Daily Archives: May 4, 2006

60 Minutes on Colbert

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colbert1.jpgI realize that he may have bombed at the recent White House Correspondents’ Association awards dinner, but I’m still a big fan of Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. Here is the recent 60 Minutes segment on Colbert (segment 2 and segment 3), which includes a good dose of Colbert’s hilarious interviewing techniques.
By the way, one thing that I’ve always wondered about Colbert — but that Morley Safer did not ask him in the 60 Minutes piece — is whether the pronunciation of Colbert’s name (prounouced “Cole-bear”) on his show is a play on the wonderful Hyacinth Bucket character (pronounced “bouquet” by Hyacinth and “bucket” by everyone else) in the equally hilarious BBC comedy show, “Keeping Up With Appearances“? Anyone know the answer?
Update: In the small world department, turns out that Jeff Skilling’s law firm — O’Melveny & Myers — has a Colbert connection. One of Colbert’s older brothers is Jim Colbert (who pronounced his name with a good, hard “ert”), who was a litigation partner at O’Melveny for approximatey 30 years in Los Angeles. The elder Colbert was known at O’Melveny as a brilliant litigator with — you guessed it — a sharp wit.

Gingrich on Texas medical malpractice reform

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medical malpracticesymb.jpgThis Opinion Journal op-ed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Dallas orthopedic surgeon John Gill urges Congress to view Texas’ 2003 medical malpractice litigation reform legislation as a model for such legislation:

[P]hysicians are returning to the [Texas], particularly in underserved specialties and counties. Insurance premiums to protect against frivolous lawsuits have declined dramatically, with the stateís largest carrier reporting declines up to 22% and other carriers reducing premiums by an average of 13%. The number of lawsuits filed against doctors has been cut almost in half.

But Gingrich and Gill caution to get ready for a rumble over the Congressional debate on medical malpractice reform:

In the coming days, our senators in Washington will have a chance to stand up with America’s doctors and patients against the personal injury lawyers. Expect a brawl. On one side will be the lawyers, frantically attempting to protect and pad their wallets, while driving up costs for the American people and limiting our access to health-care providers. On the other will be the positive, pro-patient, pro-health-care story from Texas, a state which has taken an important first step toward creating a 21st-century health justice system that meets the needs of doctors and patients alike.

Read the entire piece.

The Bagwell disability claim lawsuit

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Bagwell14.jpgAs noted earlier here, the Stros have initiated a lawsuit against Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. over the insurer’s denial of the Stros’ claim under the disability insurance policy on the best player in Stros franchise history, Jeff Bagwell. Previous posts on the Bagwell disability claim are here.
Connecticut General has removed the Stros lawsuit from state district court to federal district court, and the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison, who has set the initial scheduling conference in the case for August 4th. You can download a copy of the the Stros’ original petition in the lawsuit here.
According to the Stros’ petition, the policy defines disability as “any physical illness or condition . . . that renders [Bagwell] totally disabled from performing as a professional baseball player.” Thus, the issue in the lawsuit is whether not being able to throw a baseball, while at the same time still being able to hit one, renders Bagwell totally disabled under the terms of the policy. Connecticut General probably wishes that it could remove the lawsuit to the American League, where the existence of the designated hitter rule would mitigate in favor of the insurer’s position.
As noted earlier, the Stros are represented in the lawsuit by well-known Houston plaintiff’s lawyer Wayne Fisher, who is a longtime friend of Stros owner Drayton McLane. Tynan Buthod of Baker & Botts is lead counsel in the case for Connecticut General.