The Borderline Bar Mass Murder Cover Up Continues!

Thousand Oaks, CA—The November 8^th   massacre  of college kids and a Sheriff’s sergeant by a crazed gunman still generates many more questions than answers.  

It’s now more than obvious that the answers will have to be forcibly extracted from the officials by legal process and court orders. 

Right now, lawyers helping victims face a solid stonewall as far as getting enough information to even file lawsuits. Legal authority is required to open the reports, surveillance video and evidence for inspection.  

The lawyers must sue before they can obtain subpoenas or any discovery material.  However they can’t sue without having a proper theory as to negligence or some other tort claim.  With the records locked up so tight, justice may never be done. 

The first obvious liability target is the Borderline Bar and Grill itself.  We know that those people injured were not shot.  Due to inadequate emergency exits those fleeing the gunman had to break windows and jump a dozen feet or so to the ground that was covered with broken glass. People suffered nasty injuries simply trying to get away to safety.  The people shot and killed by the gunman definitely had no clear way to escape!

The entire property including its parking area was quickly surrounded with a tall, opaque green fence and 24/7 security to keep lawyers and their investigators from discovering and documenting the serious lack of viable emergency exits.  

Did local government officials enable and accommodate the crazed gunman’s death trap through shoddy safety inspections of the property?  

Will they destroy evidence before the fence comes down?  Will they simply demolish the club to avoid liability claims?

Next, what was the role of the at least eight cops both armed and unarmed that were inside the club that clearly never challenged the gunman?  Case law has long ago established that cops have no legal duty to protect anyone. Perhaps they do have a duty to arrest, disable or kill a murderer engaged in his crime.  That’s one for the lawyers to figure out. 

We know that the surveillance video will tell the real story of this holocaust.  Not only has the Sheriff refused to release them his office won’t even reveal what they contain. 

Everyone loves a hero like, Sergeant Ron Helus.  Nobody loves a coward.  Apparently those cops that were socializing in the club that night were beyond a disappointment.  

People close to the investigation told me that some were armed and still were simply too afraid to confront the gunman.  

Again the surveillance video will tell the story of both the heroes and cowards.  I say the video must be released at least to the victims, their families and the media. 

The chips must fall where the may.  Remember the crime is always in the cover up!

Why So-Called Tort Reform Is Justice Denied

You hear the medical community and insurance industry incessantly carping and whining for Tort Reform. The title itself is incredibly misleading. It should be called what it is, The Insurance Company Protection Act.

A tort is an act that injures someone. There are accidental torts and intentional torts. An automobile accident involving simple negligence is a tort. So is an act of libel, assault, or even murder. In this mix are dog bites, construction accidents and the surgeon who amputates the wrong leg.

Most people cannot afford lawyers to force those responsible to pay for the damages they have caused. Usually there is a liability insurance policy involved and insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums and doing whatever they can to avoid paying claims.

For the average working American the legal community invented the contingent fee arrangement. The lawyers front the sometimes huge expenses related to bringing your claim to court and charge you nothing unless or until they prevail on your behalf. A working man who was injured through a tort may be unable to work and have zero income can pursue his claim even though he has no money.

When and if you prevail in court, the contingent fee lawyer charges one third or more of the final award and the lawyer is entitled to recover the costs they advanced on your behalf.

The alternative is to pay a lawyer’s hourly rate and all of the costs for experts, court reporters or whatever else it may take to prove your case to a jury.

The Insurance companies want absolute caps on jury verdicts and awards. The real effort here is to destroy the contingent fee system altogether. The people who can’t afford to pay $50,000.00 up front to a lawyer will be denied their day in court. Insurance companies will rarely ever be forced to pay claims. That is the real goal of those pushing Tort Reform.

The fun part of Tort Reform is when your own insurance company does not pay up for your valid claim. There will be no contingent fee lawyers to go after them on your behalf.