Allegations are rampant that State Farm Insurance Company contributed upwards of $2,400,000.00 to an Illinois Supreme Court Justice's campaign for election.  This happened back in 2004 during one of the most expensive judicial races. Why is this really important, you may be wondering? Ever heard of John Grisham's book, "The Appeal"? It was a fictional book, right?

Well funny you ask, you see that same Supreme Court Justice failed to withdraw from participating, or recuse himself, in a billion (that's more than a million) dollar case that was eventually overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. Or determined that State Farm did not have to pay what a lower court and/or jury had determined they were liable, or responsible, in owing.

Since the Supreme Court justice did not recuse himself, the court did try and determine if there was any bias and it was thought that only $350,000.00 was contributed to the justice's judicial campaign. It was thought this because that is what State Farm Insurance told the Court.

Apparently, that was not true. An FBI investigation found that number to be somewhere between $2,4000,000.00 and $4,000,000.00. Some people have some explaining to do.

I wonder if this could ever happen in little ol South Carolina? You think corporate insurance companies that make billions of dollars in net profits would ever turn their focus on our state? Why do those presidential nominees come from outside their home state to announce they are running in South Carolina?

It's those things that make you go hmmmmmm........

Of course they (insurance companies) are hoping you don't even give it a thought. Look at that shiny thing over there. You already forgot about this story didnt you?

RELATED ARTICLES:

 Illinois court asked to review alleged bias by justice

State Farm Secretly Gave $2.4 Million to Ill. Judge in $1B Case

Petition Claims State Farm Secretly Raised Millions for Ill. Justice Who Voted Its Way in $1B Case

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Allstate, the evil empire, is the worst insurance company anyone could have for automobile insurance coverage. They are even worse when you are injured or harmed by one of their negligent insureds traveling on the roadways in South Carolina.  They have spent good money on formulating software that helps minimize the human interaction in claims adjusting and at the same time limit the monetary payout.

In comes New York State Insurance Superintendent James Wrynn, leading four other states into an investigation into Allstate's Colossus software. As reported by the New York State Insurance Department:

 “Allstate has agreed to implement procedures to ensure transparency and fairness for consumers who have bodily injury claims,” Wrynn said. “The new processes ensure that claims will be handled consistently in different regions of the country, and consumers will have the right to get the information they need in order to understand how Allstate evaluates their claims and make sure they are fairly treated.”

More importantly Allstate has to modify their claims handling process in the following manner:

• Providing notice to claimants that the Colossus software program may be used in the adjustment of their bodily injury claims;
• Enhancing its management oversight of Colossus to ensure that it adheres to established criteria and a uniform methodology in selecting claims to be used to “tune” or modify the software to reflect recently settled claims;
• Strengthening its internal auditing of Colossus and bodily injury claims handling to ensure adherence to written guidelines and procedures;
• Consolidating its bodily injury claims handling practices into a single claims handling manual; and
• Not establishing a policy or rule requiring claims adjusters to settle bodily injury claims solely on the value recommended by Colossus and not providing incentives for claims adjusters to settle claims at or near the value recommended by Colossus.

You can see the full article entitled:

Allstate Agrees to $10 Million Regulatory Settlement Over Bodily Injury Claims Handling Processes

To read more articles about Allstate, please see:

• Allstate Insurance Sucks

• Allstate Insurance's "Good Hands" are Wrapped Around Your Throat!

• Allstate Policy Holders and Victims Should Know They Are Not in Good Hands

• Allstate Makes Me an Offer I Can't Refuse

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My fiancee and I are avid fans of the History Channel's -"Pawn Stars".  The more I watch the reality show about people bringing in unique, bizarre, and rare things they want to sell or pawn the more applications I see in my day to day activities as a plaintiff's lawyer in South Carolina. 

Negotiating 101 may be taught at law schools but it wasn't taught at mine. There were classes about the history of law and other BS classes to help you think, read, and write but nothing to integrate the application of the present situation that wonderful history of law has brought upon us.

In comes a better application than my clients references of "Law & Order"-- "Pawn Stars". Law students, new lawyers, and inexperienced plaintiff's lawyers save yourself some time and money and just watch the show. You can learn a lot of things about negotiating with evil insurance companies by watching the interaction between the pawn store employees and the customers:

1. Never start at the price you eventually want to get. You can always go down in a negotiation but you seldom can go up and expect talks to continue.
2. Research your case before you go try and sell it. If you don't know what you have, how can you know what it is worth?
3. If neither side knows the true value of the case, get experts involved. Experts can help you both come to a conclusion about the value. (Although when both sides get one it is almost guaranteed they will say opposite things). 
4. Body language is important in face to face negotiations. The term "poker face" was popular for a reason. (Even before Lady Gaga).
5. Know when to walk away from the bargaining table. Sometimes you are not going to get the price you want or even reach a compromise. It's alright to leave the table and seek greener pastures or avenues.

Pawn Stars Haggling 101

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In Part One, I explained that if you don’t list your personal injury claim in your bankruptcy, you don’t “own it” any longer and don’t have the right to pursue the personal injury claim.   In this post I’ll tell you about another problem you’ll have and about a real case right here in South Carolina.

