Legal Advice Blog: Legal Advice, Case Insights, & Local Law Information

I am now a full-fledged, bona fide empty nester. But, in truth, there has been a lot of coming and going in my "nest" through the years. My daughter, Jayme, was the first to leave, heading off to WVU in 2004. She hated how big and impersonal WVU was and ended up returning to Wheeling six months later. For the next three and a half years, she lived with us again and commuted to West Liberty University, where she completed a nursing degree. Then she got married and became the first one to fully and finally leave the nest. Meanwhile my other daughter, Stacey, left for college. Unlike Jayme, Stacey found WVU to be a good fit. Stacey came home often on weekends and during the summer so it didn't seem like she had quite parted ways with the nest. Then she graduated and began working fulltime in Morgantown. But even with both of my children gone the nest wasn't quite empty. My nephew, Bryan, was accepted to the respiratory therapy program at Northern Community College so he moved from Elkins to Wheeling and began living with us. Bryan's clinicals and course work were time-consuming, but when he wasn't busy with school he was hanging out with us--working, playing and watching a lot of television together. In May of this year, however, two things have happened that will forever change my nesting situation. First, Bryan graduated and returned home to Elkins. Now he'll take his boards and go through the grueling process of applying for a job. Second, Stacey got married. To be honest, the excitement of the wedding is still in the air. But reality is already beginning to sink in--my nest is truly empty. My wife, Brenda, and I have noticed that the house seems a little bigger now than it did. And a little more quiet. Too quiet, if you ask me. No laughing or talking in the background. No footsteps. No signs of life. Just the two of us trying to cope with our big, empty house. We have great memories and both of our children live nearby so the transition hasn't been too abrupt. But it's still a transition, and day-by-day we're adjusting to the new reality in our nest. Jayme, Stacey and Bryan have all turned a new page in their life story. With God's help, so will we... Maybe you have an empty nest story of your own, or maybe you have a word of wisdom to lift the spirits of an empty nester like me. Feel free to share!

Our freedoms aren't free. The men and women of our armed forces who defend us make many sacrifices so you and I can go on about our daily lives without a second thought. Our military members are apart from family for great lengths of time. They miss births, deaths and milestones in the lives of those they love. They work in extreme conditions and, sometimes, must see, do and endure things that you and I could never fathom. There are times they face disease, debilitating injuries and mental anguish because they protected us. Yet, we've found out in recent weeks that those who have given of themselves for our freedoms, once they return home, are not always being taken care of as they should. It is being reported that more than 40 veterans have died while waiting for nearly up to two years to be seen by doctors for numerous life threatening illnesses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix and more deaths are being reported at VA medical centers throughout the United States. Word is that the Phoenix VA works off of two lists - an "official" list that's shared with the powers that be in Washington and shows the VA has been providing timely appointments to patients. And then there's the real list that isn't shared, where wait times can last more than a year. In our own state, a psychiatrist formerly employed with the Huntington VA Medical Center in Charleston came forward this week stating that she was ordered to delay the treatment of veterans for months which resulted in at least two suicides. How can this be in a country that is first to aid those in need in a foreign land? We are failing to protect our own...those who have protected us! I recall spending time with my husband's grandfather, a veteran of World War II, who often talked of his time overseas. "Pap," one of the Greatest Generation, took much pride in the fact that he served his country as a member of the 45 th Infantry Division out of Oklahoma. Well into his 80s, he donned the red and gold thunderbird insignia on a license plate on the front of his car and wore a small thunderbird pin on his jacket and even had a sweatshirt or two with the logo. Pap was always pleased to say he served his country. It breaks my heart to think that, had he needed care and been reliant on the VA, he may or may not have received  it. We were lucky in that our family didn't have to deal with such horror. However, there are many family members of others who weren't so fortunate. Whatever the reason for the debacle within Veterans Affairs, it needs to be corrected without delay. The hardest war our veterans fight shouldn't be at home with their health care. While I believe it's important to always hold our veterans in high esteem, with Memorial Day approaching, it is the perfect time to honor our them and remember those no longer with us. Join Bordas & Bordas, along with the folks from the Ogden Half Marathon Classic, as we salute our military heroes past and present beginning at 7:45, Friday, May 23 at Wheeling's Heritage Port. A free concert will feature the 30-plus member Allegheny Brass Band playing patriotic songs. All veterans will be recognized during the event, and a special honor will be given to all World War II and Korean War veterans in attendance. I will be thinking of Pap and those who have gone before us. And to those who have served and are serving, THANK YOU!

