Asbestos News Roundup: 7.22.11

July 22nd, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos News

Asbestos, PQ: The infamous Canadian asbestos mine—the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Quebec could be mothballed indefinitely as of November 13, if talks to keep the mine going don’t produce results soon.

The Jeffrey Mine is Canada’s only fully operational asbestos mine, and is in negotiations with LAB Chrysotile and the union representing the mine’s 350 employees to get the mine up and running again. The Harper government’s decision to allow funding for the mine comes despite international outrage and lobby from organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society. Further, Steven Harper’s government recently blocked a United Nations motion to have asbestos declared a carcinogen.

Simon Dupéré, president of LAB Chrysotile in Thetford Mines told the Montreal Gazette “A shutdown will be necessary on November 13 if we can’t come to an agreement, but both parties want to avoid that, and both parties are willing to collaborate very closely to avoid it.”

The Jeffrey Mine is an open pit asbestos mine and functions for only a few months each year because it’s nearly exhausted. Its owners are hoping to get a loan guarantee from the Quebec government in order to expand into an underground operation, but the government wants to see private financing in place by August 15, or the loan guarantee offer will expire. (Montreal Gazette)

Fort Branch, IN: The charred remains of a meat packing plant in Emge will be cleaned up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because it contains asbestos and the plant’s owner refused to do it.

The EPA’s project manager, Kevin Turner, said the EPA has budgeted $400K for the clean-up, which is scheduled to being mid-August. It will likely take four to eight weeks.

“We have engaged the owner to clean it up and he refused,” Turner said. “There is a civil process we go through. Under the law he can say he will do it or not do it but that doesn’t relieve him of any liability or financial responsibility.”

According to a report in the Evansville Courier & Press, regulations in the state of Indiana regulations allow asbestos containing materials to be disposed in licensed municipal landfills but require they be sealed in airtight containers before disposal. According to Turner, the asbestos in the Emge plant was in the insulation and transite which is a material used in wallboard. (evansvillecourierandpress.com)

Detroit, MI: Two men from Bay County are facing federal charges for their alleged mishandling of asbestos while overhauling a former auto manufacturing plant near Utica.

Brian Waite, 38, the project manager, and his colleague Daniel Clements 49, an on-site supervisor, had been contracted to remove fixtures and pipes that contained asbestos from the plant which is located in Macomb County’s Shelby Township.

While federal regulations require asbestos to be wetted down and kept wet before and during its removal, the two men allegedly “directed workers to tear down the asbestos-containing material while it was dry, and to place (it) into plastic bags without wetting it,” according to the indictment. Clements allegedly told the workers onsite to “let it fly,” letting them kick or throw the materials to the waste area at ground level. From there, the indictment claims, Waite and Clements instructed the workers to load dry asbestos into commercial trash containers and cover it with bags of debris that had been wetted.

Waite and Clements have each been charged with two counts of violating the Clean Air Act and one count of conspiring to commit that crime. (mlive.com)

Asbestos News Roundup: 7.14.11

July 14th, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Lawsuits

New Orleans, LA: A wrongful death lawsuit stemming from asbestos exposure has been filed by the widow of a career merchant mariner. Katrine Davalie filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Tookie A. Davalie, alleging that her deceased husband was, while alive, exposed to asbestos, cigarettes and tobacco resulting in pulmonary disease that caused his death.

According the lawsuit, Tookie Davalie was continually exposed to asbestos friable fibers, causing him to inhale carcinogenic asbestos dust on an on-going basis. The named defendants in the case allegedly maintained each of their respective vessels in an unsafe, unseaworthy condition causing the crewmen exposure to toxic chemicals and carcinogens including to friable asbestos and second hand exposure to cigarette and tobacco smoke.

Mrs. Davalie is seeking, on behalf of the estate of Tookie Davalie, damages for loss of earnings and earning capacity, life with fear of cancer and other disease, while living, pain and suffering, costs of being forever medically monitored for disease onset and worsening, loss of pleasurable, social and recreational amenities, exemplary and punitive damages, death, loss of love, affection and support, punitive damages, interest, attorney’s fees and court costs.

