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Securities Fraud

Serious truck safety violations found in northwest Indiana survey

A six-year study by Indiana State Police inspectors of truck traffic through northwestern Indiana Lake and Porter counties found that one in four heavy trucks had serious safety violations, most notably faulty brakes and driver fatigue. An article in The Northwest Indiana Times of Jan. 8, 2012, noted that such violations were serious enough to remove trucks from service and risked the lives of both travelers and truck drivers. Much of the data was collected through random checks at truck weigh stations from 2003 to 2008 and “only scratch the surface of the safety problem,” said Scott Fleming, supervisor of the...

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Excavator pins and kills construction worker David Anderson at work site

INDIANAPOLIS — An excavator weighing an estimated 20 tons backed into and killed a construction worker at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning while placing concrete barriers in a construction zone at I-465 and Allisonville Road. David Anderson, 33, of Brownsburg, Ind., was one of two workers assisting the excavator driver in placing the barriers when the excavator backed into him and pinned him against a barrier. Anderson died at the scene. "It was just an unfortunate accident," said Ray Poole of the Indiana State Police. No criminal charges are expected, but the Indiana State Police will be reconstructing the accident. No weather or...

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How is the Internet used to defraud investors?

Internet sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked-In and the like have become prime sources for finding and sharing information for investors, who can research stocks, check out financial advisors and brokers, get the latest investor news, develop investment strategy or communicate with other investors and advisors. However, the Internet has also become a useful tool for investment fraud, with online perpetrators becoming increasingly good at looking like a legitimate presence with fraudulent websites, email and other communications. Some examples: Unsolicited offers — check that chat! Social media sites, including chat rooms and bulletin boards, are key places for fraudsters to find victims....

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Self-Directed IRA Fraud May Be On The Rise In Indiana

Many people saving for retirement have socked their money in IRAs, which are a type of retirement account with tax advantages. However, there is now a new breed of IRA on the block, called the self-directed IRA, and although it is perfectly legal it has been used for fraudulent purposes by schemers and fraudsters recently, across the country, including in the State of Indiana. Self-directed IRAs are similar, in many ways, to regular IRAs. However, the key difference is that the types of investments you can hold in a self-directed IRA are much broader than in a traditional one. This broad...

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The Importance of Evidence in the “Black Box” For Truck Accident Litigation

Often in truck accidents there is a lot of conflicting testimony between the truck driver’s version of events and that of the injured person regarding such important issues as speed, acceleration and braking. Some of this conflict may come from a bias of protecting one’s own interests, but in addition these accidents often happen so quickly, and so many things happen in quick succession that it can be difficult to accurately remember or even notice all relevant pieces of information. That is where a heavy truck’s Event Data Recorder (known in the industry as an “EDR”), and often commonly referred to...

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Will The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act Make FINRA Arbitration Obsolete?

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act shows a congressional dislike for mandatory arbitration provisions, to say the least. This Act, which was signed into law on July 21, 2010, by President Barack Obama, contains many provisions which could lead, after study, to the prohibition or limitation on these boilerplate clauses in consumer contracts. This includes arbitration provisions in client agreements with broker dealers that cause many securities fraud causes of action to be arbitrated at FINRA at this time. Widespread Prevalence of These Arbitration Clauses Statistically, just about everyone in the United States has knowingly, or unknowingly, agreed to a boilerplate mandatory...

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New FMCSA Trucking Policies Deemed Successful by Independent Study

New policies implemented in 2010 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) appear to be working in reducing the number of truck collisions. Findings from an independent review, by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), show the partnership in communication between the FMCSA, its state partners, and commercial motor carriers reduced crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Previous commerical carrier policies were shouldered by a small number of staff that evaluated and determined carrier safety. The new policy system partners with the states, giving them better access to FMCSA's data. This shared communication results in successfully targeting high-risk carriers regarding...

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What Is Subprime Securities Fraud?

With the 2007 subprime crisis in this country, and its subsequent fall out with the entire economy, which we are still feeling the effects of today, we have heard the term “subprime securities fraud” bandied about over and over in the news and elsewhere. If you have some confusion about what this term means, here is a primer for you. Let me caution you, however, that there are hardly ever any hard and fast definitions when it comes to the law, and discussing securities fraud law is no exception. Therefore, this information is only provided for informational purposes, to help you...

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Can An Out-Of-State Lawyer Participate In Indiana FINRA Actions?

All states have laws about the unauthorized practice of law, including Indiana. These laws prevent those without a law license issued from the state of Indiana from representing individuals legal matters in this state, with some exceptions allowed for temporary admission for those with out of state licenses based on certain guidelines. However, with the rise of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), many people have questioned whether out of state investment fraud lawyers can participate in these actions held in Indiana, or whether that would be considered the unauthorized practice of law. FINRA itself...

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Indiana’s New Class Action Rule Helps Low Income Hoosiers

In late September 2010 the Indiana Supreme Court announced an amendment to Indiana Trial Rule 23, concerning class actions, which goes into effect on January 1, 2011. This amendment added a new subsection (F) concerning the disposition of residual funds from the class action award or settlement, and the most interesting thing about it is that it mandates that a minimum of 25% of those funds go towards funding for pro bono legal assistance for low income Hoosiers. Residual funds can be quite common in class actions, especially consumer class actions, with large classes of people, each of whom has suffered...

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