By: R. Sebastian Gibson, Attorney At Law

It is January 21, 2008, and not only is the word ARecession@ being used more and more frequently by analysts, we are now starting to also hear the word ADepression@ as a possible outcome of this economic crisis facing the United States and possibly the rest of the world.

As this article is being written, the stock markets around the world have started to fall more precipitously with most of the markets in Europe, Asia, China, Latin America and Canada falling from 5% to 8% overnight. U.S. markets are expected to fall over 500 points when the U.S. markets open again for business on the Tuesday following the Martin Luther King holiday.

Clearly as others have already stated, we are already in a housing depression. If indeed the recession in the U.S. causes other countries to similarly suffer a recession and if the U.S. then falls into a depression not seen since the 1920s in this country, what type of legal ramifications can lawyers expect to see in the U.S.?

In a depression when money is scarce and job security is non-existent, lawyers can expect new legal business to all but dry up. That is almost a given. Hiring a lawyer to pursue a legal remedy except on contingency, will be far down on any person’s list of priorities. Money for food, rent, and other necessities will take a much greater priority in people’s lives.

Not being immune to a depression, lawyers themselves will also be less willing to expend their own limited resources in such times to pursuing all but the most sure of cases. But what will be a sure case in a depression? And what will the attitudes be of insurance companies being asked to settle such cases in a depression?

It is very possible that in a depression, one if not more than one insurance company may declare bankruptcy. Insurance companies routinely invest their assets in stocks, both in the U.S. and in emerging markets. If all such markets fall as they are currently all falling, one or more insurance companies may find that they have lost millions of dollars if not billions of dollars. Once that occurs, they can lose their top credit ratings, and after that, the road is a slippery slope downwards for them.

If one or more such companies fail, the others will likely become extremely cautious in their dealings. They will probably initially become both far more willing to settle all their cases as quickly as possible in order to take their loss reserves off of their books and avoid incurring any more defense legal fees.

If the depression lasts, however, for any length of time, and more insurance companies find themselves at risk of bankruptcy, at some point lawyers may find insurance companies stalling and refusing to settle cases at all in order to preserve what few assets they have left.

As financial matters strain more and more marriages, divorce lawyers may find the number of people seeking divorce rising while fewer and fewer people have the money to pay for legal fees.

Businesses suffering steep losses will similarly be unable or unwilling to hire attorneys to stand up for their legal rights.

Criminal activity is likely to increase throughout the stages of a depression, again with few of those caught having the money to pay for criminal defense attorneys.

With a depression already here in the real estate field, real estate attorneys are already fielding hundreds of calls from panicky real estate investors trying to get out from under mortgages that are dragging them into bankruptcy. They are looking for anyone to sue to get out of their mortgages, from the real estate agents to the mortgage lenders to the sellers of the real estate who they now feel misled them into buying the depressed property. Unfortunately, these investors and homeowners have little extra cash to pay for an attorney to assist them in these real estate situations, even if they had a leg to stand on.

Perhaps the one area in which there may be more demand than ever in such a depression, may be in the field of bankruptcy. With the new bankruptcy laws making it harder than ever to file bankruptcy much less understand how to go about it, people will still likely find a way to scrape together the cost of hiring a bankruptcy attorney to get them out of the financial mess that people are finding themselves in.

No one can tell at this time if the likely recession turns into something far worse, a full-blown depression, but with real estate moguls now starting to use the word themselves, and with words such as Afinancial freefall,@ Aglobal train wreck,@ and Aglobal credit crisis@ just a few of the words to be found only this evening on one of the most respected internet financial web sites, it is a real possibility.

Lawyers may soon find themselves in the same predicament as real estate agents, just waiting and waiting for the phone to ring, and finding that it doesn’t ring at all anymore. Just as companies begin to cut back on expenses, lawyers may also begin to face some hard decisions when it comes time to renew advertising contracts for yellow page advertising or even worse decisions, such as whether or not to file bankruptcy themselves.

Sebastian Gibson is the senior lawyer with the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson. He is also a Realtor and the owner of Sebastian Advertising, an advertising agency. More information can be found at his web sites, www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com , www.CaliforniaAttorneysLawyers.com , www.SebastianGibsonProperties.com , and www.SebastianAdvertising.com .

Environmental and Toxic Tort Law cases in California are often one and the same. In an age when the carelessness of large corporations seems endless and the public has awoken to environmental dangers such as global warming and pollution of groundwater, such cases can not only provide a measure of redress to injured plaintiffs but also assist in the fight against what some entities would do to our planet in the name of profit.

Individuals in their homes, at work, in school and during leisure or recreational activities are exposed to toxic chemicals, drugs, and mercury from the places they live, work, or elsewhere spend time and what they eat and drink and the cosmetics they use.

They can be damaged by exposure to asbestos, lead, mercury, zinc, chromium, TCE, PCBs, arsenic, benzene, beryllium, pesticides, silica, manganese, formaldehyde and other toxins from places and things they would never have expected. Examples include lead-paint covered toys, toxic chemicals not only in the groundwater and the tap water used by companies to fill bottled water.

