Posts filed under 'Legal Portal'
The year 2005 was a tough one for Houston—the Houston Astros did poorly in the World Series, and increasing numbers of Houston residents have had to file for bankruptcy. If you are one of these, then you should hire a good bankruptcy lawyer who can support you in court. They will guide you through the maze of bureaucracy involved in filing for bankruptcy, and ensure that you will be financially protected from seizures, foreclosures, adverse debt situations, and so on.
The majority of Houston’s residents are in debt and seeking the help of bankruptcy lawyers who can navigate them through this lean patch. This has led to many bankruptcy lawyers in the market, but it is advisable to do research before choosing one. Make sure that your bankruptcy lawyer has a good track record and is capable enough to fight your case well. Houston’s bankruptcy lawyers can tell you many sad stories of people buried under piled up debt.
The lawyers can guide you well before filing your bankruptcy lawsuit. If you feel that very soon you are going to go bankrupt then get in touch with a bankruptcy lawyer before it’s too late. It has been seen that Houston bankruptcy lawyers are very smart in presenting your case with total conviction and strength. Choose a lawyer who has excelled in this field and can help you recover from the mounted debt so that you can restart your life. So if you are buried under debt then just contact Houston’s best bankruptcy lawyer for further guidance.
Houston Lawyers provides detailed information on Houston Bankruptcy Lawyers, Houston Criminal Lawyers, Houston Divorce Lawyers, Houston DWI Lawyers and more. Houston Lawyers is affiliated with Houston DWI Arrests.
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June 3rd, 2007
The case of Thornley v Land Securities Trillium Ltd [2005] concerned a claim for unfair and constructive dismissal by an employee who alleged that her employer imposed a new job description on her and she contended that her contract of employment was fundamentally breached by such changes to her duties imposed by her employer. The Tribunal upheld this claim.
The employee was originally employed by the BBC as an architect in its construction management department. On or around 12 November 2001, a substantial part of the construction department was transferred to the appellant employer, Thornley, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1982.
Following this transfer, the employer announced its plans to restructure the department. This meant that the employee’s role would have changed to that of a managerial role from the hands-on architectural work she had previously done. On or around 1 October 2002, the employee attended a meeting where she indicated that she believed her position was being made redundant. She wrote to the employer stating that as a result of the proposed restructuring, her professional expertise was being dissipated and she was becoming de-skilled as an architect. She also stated that her position was being made redundant. On or around 8 December, she again wrote to her employer raising a grievance in respect of the new role, which she claimed was not comparable with the job specification of the role she had when she was transferred to the employer.
She brought a grievance hearing and following this hearing on 28 January 2003, the employee was informed that her position was not redundant. On 13 February, she resigned on the grounds of constructive dismissal. The employee then made an employment tribunal claim where she claimed constructive dismissal. The tribunal found that the effective cause of the employee’s resignation had been the imposition of the new job description, which fundamentally breached the terms of her contract, with the result that the employee was entitled to resign and to be treated as having been dismissed. The tribunal therefore upheld her claim. The employer appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).
The employer in its appeal contended that the tribunal had misconstrued the employee’s contract of employment:
The tribunal’s decision was perverse;
The issues for the determination by the EAT were whether the tribunal had erred in arriving at its conclusion with regard to:
the extent of the employee’s duties under her contract;
the extent to which those duties were to be changed;
whether the employer had been entitled to change her duties; and
if not, whether the employer’s breach of contract was a fundamental breach entitling her to resign.
The EAT dismissed the appeal and held that in the circumstances:
the tribunal was entitled to conclude that the changes to the employee’s duties under her contract of employment were a fundamental breach of her contract;
the tribunal did not err in its construction of the employee’s contract or in concluding that by the changes proposed to her duties, the employer had intended not to be bound by her contract;
the tribunal’s decision that the employee was entitled to resign on the basis of constructive dismissal was correct;
no error could be detected in the way in which the tribunal identified the employee’s express duties under her contract of employment;
the tribunal’s conclusions on the evidence that there were significant changes to her duties, which would have had the effect of deskilling her as an architect, were unimpeachable; and
the employee’s contract, read as a whole, did not permit the employer to change the employee’s duties to the extent and nature it had proposed.
If you require further information contact us.
Email: enquiries@rtcoopers.com
© RT COOPERS, 2005. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.
