars Petcare are under taking the recall as a precautionary measure after FDA...

• Rescue Crews Send Mike Down to Check on Miners

  Courtney Mills | August 10, 2007 11:28 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Rescue efforts involving over a hundred of people in Huntington, Utah have lasted several torturous days as workers struggled to find trapped colleagues. Six miners were trapped 1,500 feet beneath collapsed rubble in a coal mine, the unfortunate result of a disastrous mining accident that occurred early Monday, August 6. The fate of the men has not yet been established.Early rescue efforts...

• Man Paralyzed with Botulism Poisoning

  Jenny Albano | August 03, 2007 4:20 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  A man in New Mexico was found to have botulism poisoning. State health officials are trying to figure out if the man ate any food that was included in the Castelberry's Food Co. recall.Castleberry's Food Company has recalled over 90 different brands of canned food and pet food because cans of hot dog chili sauce were found to contain the bacterium that causes botulism.The 52 year-old man, whose...