Steve Lombardi was born and raised in New England and in 1975 moved to the Midwest to obtain his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he graduated from Drake University Law School. During law school he worked as a private investigator in a five state region of...
MoreHere is video of the ship, it's sister ship under power and the discussion of the captain talking with the Italian Coast Guard. This was an amazing ship.
Cruise Ship Captain Says He Fell Overboard Amid Chaos, cough-cough... apparently he fell right into a life boat. Isn't that lucky. Even the crew of Saturday Night Live couldn't come up with this script. So why didn't he get back on the ship? But all that said, look how close the ship is to land.
At what point in life do people begin to believe Facebook postings are real life?
Man shoots nail into his brain, posts it to Facebook from ambulance.
Lawyers are constantly having to deal with what clients post on FB. Clients post inappropriate things on FB all the time. There is a disconnect between the reality of what they say on the one hand in a lawsuit and what they post on FB. Defense lawyers know it as do Plaintiff lawyers. The admissions go both ways and so lawyers on both sides immediately march to FB to see what the other lawyer's client is publicly stating.
A case that just came to my attention was a drunk driver bragging on FB about how much he's drank and how fast he was travelling before the crash that mangled his passenger. His insurance company paid the limits of $100,000 to the injured passenger.
Get a clue folks, if you're involved in a lawsuit shut down your FB page.
There could be several reasons that would provide such motivation. Whatever it may be there has to be a reason that outweighs public exposure. Public exposure must in some way expose them to losing something of value that to them is of greater value than $16.5 million. In the case of the current Iowa lottery ticket holder I of course have no idea what that would be so by today’s blog I do not wish to cast any dispersions upon that person or persons. But many people are asking themselves how anyone could give up this large amount of money; what motivates them? So I thought it would be fun to day to venture into lottery cases where there has been more downside than upside.
Freedom – Remember the police sting in the City of Chicago that occurred in the early 2000’s? They did it again in September 2011. The Chicago Police Department ran a sting where they promised $500 gift coupons, plasma televisions and video games that they had supposedly won. Or course each prize winner had an outstanding warrant and was immediately arrested after identifying themselves as the supposed winner. Prize giveaway turns out to be a bust, Ronnie Reese, Chicago Tribune. Over 100 “winners” were arrested. In the case of Lotto winnings there could be a similar motivation not to step forward.
Will a trust shield a lottery ticket winner's privacy?
Yesterday’s post was about the Iowa Lottery’s $16.5 million winning ticket where the actual purchaser of the ticket appears not to want to be identified. Yesterday in The Attorney-Client Privilege – When silence is not so golden I explored the factual issues of whether the Iowa Lottery would honor paying the winning Lotto ticket if the person or persons behind the trust did not come forward and explain how they came into possession of the ticket. Apparently the Lottery Commission, Iowa’s Attorney Generals and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation knocked heads all day yesterday and last night announced the beneficiaries of the Hexam Investment Trust have until this Friday to step forward from out behind the curtain, to identify themselves and explain how they came into possession of the ticket or else forego the winnings. It’s time to do or die.
Read Iowa Lottery says Friday is deadline for Lotto winner to come forward.
Lottery: All who had mystery $16.5M ticket must be interviewed
Today I'm back to taking no prisoners. Sorry but it's one of those days.
For you landlubbers a transom is the backend of a boat.
If you are a passenger and you’re one of the people who dislike the dreaded trial lawyers, call them greedy and scream for tort reform welcome to the world of the Costa Concordia’s cruise ship mumbo-jumbo legal maze. As a passenger of the sinking Good Ship Lollipop you won’t be suing from wherever you live or lived. You won’t even be seeking legal redress on terms you would be if there was a level playing field. Fact of the matter is pursuing your legal claims against the captain and cruise line will be litigated on the listing deck of some venue the cruise ship line chooses. You wanted tort reform in favor of big business, well… you got it. Welcome to their captain's quarters, a world of hot coffee that bites you squarely in the transom.
What happens when world dominators in the business world fear no one?
If you think cowardly captains are something new then visit the Oceanos where a guitarist is forced to take over as the captain because the captain and crew left with their luggage inside one of the lifeboats.
Point: Will the Attorney Client Privilege Void the Winning Iowa Lottery Ticket?
This is really turning into a good story, one that has plenty of intrigue to it. As lawyers we sometimes get thrust into the middle of controversy and because of the attorney-client privilege are bound to remain silent. I’ve seldom played the lottery, because I value my privacy more than I do money. As a lawyer I’ve even considered what steps I’d advise clients to take if they ever won big. The underlying theme being how to remain a private person who wins and can still know who his friends are and who is just being friendly.
