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File & Serve Colorado- May 2010 Newsletter

This month's newsletter contains great information about:

• What to do before moving your File & Serve account to another firm.
• The new COBAR training schedule.
• Trust Registration Filings.
• June's Tip/Trick of the month contest.

Download May2010Newsletter

Attention firms who file into Marion County Mortgage Foreclosure and Collections Cases

LexisNexis® File & Serve Offers Additional Onsite Training Opportunities

 

Training Information: Russ Hofer will provide introduction level classes for users who would like to begin e-filing into Marion County Courts, Mortgage Foreclosure & Collection Cases.  CLE can be provided.

 

Location:   The Indianapolis Bar Association has graciously agreed to host two more classes at their offices located at

 

135 N. Pennsylvania Street, Suite 1500

Indianapolis, IN  46204

 

 

When:

May 18^th @ 2:30pm – 4:30pm

May 19th @ 9:00am – 11:00am

 

 

You should register for any of the above on-site classes online on the File & Serve website.*   To register, please follow these steps:

 

 Sign on to File & Serve (www.lexisnexis.com/fileandserve);

 Click the Resource Center link (top right-hand side of the screen);

 Scroll to the Education and Training section of the page;

 Choose “Indiana” from the drop-down list;

 Choose the class you would like to attend and fill in the requested

information;

 You will receive a confirmation email that will provide the instructions.

(Please note: For the specific classes listed above look for the classes named “IN Marion County Court Mortgage Foreclosures & Civil

Collections”. All the other classes listed are “general” classes available to our

users.)

 

*Your firm must be registered in order to access the Resource Center on the site.  There is no cost or obligation.  Use the following link to register your firm:  http://www.lexisnexis.com/fileandserve/lawfirms/register.asp

 

Registration for the system and the classes are both free.

 

We also offer online classes, and you can register in the same manner on our Resource Center.

 

Summary of Judge Fallon's "Findings of Fact and Conclusion of Law" in Chinese Manufactured Drywall MDL Litigation, Bellwether Trials, by Milt Stafford at LexisNexis File & Serve

In a 108-page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Judge Eldon Fallon of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana filed a long-anticipated opinion which addresses the nature and extent of the remediation required for the seven representative Virginia plaintiffs selected for this “bellwether” trial.  For those interested in how Judge Fallon resolved the many issues before him, and who may not have the time or stamina to withstand over 100 pages of legal reasoning, I have done the “heavy lifting” for you by summarizing the high points! This article will dissect the opinion and summarize Judge Fallon’s remediation conclusions. 

 

In general, the opinion can be divided into three parts:  First, the background of the case, and even the background of the Chinese drywall at the heart of the case.  Second, the effects that the drywall has on the items found within the Plaintiffs’ homes which are in need of remediation, and the types of remediation called for in light of the damages sustained by the homeowners’ property.  Third, Judge Fallon details the remediation required by each of the seven Plaintiffs and assigns a dollar amount to them.

 

The first part of Judge Fallon’s opinion is essentially a review of the procedural history of the case, along with some background information about drywall.  He details the drywall manufacturing process and notes how the elevated levels of sulfur and strontium found in the Chinese drywall are generally accepted as the root cause of the damages suffered by property owners.  Judge Fallon makes three important observations with respect to at least one of the drywall importers and their relationship with the Chinese manufacturer:

 

   1.  That “The drywall product was never tested pursuant to the United States ASTM     standard”

   2.  That this importer of the Chinese Drywall “Relied on a representation that Chinese   testing was equivalent to the U.S. testing standards.”
   3.  That even though “certificates of quality” were issued by the Chinese government    presumably for the drywall they exported, “The Certificate of Quality Management System Certification issued predates the production of the drywall shipped to the United   States by at least two years.”

 

The second part of the opinion represents the core of this dispute.  In it Judge Fallon addresses each aspect of the remediation and carefully lays out what he has decided needs to be done in order to address the problem drywall as well as the proximate damages it has caused.  Those familiar with the case(s) know that the Plaintiffs had requested far more comprehensive remediation than that offered by many on the other side.  Below I will list the components of the homes subject to remediation and summarize Judge Fallon’s conclusions as the nature and extent of what his court will require:

 

    Drywall – Upon consideration of the “partial” and “complete” drywall removal     approaches, Judge Fallon concludes that all of the drywall in each of the affected homes    (with the exception of one home where the drywall was “localized” in a room constructed in the basement as an add-on) must be removed and replaced, whether   “CDW” (Chinese Drywall) or non-CDW. 