Mrs. Davalie has named the following companies as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit: A-C Product Liability Trust, ACandS Inc., Acorn Iron & Supply Co., Alcoa Steamship Company Inc., Anchor Packing Co., Argo International Corp., Auburn Pump Division of General Signal Corp., Bethlehem Steel Corp., Black & Decker Corp., Boyd Co AB, Bryan Steam Corp., Champion International Corp., Chesterton Co AW, Coffin Pump Inc., Coltec Industries, Inc., Combustion Engineering Inc., Conhagen Inc., Alfred, Crane Co., Crosby Steam and Valve Co., Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc., Delta Steamship Lines, Inc., Dover Resources Inc., Durabla Read the rest of this entry »

Facedumped & Filing a Lawsuit: Love, Facebook Style

July 14th, 2011. By AbiK

Girl plays Mafia Wars.

Boy plays Mafia Wars.

They’re in the same clan!

Boy lives in Washington.

Girl lives in Michigan.

So what?

They chat.

They graduate to the phone.

They really chat—sometimes 8 or 9 hours a day!

Girl sends boy gifts.

Girl books flight to Washington. Books hotel.

Tickets to the Mariners’ opening game, too!

Girl hears from Boy just before big trip.

Boy tells girl she can visit.. as a friend.

Boy says wrong thing!

No Boy no!

Boy oh boy. Well, that’s the abbreviated version. There’s a few other critical details—like the girl, Cheryl Gray a paralegal from Livonia, MI—is 50, though she allegedly first told the boy, Wylie Iwan of Washington, she was 42…that indicate this relationship was, of course, off to a good honest start.

But the story gets better. See, that flight, hotel, game tickets cost a pretty sum. And Cheryl must’ve thought about that after she got Facedumped (yes, it’s reported Wylie said the “F”word via Facebook…F as in “friend“, that is). And she thought about the Christmas gifts and Valentine’s Day flowers she sent. Perhaps she reflected on the dearth of those coming her way, as there are no reports of any FTD deliveries heading eastbound with this one.

And, as we’ve all heard, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right?

So after giving it thought, what does this paralegal do? She files a lawsuit.

On May 18th, Cheryl Gray filed civil lawsuit against Wylie Iwan seeking $8,368.88 for misrepresentation (would shaving 8 years off your age be “misrepresentation” too? just asking…), promissory estoppel, defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Keep in mind, this, from a woman who’s never met this man “live”. They sort of dated via Facebook. For about 3 months. Oh hell, who am I kidding—they talked. They didn’t “date”—at least not in the traditional sense. And, sadly, talk can be quite cheap especially when it’s only happening on a Facebook chat screen. Seriously.

I’m also wondering how these two—both apparently have children—managed to “chat” with each other for up to 9 hours at a clip—and play Mafia Wars? Might’ve been some clues there to answer that age-old “is it a match made in heaven?” question.

Regardless, is there really a lawsuit here?

I don’t think so.

Hurt? Definitely. Humiliation? Granted. Dishonesty? Perhaps. Cause for litigation? Uh…not seeing it.

I feel badly for Cheryl Gray. She fell and fell hard. But I don’t see a broken heart after a pseudo three-month online relationship as lawsuit worthy. So, Cheryl, maybe the best thing would be to just turn and walk away. Kinda reminds me of  that Joe Walsh song “Walk Away”. And with that, while you’re in break-up mode, rather than embracing your anger in a lawsuit, I’ll leave you with a spur of the moment love-gone-wrong playlist to drown your sorrows in:

Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”

Beyonce, “Irreplaceable”

Beyonce, “Best Thing I Never Had”

Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”

Steven Stills/CSN, “I Give You Give Blind”

The Supremes, “Where Did Our Love Go?”

Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”

U2, “One”

Elvis Presley, “Suspicious Minds”

Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”

Loughner Anti-Psychotic Ruling a Travesty for ADHD Parents

July 13th, 2011. By AbiK

Here’s a little quiz: Who do you Think was Forced to Take Psych Drugs?

 

Parents like Jim Kaiser and Maryanne Godboldo are undoubtedly outraged by the court ruling allowing alleged murderer Jared Loughner—the seeming wacko who is not only alleged to have killed 6 people and injured 13 others including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords but also has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is currently housed in a federal mental hospital, unfit to stand trial–to refuse antipsychotic medication. HE can refuse to take the antipsychotic medicine if he wants—because it’s against his rights!

Yes, I’m sure according to the letter of the law, it is against his rights. But what about the parents of ADHD children—as with Jim Kaiser whose son Ben (above right) was forced to take Adderall? Or what about Maryanne Godboldo who raised a red flag after noticing her daughter had behavioral changes after some immunizations only to be forced to give her child psychotropic drugs—and when she fought that, her child was forcibly removed from her home? It’s ok to mandate drugs to our children, but not to an alleged murderer who’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia and seen as a threat to others?