But pollution can come from the air, from the water, from the soil, and from other sources one often doesn’t consider. Pollution also comes from electro-magnetic fields, cigarette smoke, and mold in the home or at work.

Air pollution includes unhealthy levels in the air quality index, acid rain, indoor air quality, and particulate pollution from construction. Smog and haze aren’t just depressing, they can also be deadly when filled with types of pollution that is of particular risk to the elderly. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and chlorofluorocarbons are just some of the chemicals one faces in every day life. Too much of any of these can cause severe problems including cancer and even death to most anyone, not to mention other damage to the ecosystem.

Water pollution can come from wastewater, surface runoff, sewage, waterborne diseases, water quality, oil spills, ship pollution, and ocean acidification, just to name a few sources. Soil pollution can come from herbicides, pesticides and even from invasive species. Among those soil contaminants people should be most concerned with, are MTBE, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Because it happened thirty years ago, many today are unfamiliar with or have forgotten the groundwater pollution case known as Love Canal. In the late 1970s, residents in the Love Canal area of New York were suffering from high rates of cancer and birth defects. The cause was traced to chemicals that had infiltrated into the groundwater and water supply from an industrial landfill. Hundreds of families were reimbursed for their damages but had to move from the area.

Radioactive contamination is becoming more and more of a problem. There is already plutonium in the environment, radium in the environment, uranium in the environment and other environmental radioactivity. Soon we will be hearing more about alpha emitters and actinides.

Recently there has been much publicity about the increase in bed bugs in hotels, schools and homes. When one goes on vacation, one must also worry about lice, ticks and other bugs that can be carried home. When one goes to the hospital or to the doctor, one can return with a more dangerous infection or virus than the problem the patient was originally concerned about.

While not a health risk, there is also visual pollution such as that caused from billboards, to the recent addition of advertising at the gas pump, in elevators and in public restrooms, as well as light pollution.

In the health field, pollution can come in the form of contamination of blood, from the environment of the hospital, the medications, thimerosal (a preservative used to prevent spoiling in vaccines) surgical implants, the beds or from other patients.

If you think a toxic material has caused or contributed to your injury call your toxic tort lawyer today

Sebastian Gibson is a practicing personal injury attorney represents clients throughout Southern California Lawyer from his main offices in Rancho Mirage, California representing California Auto Accident Lawyers, Litigation / International Law

Construction defect lawsuits in California are usually brought as a result of the negligence or incompetence of a builder or other workmen employed in the construction industry.
A home with a construction defect can suffer from problems in the foundation, water intrusion and/or resultant toxic mold, paint, stucco or any number of other construction problems.
A person’s home is normally one’s largest investment. If the home you have mortgaged is suffering from construction problems that you know about and must disclose when you sell the house, the loss suffered can be enormous.
From the standpoint of the licensed and conscientious builder or individual craftsman, there is nothing worse than being dragged into a construction defect case as a defendant due to the negligence or profit-driven actions of another defendant.
Sadly, however, as the real estate market suffers, developers trying to save a dollar, may find it more and more enticing to take shortcuts, hire unlicensed subcontractors, use cheaper and less experienced workmen and focus on the exterior appearance while skimping on the structural aspects of a development.
When such lapses in judgment result in injuries as well as damage to the home, the plaintiff may have not only a construction defect case for the damage caused to the home, but also a personal injury case for their bodily injuries such as when a house fire cause by improper wiring results in injury or death.
If other home buyers in your same development have similar structural problems, you and your neighbors may have a class action case or at least a case in which you can join as co-plaintiffs and share the costs of litigation.
If the construction defects are in the form of environmental pollution in your home such as that caused by toxic chemicals or materials in the construction of your home or due to toxic mold caused by water intrusion, air pollution, or soil pollution, you and possibly your neighbors as well may have a toxic tort case.
If you think your home was improperly built, has a construction defect or believe that you may be suffering injuries from the environment in or around your home, call the Law Offices of your construction defects attorney.

Sebastian Gibson is a practicing personal injury attorney represents clients throughout Southern California Lawyer from his main offices in Rancho Mirage, California representing Motorcycle/Vehicle Accidents, California Wrongful Death Lawyers

