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.

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.

Johnnie Carr, who joined childhood friend Rosa Parks in the historic Montgomery bus boycott and kept a busy schedule of civil rights activism up to her final days, has died. She was 97. Carr died Friday night [Feb. 22, 2008], said Baptist Health hospital spokeswoman Melody Ragland. She had been hospitalized after a stroke Feb. 11.

Four of the nation's biggest makers of artificial hips and knees have agreed to pay a total of $311 million in penalties to settle federal accusations that they used fake consulting agreements and other tactics to get surgeons to use their products.

Every person in the United States who has a credit card, buys a car, signs up for a cell-phone plan, or enters into any other kind of consumer transaction has a mandatory arbitration agreement that is binding on them if a dispute arises.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has become one of the strongest lobbying organizations in the country. They have their considerable influence in a number of areas. Without a doubt, one of these involves restricting the rights of American workers.