Debt collection practices continue to come to our attention. Many of our clients have experienced harassing phone calls, demands for payments not truly owed, illegal threats of bogus consequences for failing to pay, up to and including imprisonment, or lawsuits to collect stale debts that are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. These abuses are disturbingly common - in fact, a great many debt collectors built their business on these practices. Abusive debt collection practices can take a terrible toll, emotionally and practically. Beyond the fear, stress and embarrassment, families can have their bank accounts frozen, making it impossible to pay for their most basic needs. Debt collectors frequently place incorrect information on people's credit reports, impairing their ability to secure credit, housing and even employment on some occasions. Debt collection has quickly become the number one source of complaints at the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Likewise, Complaints have increased more than 1,400 percent at the Federal Trade Commission. Consumer complaint data indicates the most common grievances are mistaken information and what the CFPB calls "aggressive communication tactics and threats." Reports demonstrate no shortage of appalling anecdotes. In Illinois, an elderly woman was repeatedly called and harassed over a debt allegedly owed by her ex-husband, from whom she had been divorced for more than 30 years. Another woman who was caring for four profoundly disabled foster children nearly had her bank account frozen (despite the fact that it contained nothing but public-benefit funds designated for the children's care) as a result of a judgment that had been vacated years earlier. The up-tick in debt collection problems appears to be a combination of aggressive lending and widespread economic distress. Household debt nearly doubled in the half-decade before the financial crisis of 2008; the reckless lending and deceptive loans of those years contributed to a sharp rise in payment delinquency, which was accompanied by an explosion of new debt buyers and a deterioration of industry practices. Having paid pennies on the dollar for the right to go after a portfolio of purportedly delinquent debtors, many debt buyers fail to determine the validity of the data they purchased. Often, years have passed and misinformation has become engrained into the collection process. Rather than perform due diligence, collectors often adopt a shotgun approach, hoping to frighten a few people into paying opposed to pursuing their rights. The National Consumer Law Center, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and others have called for further regulation by the CFPB. Fortunately, for West Virginians, strong state remedies already exist. Penalties of nearly $5,000 for each act (i.e. call or letter) that violates state law are provided, along with the right to recovery your attorney fees. Consider contacting us if you have been subjected to the practices described herein, including: 1) threats that non-payment will result in arrest or garnishing wages without informing the consumer that a judicial order is necessary for any garnishment; (2) the use of profane or obscene language; (3) calling repeatedly or continuously, or at unusual times, with intent to annoy, abuse, oppress or threaten any person at the called number; (4) the communication with any employer of information relating to an employee's indebtedness; (5) the disclosure of information relating to a consumer's indebtedness to any relative or family member of the consumer if such person is not residing with the consumer; (6) falsely stating that the call is "urgent" or an "emergency"; (7) collection or threatened assessment of the debt collector's fee, attorney fees or other charges; (8) any communication with a consumer whenever it appears that the consumer is represented by an attorney; (9) any false representation of the character, extent or amount of a debt, or of its status in any legal proceeding; and (10) auto-dialed collection calls made to your cell phone without your permission. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

Last month, a truck carrying a large load crashed into the I-70 overpass bending one of the major support beams at the Dallas Pike exit. The same day a runaway dump truck crashed into a garage after destroying several residential fences in Moundsville. Last Saturday, one of Moundsville City Councilmen, Phil Remke, had to use his car to physically obstruct a truck from taking an unauthorized route through Moundsville. Damage to property, danger to people, and wear and tear on our roadways are all becoming increasingly frequent problems throughout the Ohio Valley. Whether it's through handling large construction equipment, as was the case in Dallas Pike and in Moundsville, or all of the associated "ordinary" truck traffic related to oil and gas drilling, the infrastructure in this area is taking a beating. The number, weight and trip frequency for trucks in the area is way up, and in some cases it's beyond what the roads can take. That can be good news for business and a good sign for the economy, but it can also mean serious problems if trucking outfits are not running right and taking the appropriate time and the appropriate rest