The Law Firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., announces that it is investigating potential claims of brokers formerly employed by Merrill Lynch.

According to a recent report aired on CBS News program 60 Minutes, as foreclosed homes flood the market in the midst of the economic crisis, banks are finding that all too often the ownership documents on these properties are missing. The report says “shortcuts” taken during the heydays of issuing mortgage-backed investments meant that some legal documents behind the mortgages “simply aren’t there.” Reporter Scott Pelley said it appears some lending institutions, desperate to turn over foreclosed properties, are allegedly resorting to forging documents to replace missing paperwork.

A column penned by Josh Moon and published in the Montgomery Advertiser on July 3 points out how recent legislation passed by Alabama's elected officials may take away your rights as a citizen to a fair trial by jury. Just in time for Independence Day!

Last night an original documentary film called Hot Coffee debuted on HBO. The film takes its name from the now-infamous legal case in which an elderly woman sued McDonald’s after she was severely burned by hot coffee. But instead of being an example of what is right with the Civil Justice system in American – the ability of the “little guy” to seek justice when faced with corporate wrongdoing and negligence – the agents of so-called “tort reform” were able to spin the case to ridicule the legal system and to undermine the right of the average citizen to have his or her day in court.

A Charleston County, South Carolina, jury awarded $1,189,408 to Plaintiff Clifford Hansen after determining he had been unfairly excluded in a business purchase that he had personally developed. The jury held defendant, Beechwood Development Group of South Carolina, LLC, accountable for the investment Mr. Hansen made in developing plans to purchase Hickory Springs Water Company, which bottles and distributes drinking water for retail and wholesale customers. The defendants eventually purchased the business and assets of the company to the exclusion of the plaintiff.

Last week, we told you about a lawsuit filed by Minnesota's attorney general against the nation's largest arbitration company. The suit, filed July 14, 2009, in Hennepin County District Court by Attorney General Lori Swanson against the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) of Minnesota, alleged "consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising." On July 19, Swanson announced that the NAF had agreed it would no longer arbitrate any cases between consumers and businesses.

On July 14, 2009, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit against the National Arbitration Forum of Minnesota, the nation's largest arbitration company for consumer credit disputes, alleging "consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising." The lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County District Court.

There is an effort currently underway to remove the rights of consumers to seek justice through the court system when they are injured by a product or drug. The issue is preemption, and it would essentially provide companies with immunity from lawsuits despite negligent action on their part.

MONTGOMERY, ALA. - Beasley Allen law firm will represent the City of Montgomery and its Police Department in an effort to recover money spent for new video surveillance equipment that failed to function properly. The equipment, which included surveillance cameras mounted in police patrol cars and related support software, was purchased from North Carolina-based Integrian.

Beasley Allen has been selected for inclusion on The National Law Journal's 2008 Plaintiffs' Hot List. The list is the magazine's "unscientific survey" of the litigation scene since the summer of 2007, and features exemplary firms that devote at least half of their resources to plaintiffs' work, and which have achieved at least one significant win during that period. Only 15 firms in the United States were selected to appear on the 2008 list.