Judicial Estoppel Can Really Cause You Problems

If you fail to list legal claims during your bankruptcy, you may forever lose the right to pursue those claims. Once the other lawyer finds out your bankruptcy is inaccurate, you can’t say, “Whoops, I guess I’ll call my bankruptcy lawyer and list that claim on my schedules!” It’s too late.   

This problem just raised its ugly head in the United States District Court here in South Carolina.  Blanche Wright had a legal claim against Richard Guess alleging violation of her civil rights. But when Ms. Wright filed bankruptcy, she didn’t list the federal lawsuit. 

Predictably, the defense attorney found out about her bankruptcy filing. And they always do, by the way.

The defense then asked the court to dismiss Ms. Wright’s case because (1) she didn’t have standing to bring it—that is, she didn’t “own” the claim; her bankruptcy estate did, and (2) because Ms. Wright’s claims should be barred because of judicial estoppel.

What Exactly is Judicial Estoppel Anyway?

As Judge Anderson explained, “judicial estoppel is ‘an equitable doctrine that prevents a party who has successfully taken a position in one proceeding from taking the opposite position in a subsequent proceeding.’” This means you can’t say, “I have no legal claims” in your bankruptcy by not listing your personal injury case, then turn around and say, “I do have a legal claim” in your state or federal court case. You can’t “play fast and loose with the courts,” as Judge Anderson explained in Ms. Wright’s case.     

Although Ms. Wright actually amended her bankruptcy after the defense filed its motion to dismiss, this didn’t impress Judge Anderson, who stated, “[c]ourts have repeatedly rejected the argument that judicial estoppel should not be applied when the debtor-plaintiff has attempted to remedy an omission by amending her bankruptcy filings.” 

What’s All This Mean?

The bottom line is this:

• You must notify your personal injury lawyer if you intend on filing bankruptcy. He needs to know. And he may also be able to refer you to a bankruptcy lawyer he knows will be qualified to handle your case.
• You must list your personal injury claim on your bankruptcy schedules. Don’t ever hide anything from any lawyer you hire, and this is especially true when dealing with assets like claims in your bankruptcy estate.
• If you don’t list your injury claim in your bankruptcy estate, you may lose it forever. Saying “oops, I forgot” will not work. 

Your lawyers want the best outcome to your cases. Help them help you by keeping them informed of all your legal problems. 

(This is a guest post written by Russell A. DeMott. Click on his biography below for more information about Mr. DeMott's bankruptcy practice.)

Russell A. DeMott is a bankruptcy lawyer practicing in Charleston, South Carolina. He represents clients in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

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I was surprised with the amount of fatalities we were having on Interstate 85 back in July of this year and wrote, "Wrecking' Havoc on Interstate 85 in Upstate South Carolina". There were too many fatalities occurring in such a short period of time on the same stretch of interstate that runs from the Georgia/South Carolina border to the Greenville/Anderson County line.

Local journalist, Rick Spruill of the Anderson Independent, took this research on I-85 to a new level in his article entitled, "Pressure Cruise: Traffic Increase on I-85 in Anderson County". Some interesting points to consider are:

• An average of 46,277 vehicles travel daily through Anderson County along the interstate between S.C. 24 near the Georgia state line and S.C. 153 near the Greenville County line;
• Overall, I-85 sees more fatalities over a much shorter distance than other interstate corridors running through South Carolina such as Interstate 95 or Interstate 20;
• According to the most recent data available from the South Carolina Department of Transportation, in 2007, I-85’s 107 miles of interstate were the site of 354 traffic fatalities in South Carolina;
• According to TRIP (The Road Information Program) vehicle traffic in South Carolina is expected to increase by almost 50 percent by 2025, after jumping 45 percent between 1990 and 2007;
• In 2008, the financial cost of all collisions that happened on I-85 in Anderson County totaled more than $22 million;

In the article, Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said,

“Unfortunately, we have more distractions than ever with cell phones, GPS units and PDAs with e-mail access. ... Anything that takes you away from the task at hand should be kept to a minimum. It only takes an instant of distraction to create a lifetime of regret.”
 

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I started this blog with no idea what to expect or how I would have the time to write articles.  However, I went ahead with it by contacting LexBlog and getting the infrastructure in place.  My first article was "China Tries to Kill Pebbles" on November 2, 2008. It has been good times ever since. 

The traffic count and interest has grown exponentially and it allows me an opportunity to fight the barrage of poor media, misinformation, and misleading advertising that many insurance companies conduct.  It also levels the playing field for me to give an inside look at what really goes on in the plaintiff's battle against evil insurance companies. 

It should be apparent from a large percentage of my posts that:

• I hate Allstate and think they are unprofessional, unethical, and ignorant;
• I am cancer survivor and both celebrate and struggle with that;
• I work in upstate South Carolina   and focus first on statewide issues and then on national issues;
• I enjoy being a plaintiff's attorney because I enjoy working with normal, everyday people and not corporate clients that are buffoons;
• I love to fight, more in the courtroom than out of it in my older years; and
• Thanks to my life experiences (cancer, death of a parent, and internal struggles with those issues); I think I can achieve most anything with hard work, thought, and communication.

Thanks for stopping in for a quick read, interesting article, and/or for being a groupie of South Carolina Injury Law Journal.  It's only going to get better, more informative, and more insightful.

Take it away "Little River Band".........

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