to maintain a margin of safety for the people who live here. Many people are already being hurt when their lanes become impassable, riven with potholes and broken shoulders or choked with traffic they aren't designed for. Government regulations impose restrictions on the number of hours over-the-road truck drivers may spend in certain defined periods of time on our highways. It's worth considering whether similar limitations need to be considered for driving that may be more local in nature, but nonetheless goes on all day (and sometimes all night). When you see a disaster like the one in Dallas Pike, you really have to wonder if the driver was up to his task at the time he decided to proceed under that low underpass with way too tall a load. Regulated maintenance checks are also essential when dealing with large trucks. According to the driver in the runaway truck incident in Marshall County, the brakes simply "failed" without warning, leaving him streaking down the road into yards and ultimately into someone's garage. When a "get the job done" attitude overrides the need to make sure that equipment is properly tested and road worthy before it leaves the garage, tragedies much more serious than the property destruction last week can occur. Our firm has seen its share of wrongful deaths caused by poor or even non-existent truck maintenance and we'd just as soon never see another one if companies would clean up their acts. In addition, it's important that all trucking outfits be properly insured. Early reports suggest that the repair of the Dallas Pike overpass will be a multi-million dollar repair with a difficult-to-calculate impact on commerce locally and regionally for the closing of highway lanes for a long period of time. The potential for loss of life from runaway trucks and overloaded trucks on the roads is also quite serious and substantial, and carriers need to be fully insured to allow some measure of protection and compensation for the public when incidents do occur. The US Congress is currently considering a bill to increase the insurance limits carried by large trucks that have been the same since the 1980s. It can certainly be hoped that the Congress will strongly consider passing that legislation for the protection of not only Ohio Valley residents, but also those nationwide.

During the summer of 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor was still several months away. While Americans from all over the Country threw themselves into the war effort after December 7, 1941, many American men had already joined the military before that attack. My grandfather, Marvin "Jack" McGraw enlisted in the U.S. Army July 12, 1941. Jack had always been the adventurous, if not ornery, type. As a young child he, on more than one occasion, would jump trains and actually once made his way from West Virginia to the Pacific North West where he visited family. When he enlisted in the Army he was initially assigned to the Quartermaster Corps and after basic training was sent to Milwaukee, WI for training to be a vehicle mechanic. The training he received was actually through a program run by Harley Davidson. While in Milwaukee he had the good fortune of meeting a young woman named Lois Witteman. Lois and Jack began a relationship and would later be married, but not before Jack was deployed overseas and volunteered for service that would take him on thirty missions in the air over the Europe. The U.S. Army Air Corp, the predeceasor to the U.S. Air Force, reformed and expanded dramatically during World War II. The army asked its ranks for volunteers for this service. In June of 1942 Jack volunteered for that service. He was discharged from the Army and subsequently re-enlisted into the Air Corps. Within only a few weeks of joining the Air Corp., he was in the air. The McGraw family is not known for its height, so it is little surprise the position that Jack would serve during his time in the air corp. Jack became a tail gunner on a B-17F flying fortress. The tail gunner sat in very rear of the plane in a small and cramped area under the tail fin and observed the rear of the plane through small glass windows while armed with two .50 caliber machine guns. The tail gunner served as both an observer and in a defense position for the plane and other planes in the flying formation. The B-17 is one of the more romanticized bombers from the American military. The famous "Memphis Belle" was a B-17 and no doubt many of seen the movie based on and dedicated to that plane. The "Memphis Belle" was part of the 8 th Air Force's 91 st Bombing Group based out of Bassingbourn England. The 91 st Bombing Group was made up of 50-60 bombers and 2000 personnel. My grandfather was also a part of that bombing group. He served on a variety of different planes and flew 30 missions on several different B-17s. In comparison, the "Memphis Belle" flew 25 missions before it was taken out of service and placed into service at home for the war bond efforts. Among the planes that Jack flew on include the "Shoo Shoo Baby", "Skunk Face", "Chief Sly II" and "Hell's Halo." While after the war many of  the surviving planes were sold, stored and/or scrapped, the "Shoo Shoo Baby", now named the "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" is actually still in existence and is currently