Declarations

Dangerous rum

“The burning rum stuck to her skin and continued to burn as she fell to the floor and tried to put herself out.”

From a lawsuit filed by a Miami woman who alleges she was severely burned by flaming rum during a Bacardi promotion. She is suing the spirits maker, claiming that Bacardi 151 proof rum “emits a high volume of combustible and explosive vapor” which makes it “unreasonably dangerous” and defective. (AP)

Rebuilding at home

“We rebuild in every other part of this world. The question is, can we rebuild our own?”

Former New Orleans Mayor and National Urban League President Marc Morial, one of several black leaders who said they want a meeting with President Bush and a national summit to address the needs of the Gulf Coast and solutions for speeding up recovery there as the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches. (AP)

Lead loss

“The precise question that the jury had to answer was whether NL was liable to the plaintiffs as the result of a design defect or negligence. The jury answered that question for each of the plaintiffs, ‘no.'”

Mike Jones, an attorney for NL Industries, after a federal jury in Jackson, Mississippi ruled against five families who claimed their children’s mental disabilities were caused by lead paint. Attorneys for paint manufacturer NL Industries Inc. had argued the children’s problems were caused by genetics or other sources. In February, NL Industries and two other former makers of lead paint lost a lawsuit brought by the state of Rhode Island.

Joint trial

“There are only so many cases the court can try at any one time. If these cases are separated, we’ll be trying them for the next 60 years.”

Zach Scruggs, son and law partner of high-profile attorney Richard Scruggs, trying to convince a federal judge to allow the lawsuits of hundreds of Mississippi homeowners with Hurricane Katrina claims against insurers to be combined rather than tried individually. Insurers balked at the proposal. “There is no way that hundreds of claims could be tried together in a single trial because of the idiosyncratic nature of each claim,” countered attorneys for Allstate Insurance. (AP)

Unacceptable

“It’s bad enough that we’ve had to suffer through those storms but for insurance companies to double or triple rates or worse yet, cancel policies, that’s unacceptable. As governor, I’ll push for an independent commission to require insurance companies to open up their books to justify rate increases. We’ve got to hold insurance companies accountable. As governor, I will.”

Florida Democratic State Sen. Rod Smith, who is running for governor.

Loophole support

“Sen. [Rod]Smith won’t explain why he’s siding with insurance companies and continuing to support a loophole that makes it easier for insurance companies to avoid paying claims.”

Josh Earnes, spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, Smith’s Democratic gubernatorial challenger in the Sept. 5 primary election.