Counter Point: Must the Lottery Winner be identified? Following the trail, video.
The $16.5 million Iowa Lottery story took another twist and turn this past week as more information is becoming known about the man who signed the ticket and had it delivered by FedEx to attorneys in Iowa who then turned in the ticket to the Iowa Lottery HQ. According to the Des Moines Register the ticket signer is a lawyer by the name of Crawford Shaw. The reported story is “Trustee in jackpot case is defendant in Delaware lawsuit” published on January 19, 2011 by Daniel P. Finney. The facts as set forth by the Des Moines Register include that Shaw, who is an attorney out of New York, represents Hexam Investment Trust, the alleged winner. But of course a trust is a fictious person and can’t walk into a convenience store in Iowa and buy a ticket. So who is the human that did? And this seems to be the question of the day?
You can’t win a lottery without turning in a ticket.
As much as you may want to think this is about fairness, it’s not; it’s about playing by the rules you agreed to when you bought a lottery ticket that is later picked as having the winning numbers.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking you won the lottery when you can’t produce the winning ticket. To win the lottery you have to do several things.
10. Don’t wait to turn in the winning ticket if the economy is in down market because the value of the winning prize will probably decline.
Recently, the Iowa Lottery held a drawing named Hot Lotto that was sold at a Des Moines convenience store with the winning number being drawn on December 29, 2010. That meant the winning number had to be turned in on or before December 29, 2011. It was, but barely. It was turned in with about two hours to spare. Two lawyers representing a trust showed up to turn in the signed ticket and to have the ticket validated. That raised eyebrows, but that wasn't what caught my attention. During the year of waiting, many people came forward convinced they had won.
Would you accept payment for legal services in bitcoin? Should you? What is a bitcoin?
It's digital currency that avoids traditional banking fees and limitations of regulations; but is it safe.
Is it safe? I'm not sure, but with governments devaluing currencies it's probably going to increase in use and value. After all once governments decided to go off the gold standard the only value to money is in the full faith and credit of the government that issues it. If the government devalues it's full faith and credit then the money they print becomes worthless forcing people to seek other ways of payment. It's really no different than bartering for services. Instead of accepting dollar bills you take chicken to make chicken soup for the family.
According to the Bitcoin Organization bitcoin is an experimental new digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is also the name of the open source software which enables the use of this currency.
Bitcoins avoid banks and government clearing houses thus avoiding fees and probably judgement creditors. They are transferred person to person. The user needs a digital wallet.
Question: Do I have any legal recourse in an auto accident if I was not injured? I am a truck driver involved in an accident in a company truck. The other driver admitted to being at fault along with two witnesses that stated it was his fault. He had minor injuries and was taken to the hospital. I had a stiff neck for a few days, but did not seek medical attention. I was laid off a week later. I had a clean driving record until this happened. Now I'm having a hard time getting driving jobs because of this accident. Do I have any legal recourse against the other driver from this accident?
Surely the hate mail over this lawsuit will drive the U.S. Postal Service into the black. This past week the gloves came off when the Iowa Industrial Commissioner (Chris Godfrey) personally sued Governor Terry Branstad (and others in his administration) for discrimination, defamation and harassment over the Governor’s reduction in Godfrey’s annual salary by nearly $36,000. It left me wondering how any of this serves the people of Iowa.
The Govna wanted Godfrey to resign claiming inter alia that Godfrey's actions were getting in the way of job creation in Iowa. Essentially the claim is that he wasn’t doing a good job; a claim which is seriously flawed to the point of being frivolous. (On this point you need only read how the Iowa Economic Development Authority sells this state to the business community.) Iowa’s workers’ compensation program is heralded as one of the best run programs in the country. Godfrey’s suit says if I am doing a good job what else is left but a right-wing attack on my sexual preferences?
"Iowa’s workers’ compensation costs are among the nation’s lowest. The average cost of workers’ compensation insurance for manufacturers in Iowa is 16 percent lower than the national average. Iowa law provides for employer choice of doctor." (Actuarial and Technical Solutions, 2009) - quote from Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa's Business Advantages LINK
I'm not sure in Iowa I've seen this level of dirty politics being played with the Iowa Industrial Commissioner position. As someone who is a registered Republican and who has practiced before the commission for over 30 years I have to say Chris Godfrey is doing an excellent job. His decisions find balance and frankly the Commission under his administration hasn't favored the injured workers. There is a balance struck that favors no one side. He sticks to the law. His decisions are as fair to the employers as they are to the injured workers. The facts seem to dictate the outcome and if I had to pick a side I'd say the Commission favors the employers. So come on Govna what the heck are you doing?