preserved on public display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The plane itself has an interesting history after one of its crews was forced to make a crash landing in Sweden in May of 1944. The famous and original "Memphis Belle" is also located at the Air Force Museum near Dayton and currently under restoration. About 6,000 B-17's were lost during operations during World War II and many thousands of crew were killed and/or made prisoners of war. My grandfather was lucky. In 1943 on a mission to Bremen Germany, the plane that he was serving on suffered nearly disabling damage. The tail fin directly above my grandfather's head took flak tearing a large hole in the fin. The pictures attached to this blog were taken upon the crew's return to base. That is my grandfather standing in the open hole in the fin. My brother, Scott McGraw, was able to locate these photographs, which also appeared in a London newspaper, from the National Archives. Several years later, Scott was in a book store and picked up a book titled "B-17 Combat Missions" by Marin Bowman. Low and behold on page 130 of the book is one of the pictures of my grandfather standing on his damaged plan. The crew was very lucky to survive. In 1943 the 8 th Air Force average a loss rate of 8% per mission. Given that the number of missions necessary to complete a tour of increased and the war went on, it was statistically impossible to complete a full tour of duty. Many thousands of air men gave their lives not only in combat but also in training missions. Jack was one of the lucky ones who got to return home. He came back to the States in the summer of 1944 and ultimately returned to Milwaukee where he would marry Lois. My father, Michael John McGraw, was born in Wisconsin in 1947 and the family traveled back and forth between Wisconsin and Southern West Virginia before finally settling back in my grandfather's home community in Wyoming County, WV. I am very proud of my grandfather's service and the story that ultimately led to me being here. Had Jack not enlisted and been sent to Milwaukee he and Lois likely never meet. Had that piece of flak hit his plane only a few more inches over or lower, the plane may not have been able to return to base. Nearly all of us look back on the Word War II veterans with reverence and respect, and rightfully so. Somewhere along the line, though, it sometimes seems that we lost some of that respect for veterans of other wars. Whether you agree or disagree with a war effort or the politicians who approved the efforts, we can all agree that the men and women who actually serve on the front lines of those efforts deserve our respect. They and their families sacrifice a lot and many never get the chance to see their families grow. We at Bordas & Bordas are very proud of our servicemen and women, past and present, including our own Geoff Brown, a 1994 West Point Graduate who served in Germany and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Ryan McQuaid who served two deployments in Iraq. As we near the upcoming Memorial Day, please continue to remember those individuals and families that have sacrificed so much for us.

Despite the comprehensive laws and regulations that are supposed to protect residents of our nursing homes, too many times things go wrong. There is a financial incentive for nursing homes and the companies that run them to cut corners by hiring too few staff members and underpaying that staff members who do work there. For these and other reasons, the quality of care received by residents of nursing homes falls short of the standard. Although the injuries suffered by the victims of such abuses can take many forms, dehydration, pressure sores, infections, choking, elopement, and falls are some of the more preventable and serious injuries that we see. In particularly tragic cases, nursing home residents may not survive their injuries. To be clear, each and every nursing home has an obligation to provide quality care to every resident in the facility. It is not the fault of the resident or the resident's family when the nursing home falls short of these standards. However, there are some things that we can do to help make sure that nursing homes live up to their obligations. The federal government has published some useful information that may assist you in selecting or evaluating a nursing home. Those resources can be found here: http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/overview.asp. The most important part may be to trust your instincts and ask questions. I realize that depending on each individual circumstance, frequently visiting your relative in the nursing home may be difficult. However, the personal involvement of the family at the home can be very important. If you or a loved one has been injured at a nursing home, we encourage you to learn more about the experienced attorneys at Bordas & Bordas and to contact us to find out what you can do to make nursing homes safer places for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