    Electrical wiring – Weighing the safety and cost considerations again, Judge Fallon     decides that all of the electrical wiring in the homes, again with the exception of the    “localized” home, must be replaced.

    Copper plumbing – The cleaning and/or selective replacement theory again fails to win    Judge Fallon’s approval, and he says that all of the copper pipes in the affected homes   must be replaced.

    HVAC systems – Since the HVAC systems combine electrical and plumbing     components, these also must be replaced entirely, although the components found outside the homes can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  Judge Fallon also includes the     ductwork in each home as part of the system which must be replaced in its entirety.

    Selective electrical devices and appliances – In this section Judge Fallon observes that    most electrical devices found in the Plaintiffs’ homes contain circuit boards, copper, and   silver, all of which are susceptible to the same type of damage suffered by the electrical     wiring, plumbing and HVAC systems already being replaced.  Instead of a blanket    statement, however, he notes instead that “Most of the appliances and electronics located     in the representative homes need to be replaced.”

    Flooring – Judge Fallon notes that the drywall removal process will make it extremely difficult if not impossible to protect hardwood, vinyl and even tile flooring.  In addition, the need to “air out” each home as part of the remediation process will have additional damaging effects on flooring.  He will require that all hardwood and vinyl flooring be replaced, but allows for tile flooring to be retained if it can be adequately protected.

    Items requiring removal in order to remove drywall – Here Judge Fallon observes     that many items which may not require removal or replacement on their own will indeed need to be both removed and replaced due to the need to get at the drywall.  Examples he provides are kitchen cabinets, molding, countertops and bathroom fixtures.  Although it may be possible to carefully remove these items, then store them for later reinstallation,   Judge Fallon has decided that it will be more cost effective to remove and replace such     items.

    Insulation – While the drywall removal is ongoing, the insulation in the homes will   suffer from dust and sulfur gas contamination, therefore requiring removal and     replacement.

 

Judge Fallon’s rationale for requiring such an exhaustive treatment often centers around the following criteria:

    1.  The need to remove all traces of the offending drywall,

    2.  The cost effectiveness of removing household items which may not have been directly     affected, but the careful removal and storage of which would exceed the cost of removal     and replacement, e.g. carpeting.

    3.  The efficiency offered by removal and replacement of items such as wiring and    plumbing after the drywall removal has exposed each, providing the ideal opportunity to     do so.

    4.  Safety.  Where certain items may have some useful life left, electrical appliances for     example, their safe operation, in Judge Fallon’s opinion, has been compromised,    requiring replacement.

 

Other issues before Judge Fallon which are addressed include his conclusion that each affected home must be vacuumed and washed after all of the above items have been removed, his requirement that an engineering company certify that each home is safe upon completion of the remediation, and the need to provide each homeowner with a written guarantee that the home is free from contamination as well as damaged components.  He also decides that each family will be provided with alternate living expenses while the remediation is ongoing, but declines to make property devaluation a recoverable item, stating that the homes should be repaired fully via the remediation, and that such an award would be too speculative.  Other losses recoverable include damages to personal property and costs from foreclosure or bankruptcy associated with the drywall-affected homes where appropriate.  Finally, in order to address the “loss of use and enjoyment” damages element, Judge Fallon awards each of the homeowners, with the exception of the “localized” Plaintiffs, $100,000 each.  A smaller award of $30,000 is awarded to the “localized” Plaintiff.  The final section of Judge Fallon’s opinion covers each of the Plaintiff’s unique circumstances, the damages suffered by them, and assigns a dollar award to each. 

 

The full text of Judge Fallon’s opinion is available from the LexisNexis File & Serve system.  Call our toll free number to register for access (888-529-7587), and for current users the “Transaction ID” for this opinion (30477699) will take you directly to the document.

 

You can follow all of Milt's updates re: the Chinese Drywall litigation via twitter @milt_stafford.

Superior Court of Delaware adds "Complex Commercial Litigation Division"

From the Superior Court of Delaware:

Delaware, in the forefront of business litigation, has added another venue to handle complex commercial and business litigation cases. Effective May 1, 2010, the Superior Court of Delaware for New Castle County launches a newly created Complex Commercial Litigation Division (CCLD) to improve upon the Court’s administrative handling of complex commercial and business cases.

Commercial, business and other designated cases may be assigned to the CCLD when the controversy amount is $1 million or greater (designated for either jury or non-jury), or involves an exclusive choice of court agreement, or is designated by the President Judge for assignment as a CCLD case. The cases will be specifically assigned to a judge on the Complex Commercial Litigation Division Panel.