Think about it—this guy can just say “no thanks” to a stabilizing anti-psychotic–while putting the safety of medical staff in jeopardy and basically making a mockery out of the victims’ plight—but you might be forced to drug your child. What’s wrong with this picture folks?

Christian Lawyer Daniel Buttafuoco on Giving Back vs Giving Haircuts

July 12th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with New York attorney Daniel Buttafuoco…

Attorney Daniel Buttafuoco: “I didn’t hear a voice from God or anything, I just thought I should be a lawyer, a Christian lawyer and it ended up being a good choice.”

Dan Buttafuoco grew up, as he says, “street smart” in a Bronx housing project, raised in family of Italian evangelicals. As a child he remembers his dad telling him he was “a smart kid that should go to school” and he’d “break my legs if I became a barber” as the previous three generations of Buttafuocos had done.

At age 17, not withstanding a few adolescent meanderings about his faith, he became a committed Christian. “All my friends were joining ministries, but I felt that wasn’t for me,” says Buttafuoco who has an easy-going style and a New York City sense of humor. “I didn’t hear a voice from God or anything, I just thought I should be a lawyer, a Christian lawyer and it ended up being a good choice.”

Today, Dan Buttafuoco combines the practice of law and his faith in a way he finds consistent. “I am a sneak attack, nobody expects to hear anything religious or Christian from a lawyer,” says Buttafuoco.

“I purposefully selected a career as a personal injury lawyer where I believe my clients are telling the truth, and where I believe they deserve to win and I purposefully don’t take cases where we don’t believe that,” says Buttafuoco. “The firm is organized around this central principle that we take cases that have merit and that we believe in.”

Buttafuoco’s firm has some impressive wins for clients. It obtained the third largest ever personal injury settlement in New York state history and the largest ever settlement against the state of New York on behalf of an injured police officer who was paralyzed.

Buttafuoco says he would never represent a child molester or a murderer—unless he thought they were innocent, but of course, as a personal injury attorney he doesn’t have to.

And he doesn’t restrict his client list to Christians. “I have Muslim clients, Jewish clients, atheist clients,” says Buttafuoco. “I believe you can be tolerant—which means actually means putting up with what you don’t agree with,” says Buttafuoco. “When we disagree, we try to persuade and never by force, to change things.”

He also holds a master’s degree in theology, is an elder in his church and a follower of Christian Apologetics, a theological defense of Christian faith through rational argument and reason—an approach to Christian faith which would naturally, perhaps, appeal to a lawyer like Buttafuoco. He explains it as “the intellectual side of the Christian church that explores why people believe in God”.

Underlying everything Buttafuoco does and believes in an impressive commitment to giving back. “Essentially there are three things, time talent and treasure that you are supposed to give back,” he says referring to his fundamentalist belief in tithing. “So even when I am involved in making money, I might be getting someone due compensation that he is going to need to live for the rest of their life and that is a good deed.”

Of course, Buttafuoco gets a fee (he earned $5 million from the New York case)—and 10 to 20 percent of everything he earns he returns to charitable organizations. “I am not giving to stupid stuff like these fake preachers that drive around in jet planes like moguls,” says Buttafuoco.

He has, as he describes it, a Rolodex of worthy, credible organizations that do serious work and that align with his Christian beliefs. Among them, is the Love 146 foundation that helps young girls escape from the horrors of being sold into sexual slavery in Asia. This year he will give $500,000 to fund scholarships for Young Christian Leaders foundation. “These are deserving kids who are not going into full-time ministry,” says Buttafuoco, “they want to become professionals”. Kids who are, in a way, a lot like Buttafuoco was as a young teenager.

And this former young kid from the Bronx, is also the money and effort behind a near priceless collection of Bibles—one from the 10th century, an illuminated manuscript, an original page from a Gutenberg Bible and more. Ten times a year, he takes the collection to schools and churches and talks about messages from the Bible. “The Bible is still the bestseller,” says Buttafuoco. “People think it is passé, but it isn’t.”

Dan Buttafuoco is the founder and senior partner of Buttafuoco & Associates, a national personal injury law firm based in New York. The firm’s Christian lawyers represent clients in variety of cases, including complex litigation, major personal injury and wrongful death cases.