Although the first day of spring was months ago, the Ohio Valley is just starting to enter the rainy season that traditionally marks the transition out of winter. Did you have property damaged in this week's hail and rain? Read on to see how attorney Michelle Marinacci has previously suggested you handle such a situation. As spring time approaches the Ohio Valley, so does the risk of severe storms damaging our homes and businesses. Being prepared in the event you sustain storm damage will make the claim process easier and, in the event your insurer does not handle your claim fairly and in compliance with its policy obligations, you will be prepared to take the appropriate legal action. Below are some helpful hints to assist you in dealing with the results of a damaging spring or summer storm: 1. Read your policy carefully. Know what is and is not covered and whether you have purchased sufficient limits to adequately protect your valuable property. For example, many types of water run-off damage are not covered under terms commonly included in ordinary homeowners' policies. If you believe your policy does not provide all the coverage you want or need, contact your agent regarding purchasing additional coverage. Additionally, the policy may impose strict time limits for reporting claims or impose requirements regarding securing property from addition damage. Knowing what is expected of you before a storm-related claim arises will make the stressful, confusing post-storm period a little easier to deal with. Reading and knowing your policy provisions beforehand will also allow you to be prepared in the event a dispute arises with your insurance company relating to your claim. Many policies contain alternative dispute resolution provisions or appraisal provisions which must be utilized before legal action may be taken or impose strict time limits on filing a claim related law suit. 2. Document your losses. Take pictures of the damage and make a list of all property sustaining damage. You should also estimate the value of all damaged personal property. While it is not necessary to go to stores and find current sale prices for damaged property, you should provide estimates that are to the best of your ability. Keep a list of all storm related expenses you incur. Even if your policy does not require you to prepare and submit such a list, it is in your best interests to do so. Remember - the adjuster handling your claim works for the insurance company and may not have your best interests in mind when documenting losses. It is helpful to have your own list prepared to compare to that prepared by the adjuster on behalf of the insurance company. 3. Communicate in writing when possible and document oral conversations. By communicating in writing with your insurer you are creating a paper trail. The insurance company documents all oral conversations and so should you. Your contemporaneous notes of an oral communication or follow-up letter may be necessary later when the insurer's "recollection" of the conversation is different than yours. When disputes arise, the timing and content of communications are critical to establishing an insurer's liability. 4. Take care to ensure accuracy. When filing out claim forms, take your time and provide the most accurate information you can. Even honest mistakes can be cited by the insurer as a reason to deny a claim. If you realize you made a mistake, correct it in writing as soon as possible. 5. Submit a competing estimate. If you get an estimate from the insurance company that seems low or unfair, get an estimate from one or more contractors you trust to the insurance company. Timely providing contrary estimates to the insurer for consideration strengthens future actions against the insurer for failing to honor its policy obligations when the insurer chooses to ignore the estimates you provide. If, after taking these steps, you are not satisfied with how your claim was handled, you should consult legal counsel before cashing any check provided to you by the insurance company or signing a release. If the insurer has not handled the claim fairly, legal recourse may be available to obtain the money you are owed under your insurance policy and repair your property damage properly. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

It's graduation and road repair season! What does one have to do with the other? Career choices. We all expect high school graduates to attend college and become doctors, lawyers, software engineers and a lot of other high paying and high profile careers. But as I drive down the interstate to my not so high profile career, I see all of these men dressed in reflective clothing and know that it takes us all! Maybe the road workers, the trash collectors, the cashiers, the typists, etc. don't have high profile careers but where would this world be without them? We set out our trash can and know that what is inside it will disappear. We go to the store and because there is a cashier there, we can purchase food. We take for granted that the "insignificant" people are so necessary in our lives and in the lives of the entire world. No one should look down on anyone else because they are not suited for a higher education or a high profile career. And the road workers, trash collectors, cashiers and typists of this world should not feel that they are any less important than the doctors, lawyers and software engineers of this world. We are all equal in God's eyes. I truly believe that God put it in our hearts to be what we are because He knows that it takes all of us to make His world go round!!