Advertising law cases in California can be filed under a multitude of different causes of action. This article seeks to discuss just some of the ways in which advertising cases can be filed, and the type of cases which, to a large extent, have not yet been pursued as fully as one would expect.
Perhaps the first cause of action that comes to mind to use to obtain a remedy for an individual harmed by advertising would be a cause of action for fraud. To take a fictional example, say an advertiser, and by virtue of their advertisement on a television program on a certain station, advertises that they have the cure for cancer, male baldness, bad breath and being able to keep the weight off, all in one simple drug or in their book. The advertiser uses a spokesman, the advertiser uses a specific television station, and in a relatively new twist in this age of the internet, the advertiser also promotes his or her website which after purchasing the drug or the book, the purchaser learns he must also subscribe to the advertiser’s website either to learn additional details or be kept up to date with side effects of the drug.
Even if the book or drug sold is sold at a price of $34.95, and even if the internet subscription is even $10/month, this is not going to amount to sufficient damages for an attorney to take the case on contingency. And if the individual who bought the book or drug doesn’t have tens of thousands of dollars to pursue such a case on his or her own, the case may never be brought and the advertiser may simply go on advertising his or her amazing product.
An action by the FCC against such an advertiser will be unlikely to help the consumer. If the advertiser makes a deal with the FCC, while such a settlement may be in the millions of dollars, the money will simply go to the government and the advertiser will likely simply promise never to make such advertisements again. In reality, the advertiser may also find some new product to advertise or seek to advertise it in a different way and one not covered by the settlement with the FCC, such as by using 800 or 900 numbers.
Businesses or individuals harmed by network television affiliates overcharging for their air time may also feel powerless to bring an action for being excluded from the marketplace or being overcharged as a result of price-fixing or monopolization.
What these examples have in common is that by virtue of class actions and/or antitrust class actions, the claims of these individuals can be made on behalf of a class of similar damaged individuals or entities. With hundreds or thousands and in some cases, millions of similarly injured plaintiffs, the case, while increasing in complexity and cost, can also become sufficiently attractive that one law firm, or multiple law firms working in conjunction, are able to pursue such a case and bring the advertiser to the bargaining table.
In the event the damages caused by the advertising are large enough or specific enough against a single plaintiff such that a class action is not needed or would not be appropriate, additional defendants may be considered. In the case of the advertiser of the book or drug, if the advice contained in the book or the drug not only was misleading but caused serious bodily harm or death, the plaintiff may want to consider a negligence action and consider whether the television network or the spokesman also had some culpability for putting their name behind the product. Where the television station or spokesman is sharing in the profits from the book or drug in exchange for advertising dollars, this may especially warrant consideration.
If you have a situation in which the advertising practices of an individual, entity or a television station are causing you or your business harm, or are favoring your competitors to your disadvantage, and you believe others have been similarly harmed or damaged, call your advertising law attorney.

Sebastian Gibson is a practicing personal injury attorney represents clients throughout Southern California Lawyer from his main offices in Rancho Mirage, representing semi Truck & Highway Accidents, Litigation / International Law

Antitrust law in the United States and in California includes laws which prohibit altogether and regulate actions which can constitute, among other things, price fixing, monopolization, exclusionary practices, tying agreements, vertical restraints, group boycotts, and agreements among competitors to divide up markets geographically.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss either the laws in general or the governmental enforcement agencies which enforce the laws, but rather certain types of cases which offer opportunities to clients in California to use these laws to protect themselves against such practices by their competitors.
Private civil antitrust cases can be brought in both California state courts and in federal courts in California. Through such individual class actions, members of the general public can challenge some of the largest corporate entities whose actions might otherwise not be challenged by governmental agencies.
By taking such matters on contingency or on an hourly rate with a retainer, a client has the ability to obtain remedies and restitution for wrongs done to that individual or his or her business. When combined with class actions, the wrongs to the general public can also be addressed and larger remedies and damages can be sought.
As an example of the type of case which so far has not been addressed by governmental agencies, are the practices of owners of broadcast television networks in certain markets which, by their being allowed by the FCC to have more than one broadcast television network affiliate in a local market, are today accumulating pricing power and such a large share of both the broadcast air time and ratings as to border on what might well be considered by a jury to constitute both monopolization and price-fixing.
When compared with other local markets in which single owners do not own more than one of the broadcast television affiliates in a local market, some of these markets in which there is this multiple ownership show definite signs of pricing in excess of what is seen in other local markets of a similar size.
In such a scenario, advertisers purchasing television spots in such a local market may pay up to two or three times what such an advertiser might have to pay for the same spot on the same prime time show on the same television network in another market where one owner does not own multiple affiliates.
The reticence of advertisers to bring such antitrust actions may be in part caused by advertisers who fear that they will never be allowed to advertise on those stations again if they challenge the pricing actions of the network affiliates in court. Other advertisers who have paid too much for such advertising or been kept out of the advertising market on television by such prices, may have paid another more serious price – they may have been put out of business and may not realize that they have a case as well.
In securities-related antitrust law suit, or in other deceptive conduct antitrust cases on the other hand, most plaintiffs have no ongoing relationship with the defendant and there is not this reticence to bring such an action.
If you have a situation in which the anti-competitive practices of an entity are causing you or your business harm, or are favoring your competitors to your disadvantage, call the Law Offices of a anti trust lawyer today.

Sebastian Gibson is a practicing personal injury attorney represents clients throughout Southern California Lawyer from his main offices in Rancho Mirage, California representing California Auto Accident Lawyers, Motorcycle/Vehicle Accidents