RT Coopers Solicitors, solicitors, solicitor, EMPLOYMENT LAWYER, redundancy, redundancy law, legal advice, law, legal, lawyers, LAWYER, employment law, employment lawyers, employment law advice, employment solicitors, employment tribunal, employers, employees, Sex Discrimination, Discrimination Claims, Unfavourable treatment, race discrimination, racial discrimination, Unfair Dismissals, law firm, FIRM, Sex discrimination, data protection, Sexual harassment, maternity rights, Maternity and Paternity Disputes, Outsourcing Contracts, Senior Executive Appointments and Service Agreements, Suspensions, Tribunal Claims, bringing a claim to the employment tribunal, TUPE Transfers, Redundancy, Breach of Contract Disputes, Employment Contracts, Staff Handbooks, Wrongful dismissals, Contract Drafting, Contract Dispute, Equal Pay, Right to Equal pay, contracts, Contract Disputes. lease contact us for more information: enquiries@rtcoopers.com or visit our website at www.rtcoopers.com/practice_employment.php
May 23rd, 2007
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is usually found in
those previously exposed to asbestos. Cancerous cells form in
the mesothelium, which is a protective lining that covers most
of the body’s internal organs. These cells typically form in the
lining of the lungs, abdomen, or the sac that encircles the
heart.
The average life span of a person diagnosed with the disease is
about 4 to 24 months from the finding. About 3,000 people in the
U.S. die of mesothelioma every year. People at risk are those
who have been previously exposed to asbestos dust, including
former steel workers, auto mechanics, mineworkers, and military
workers, among many others. Their family members may also be at
risk, as the asbestos dust from clothing can travel through the
air.
Mesothelioma has an extremely long latency period, which means
that symptoms of the disease may not emerge until 30 to 50 years
after the initial exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma,
which is the most common type and affects the area around the
lungs, may cause shortness of breath, chest pains, and a
persistent cough, which may lead to coughing up blood. These
symptoms are caused by the build up of fluid between the lining
of the lung and the chest cavity. The disease may start in the
chest area and spread to other areas of the body. Other symptoms
of pleural mesothelioma include weight loss, severe breathing
trouble, fever, difficulty swallowing, and swelling of the face
and neck areas. It should be noted that some people with the
disease do not experience any serious symptoms at all.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is rarer than pleural mesothelioma, and
affects the abdominal area. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma
include abdominal swelling and pain due to the build up of fluid
in the abdominal cavity, nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting.
Breathing complications and chest pains may also be present, as
well as bowel obstruction, anaemia, fever, and blood clotting.
The rarest form of the disease is pericardial mesothelioma,
which first forms in the area surrounding the heart. Tumors grow
in the tissues around the heart and spread from there. Chest
pain, shortness of breath, constant coughing, and shivering may
be symptoms of this form of mesothelioma.
Diagnosis of the disease is oftentimes difficult, due to the
fact that the symptoms associated with mesothelioma are similar
to those of other conditions. The symptoms of the disease become
more serious as the cancerous tumors enter the later stages of
development, so people who have been exposed to asbestos at any
time in their lives should contact their doctor immediately.
Even if a person has never been exposed directly to asbestos but
is experiencing any of the above symptoms, they should inform
their doctor as soon as possible, as asbestos dust and fibres
may have traveled through the air from items such as clothing.
People who have been diagnosed with any form of mesothelioma
should immediately contact a lawyer. Individual states have
their own statutes of limitation, meaning that there is a set
time limit regarding how long a patient has to act on their
diagnosis. When searching for a lawyer to handle your case, be
sure to find one that has prior experience with mesothelioma
cases. They will have the contacts and resources to take care of
your case in a timely manner. The Internet is a helpful and
efficient resource for a mesothelioma lawyer search.
Patients do not have to be concerned with paying lawyers
up-front, since the majority of mesothelioma lawyers work on a
contingency fee basis, which means that they will not request
payment of any kind unless they successfully settle your case.
Lawyers will usually take a 35% cut of whatever settlement or
reward the patient receives, but patients seeking compensation
for their disease have nothing to lose and everything to gain in
going to a lawyer for help.
The average mesothelioma-related settlement in the U.S. is $1
million. Cases that go to trial average awards of approximately
$6 million, according to the RAND Corporation. A bill called the
Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 (FAIR Act of
2005) introduced on March 17, 2005, seeks to create set amounts
of compensation for mesothelioma victims, which would depend on
their symptoms.
People who have mesothelioma are able to seek large compensation
amounts because their disease is a result of a company’s
decision not to take sufficient measures to protect its workers
from breathing in asbestos while on the job.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma Legal
Action
May 22nd, 2007
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