Everyone has seen a television show or movie where an incident happens, a lawsuit is filed, the claim goes to trial and the entire process is concluded within an hour or two. Unfortunately, these fictional depictions lead to the misperception that once a lawsuit is filed, a claim will be resolved almost instantaneously. In real life, the process is not that quick. There are actually multiple phases of the litigation process which must be completed before a claim is brought to trial. Understanding the process is necessary to avoid frustration caused by the length of time it sometimes takes claims to resolve. Initial Pleadings: A lawsuit is started by the filing of a complaint. Once the complaint is filed, it is served upon the defendant and the defendant is provided an opportunity to file an answer. In the defendant's answer it will raise any defenses it believes it may have to the plaintiff's claims. Additionally, during this stage the defendant may file motions challenging whether the plaintiff has a legally recognizable claim and/or may institute a fight over the proper court to hear the claim. Under certain circumstances, a defendant may try to remove a claim from a state court where it was filed to a federal court. When that happens, the question of the proper court to hear the claim ordinarily must be resolved before moving to the next phase of the litigation process which is the discovery phase. Discovery: The discovery phase itself has multiple parts including written discovery, depositions and expert discovery. Written discovery may consist of interrogatories, requests for production of documents and requests for admission. Interrogatories and requests for admission are written questions which must to be answered regarding the factual basis claims and defenses and other relevant information which is needed for the jury to eventually understand and resolve the claim. Requests for production of documents seek disclosure of documents and other evidence which either supports or refutes a claim. Depending on the type of case, there may also be inspections or examinations which take place during the discovery phase. For example, under certain circumstances, a defendant may seek to have a personal injury plaintiff be examined by a doctor of the defendant's choosing. Similarly, in product liability cases such as where a machine or truck or other "thing" is alleged to have malfunctioned, the parties may have that item inspected and tested by experts. Another part of the discovery phase is the conducting of depositions. This is the time where the attorneys can sit down and ask parties and witnesses questions under oath regarding the claim and what the individual knows about the factual circumstances relevant to the claim. Additionally, the parties are provided the opportunity to question the opposing party's expert witnesses under oath regarding the opinions they intend to seek at trial and the basis therefore. Motion Practice: Oftentimes, disputes arise between the parties during the discovery process which require court intervention to resolve. These disputes often involve the sufficiency of discovery responses and whether information requested to be produced is required to be produced under the relevant rules governing the litigation process. Additionally, motions may be filed asking a court to resolve the claims without a trial based upon the evidence produced during the discovery process or to limit the evidence which may be presented to the jury at trial. Only after the discovery process and motion practice process are complete is the case ready to go to trial. Trial: Trial is the phase of the litigation process with which most people are familiar from watching television shows and movies. This is where there is a judge and jury and each side presents its case to a jury and the jury decides who is right, who is wrong and how much money to award in a civil case. Many may think that the litigation process is over once the jury renders its verdict. However, there is yet one more phase of the litigation process to be completed. Post-Trial Motions and Appeals: Once the jury has rendered its verdict, the parties have an opportunity to ask the trial judge to set aside or alter the verdict if the parties can point to an alleged error which occurred during the trial, such as admitting evidence which should not have been admitted under governing law or an improper argument or jury instruction. Once post-trial motions are resolved at the trial court level, the case may be appealed to a higher court. In West Virginia, this constitutes an appeal directly to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In Ohio, however, there is an intermediate appellate court which may review the case and either affirm the trial court's decisions or send it back. An Ohio intermediate court decision may be further appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. Just as ordinary life is not always as depicted in television and movies, neither is the litigation process. The attorneys and staff at Bordas & Bordas have extensive experience in each phase of the litigation process and are here to help our clients understand and navigate the successful prosecution of a claim. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

At times this winter, the heat and warmth of the sun seemed a distant memory. But here we are again, enjoying a most-welcome spring with summer just around the corner. And while I imagine many of us will be looking to take full advantage of the sun's rays in a few short weeks, especially after being cooped up all winter, enjoying time outdoors is not without its challenges. Spending time in the sun requires a careful balancing act. After all, absorption of the sun's rays improves mood and triggers the production of Vitamin D, which is essential for a number of the body's internal processes and critical to our very survival. However, the UV light of the sun's rays also causes skin cancer and prematurely ages the skin. Compounding the issue is a growing body of research that strongly suggests that the conventional "protection" of sunscreen may be as, if not more, harmful than the sun itself. Sunscreens have been around for nearly 100 years and comprise an annual, billion dollar industry in the United States. There are 17 individual sunscreen ingredients that are FDA approved, 15 of which are clear chemicals that absorb UV light. These chemical sunscreens do not stay on the surface of the skin but are instead absorbed and quickly find their way into the bloodstream, where