For complete details, see their Administrative Directive.

LexisNexis® File & Serve Training CLE in Baltimore, MD

An Introduction to LexisNexis® File & Serve for e-serve and e-file projects CLE will be held on Friday, May 21, 2010.  This seminar is sponsored by the Baltimore Bar Association Technology Committee.  The event will take place from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm, in the Bar Library’s Brown Room, 504 Clarence Mitchell Building, at the Courthouse.  The seminar will be taught by Attorney Angela Melton, Client Solutions and Training Specialist for File & Serve.  Admission, including lunch, is FREE to BABC members, and is $35.00 for non-members.  RSVP to info@baltimorebar.org.  For Full program details, click on the following link:  http://www.baltimorebar.org/files/pdfs/File&Serve5-21-2010.pdf.

File & Serve Colorado - April 2010 Newsletter

This month's newsletter contains some very helpful information! 

Please click the link below to learn more about:

Saved Transactions,

Complimentary Training in El Paso County on May 7th,

Documents History Link a Wealth of Information.

Click here to view the April 2010 Newsletter.

File & Serve Training for Marion County, IN Mortgage Foreclosure and Collections Cases

LexisNexis® File & Serve Training Classes offered for Marion County IN Mortgage Foreclosure & Collection Cases:  Onsite and Online

 

Onsite Training Information

 

Where: Indianapolis Bar Association

M&I Plaza

135 N Pennsylvania Street, STE 1500, Education Center Classroom

Indianapolis, IN 46204

When: May 5th @ 9:30am – 11:30am

May 5th @ 1:00pm – 3:00pm

May 6th @ 9:30am - 11:30am

CLE credits will be offered for all onsite training sessions.

(Registration Information for these onsite classes is listed below. Please register to ensure seating. Attorneys and support staff are welcome.)

 

 

Website Training Information:

 

Where: On the web!

When: May 10th @ 11:00am – 12:15pm

May 12th @ 1:30pm – 2:45pm

May 13th @ 10:30am – 11:45pm

May 17th @ 11:00am – 12:15pm

May 20th @ 1:30pm – 2:45pm

May 25th @ 10:30am – 11:45am

You should register for any of the above web or on-site classes online. To

register, please follow these steps:

-Sign on to File & Serve (www.lexisnexis.com/fileandserve);

-Click the Resource Center link (top right-hand side of the screen);

- Scroll to the Education and Training section of the page;

-Choose “Indiana” from the drop-down list;

- Choose the class you would like to attend and fill in the requested

information;

- You will shortly receive a confirmation email that will provide the instructions.

(Please note: For the specific classes listed above (both web & on-site) look for the classes named “IN Marion County Court Mortgage Foreclosures & Civil Collections”. All the other classes listed are “general” classes available to our users.)

Marion County Selects File & Serve for Efiling Pilot in Collection and Mortgage Foreclosure Cases

We are excited to announce that the Marion County, Indiana, Circuit and Superior Courts have selected LexisNexis File & Serve for a pilot electronic filing & service project for their collection & mortgage foreclosure cases. Electronic filing in these two case types may begin on May 17, 2010.

 

Additional information regarding registration and training is forthcoming.  The Indianapolis Bar Association will be distributing a packet of information to their members in the near future.  In addition, training dates will be posted here on the File & Serve blog.

 

Stay tuned!

 

If you have additional questions, please contact Rosemary Willcox at rosemary.willcox@lexisnexis.com.

Delaware's Legal Climate Best in the Nation

The following is a quote from a press release issued by the Institute for Legal Reform: 

“A new national survey ranks Delaware’s litigation environment number one in the country for fairness. The survey, Lawsuit Climate 2010: Ranking the States, released today by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) shows that Delaware has led the other 49 states since the survey was first conducted in 2002.”

The Press Release can be found at the following link:  http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_media/30/pressrelease/2010/493.html

Filing into the Delaware Supreme, Superior and Chancery Courts is done via LexisNexis® File & Serve.  If you would like assistance in viewing the online dockets or purchasing documents or transcripts from these courts, contact Angela Melton, File & Serve Client Solutions Specialist at angela.melton@lexisnexis.com.

File & Serve Colorado- March 2010 Newsletter

This month's newsletter contains helpful information about:

• The File & Serve Transaction Detail Page.
• File & Serve Training in El Paso County.
• Mandatory Mediation in Douglas County.
• April's Tip/Trick of the month contest.

Download March2010Newsletter