they are distributed all over the body without being detoxified by the liver. These chemicals can be detected in blood, urine, and breast milk for up to two days after a single application, which might be okay if they were uniformly safe. Unfortunately, they are not. Of these 15 clear chemicals, 9 are known endocrine disruptors - chemicals that interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in humans. The hormones most commonly affected are estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Endocrine disruptors can cause abnormal development of fetuses and growing children. They can cause early puberty and premature breast development in girls, and small and undescended testicles in boys. They can cause low sperm counts and infertility and also contribute to the development of breast and ovarian cancers in women, and prostate cancer in men. The other two FDA approved sunscreen ingredients are two minerals, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. These two work very differently than the other ingredients, in that they sit on the surface of the skin and physically block UV light. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are rocks that are ground down to a fine consistency. These are better choices than the chemical UV light absorbers, but increasingly companies are processing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide into ultrafine, nanoparticles or micronized versions. A recent study from MIT and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles can significantly damage human DNA. Because the micronized versions are so small, they are likely to penetrate the skin and our body's cells much more easily than the larger sized version of these minerals and cause significant breakage in our cells' DNA, which can ultimately lead to a host of cancers and other health problems. DNA damage is particularly problematic in children, whose cells are rapidly and constantly dividing. Many popular, conventional brands of sunscreen such Coppertone Sport, Coppertone Water Babies, Aveeno, Neutrogena, Banana Boat, Bull Frog, Hawaiian Tropic and most store brands have received terrible safety ratings from the Environmental Working Group's Sunscreen Guide when it comes to these concerns. So when planning your or your family's outdoor adventures this year, avoid the following ingredients and/or properties common in today's sunscreen: Oxybenzone - the most popular ingredient in chemical based sunscreens but also a hormone disrupting chemical which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate) - A 2009 study by the National Toxicology Program found that in the presence of sunlight, Retinyl Palmitate may actually speed the development of skin tumors and lesions. Fragrance - a petroleum based product that is linked to organ toxicity and allergies. High SPF - The FDA does not regulate SPF higher than 50 and many of the higher SPFs do not provide any additional protection. Some studies suggest that users are exposed to as many or more ultraviolet rays as those who use lower-SPF products. Sprays or Powders - Sprays and powders have additional chemicals added to them for performance purposes, which can be toxic to the lungs. Instead, follow these tips to make the best sunscreen choice: Choose non-nano titanium dioxide and zinc oxide based mineral sunscreens that do not have small particles that can absorb into skin. Choose lotion-based sunscreens with water resistance. Choose broad spectrum sunscreens that protect against UVA and UVB rays. Choose sunscreen products that are rated 0-2 in the Environmental Working Group's Sunscreen Guide. For a list of products that meet these criteria, click on this link. Spending just a few minutes this summer to find the right balance to best protect yourself and your loved ones from both the sun and sunscreen offers the best chances for a safe, enjoyable summer.

St. Clairsville, OH -- On May 9, 2014, a jury returned a verdict of $500,000 in the Courtroom of Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge Frank Fregiato, in favor of Bordas & Bordas, PLLC client, Christine R. Alexander and against the Country Club Retirement Center. The case involved the disappearance of Alexander's 80-year-old mother, Luella Edge. Retirement home officials found that Edge was missing from the home in the early morning hours of April 30, 2010. Edge had resided in her Wheeling home for 58 years before moving to the retirement center, where she stayed for one day before she disappeared. A search for Edge was immediately organized by Belmont County Sheriff Fred Thompson, which included search dogs, family, and other civilians. The Country Club Retirement Center is located in a wooded area in Bellaire, Ohio. On November 20, 2010, Edge's remains were found approximately 790 feet from the retirement home. Bordas & Bordas partners Geoff Brown and Jamie Bordas represented the family at trial. Brown said it is regrettable that Edge's family will have to live with the unfortunate consequences surrounding her death. "It is even more unfortunate that the family had to go through such tremendous stress and anxietyassociated with the disappearance of Luella, especially when they trusted that she would be under constant care at the Country Club Retirement Center," Brown said. "We were proud to represent our clients in this case. Hopefully, this will help bring about some change in the way that our older citizens are treated in assisted living facilities," Jamie Bordas, managing partner of Bordas and Bordas said. "Although we cannot bring Ms. Edge back, we are happy that the jury came to a rightful decision and that justice was served." This verdict is one of many recent significant verdicts obtained by the Bordas firm on behalf of clients, including previous verdicts such as $10,000,000 against The Personal Service Insurance Co. in Belmont County, Ohio; $7,000,000 against American Electric Power Service Corporation and Ohio Power Company in Timmons v. AEP; $5,800,000 against Ohio Power Company in McLaughlin v. OPCO; $5,100,000 against Richard Gentile, M.D. in Turkoly v. Gentile and over $2,700,000 in Brown v. Quicken Loans. Bordas & Bordas is a plaintiff's litigation law firm of 16 attorneys based in Wheeling, West Virginia that also has offices in Moundsville, WV and St. Clairsville, Ohio and practicing throughout the region in diverse areas of law. For more information, please contact Geoff Brown, Jamie Bordas, or Carrie Scanlon, Director of Communications and Philanthropy, at 304.242.8410, or visit bordaslaw.com.

You have signed your oil and gas lease, and maybe you are happy with the terms of your lease, but maybe you are not. Maybe you decided you could put up with a little noise or the extra traffic in your community while the drilling is going on. What you have been waiting for is for production to start and for the royalties to start pouring in. Just let the royalty payments start and it will all be worth it. Unfortunately, there are a myriad of ways the oil and gas company has misled you as to the amount of money you might ultimately receive from the production. Drawing inaccurate and improper unit production boundaries is one of them. An oil and gas producer's application of the "pooling" or "unitization" language in your lease might severely limit the royalties you expected to receive. Horizontal wells reaching the Marcellus and/or Utica Shales are large and expensive operations. It is not cost effective to drill one such well for individual tracts of land. Instead, the oil and gas companies need to combine many tracts of land into "production units." These units are often as large as 640 acres or more in total size. These units will typically have one drilling pad with multiple wells drilled thereon. The individual wells are drilled vertically downward then out horizontally to stretch across and through the unit. The horizontal legs permit the driller to drain the oil and gas from large areas of land. The "pooling" or "unitization" language in an oil and gas lease permits the oil and gas producer to combine your land with your neighbor's land to make production possible. "Pooling" really is necessary for the majority of landowners to get production from their oil and gas rights. However, landowners need to understand the other consequences of "pooling." "Pooling" and/or "unitization" clauses typically provide that once a production unit is created, oil and gas production from any part of that unit will hold by production all the lands which are a part of that unit. Land is held by production once certain production operations begin under a lease. If at the end of the primary term of a lease such production operations are ongoing, a lease will remain in effect typically until production ceases. Just because part of your land is in a unit does not mean that you will get paid royalties for all of your property. Imagine you have 100 acres of property and you signed a lease. The gas company has decided on a well site nearby and will begin drilling and ultimately producing oil and gas. The gas company creates its production unit of 600 acres. When the unit is created, the gas company mails a notice to the land owners in that unit. It also records a "Declaration of Pooling" or similarly named document in the land records office at the local Courthouse. The declaration shows the boundaries of the pooling unit and identifies all the landowners and amount of property each landowner actually has in the unit. As you review the pooling notice you see that although you have 100 total acres, only 2 of your acres are actually in the production unit. What does that mean? Unfortunately, it means that when production starts you will only get paid royalties for 2 of your acres. You will not get royalties for the remaining 98 acres! You might think, big deal, they are only paying me for 2 acres, I will just go get a new lease on the 98 acres not in production. WRONG! Even though you are not getting production from those 98 acres, the "pooling" language in your lease provides that the gas company still controls all of your property. This could have been prevented by asserting the need for a Pugh Clause in your lease. Very generally, a Pugh Clause is a contractual statement that an oil and gas company cannot hold by production those lands which are not part of the production. If you don't have such a clause what other options do you have? You might very well have a suit against the oil and gas company for something called "bad faith pooling." As you would likely expect, an oil and gas company will often draw its production units not to maximize profit for itself AND for its royalty owners (which is a duty that it owes under the law and under your lease), but to hold as much land as they can by production to avoid competition and give them additional time to delay further operations. The gas company does not want to pay you at the end of your 5 year term to extend your lease and it doesn't want to have to sign you to a new lease now that you know what everyone else is actually getting paid. So what does it do? It "includes" a small portion of your property in its production unit so that it retains control over all your land. By drawing a line across your property the gas company may have prevented you from obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential rental or bonus fees. Frankly, it may also be a fraud against the other land owners in the unit as well. The gas company may be paying you royalties on 2 acres when, in reality, they are not even pulling gas from your property. That reduces every other land owner's share of the total production pie. If this has happened to you, what are your options? Bordas & Bordas, PLLC is actively investigating and preparing to file bad faith pooling lawsuits. These suits ask courts to declare that property that is not within the production unit is free and clear so that you may seek new lease options for that property. Bordas & Bordas, PLLC has a long history of taking on large companies and defending the rights of individuals who might not be able to fight for themselves. The oil and gas industry has brought an immense amount of money into our area, but much more money is going right back out with these out of state companies. Don't let the oil and gas companies find new ways to deceive you and to avoid paying you. If you are concerned that you are not being treated fairly and/or not being paid properly contact us immediately for a free consultation. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.