McCrory residents David Waltington and Lindsey Holloway reside in a trailer that is worth approximately $1,500. Living below the national poverty line, they cannot afford a more expensive home. McCrory Police Chief, Defendant Paul Hatch, has ordered them to leave the county, banishing them because their mobile home is valued at less than $7,500.

David and Lindsey are an engaged couple hoping to start their marriage in McCrory, where they can be near Lindsey’s job and close to their families. Their home meets all reasonable health standards and complies with all other regulations. Their trailer is parked on property with all the required hook-ups and is set back from the road. Since the only criterion preventing David and Lindsey from living in the city is the value of their home, McCrory is operating a wealth-based banishment scheme.

Equal Justice Under Law filed the complaint in partnership with McMath Woods P.A. attorney John D. Coulter.  Executive Director of Equal Justice Under Law Phil Telfeyan says, “McCrory’s attempt to banish its most impoverished residences is unconscionable discrimination. David and Lindsey own their trailer, pay rent on their property, and are being forced out of their home simply because McCrory considers them undesirable. McCrory should invest in its residents rather than criminalizing poverty.”

Last week, Friends of Little Sugar Creek, represented by McMath Woods’ attorney Sam Ledbetter, filed a lawsuit seeking to halt reconstruction of a dam on Lake Bella Vista.  Here’s a link to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s coverage of the lawsuit.

From 2014 to 2015, there was a 7.2% increase in motor vehicle traffic fatalities.  The 7.2% increase is the largest percentage increase in nearly 50 years.

From 2014 to 2015, there was an 8.8% increase in motor vehicle traffic fatalities involving distraction affected crashes.  The 8.8% increase is nearly three times the rate of increase of motor vehicle traffic fatalities involving alcohol affected crashes.

Don’t drive distracted this holiday season.

Here’s a link to the NHTSA’s driving fatality statistics for 2015.

On December 13, 2016, the NHTSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication. Using V2V technology, vehicles of all kind will one day be able to communicate important safety and mobility information to one another to help save lives, prevent injuries, ease traffic congestion, and improve the environment.

Here’s a link to the V2V Notice of Proposed Rulemaking press release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts out a drunk driving fact sheet for each state.  Here’s a link to the Arkansas fact sheet, which was last updated in December 2014.

From 2003 to 2012, 1,769 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Arkansas.  In 2012, the rate of death for people killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Arkansas (5.1 deaths per 100,000) exceeded the national average (3.3 deaths per 100,000).

Keep Arkansas safe.  Keep drunk drivers off the road.

. . . we wanted to run our “Make Summer Great Again” ad one more time.  Hope everyone had a great summer.  Here’s to a great autumn.

Four McMath Woods P.A. partners were selected for inclusion by their peers in the Best Lawyers in America in 2016. Bruce McMath was selected for inclusion in the category of Personal Injury Litigation for Plaintiffs. Bruce has been selected since 1995-96. Will Bond was also selected for inclusion in the category of Personal Injury Litigation for Plaintiffs. Will was first included in 2015. Sam Ledbetter was selected for inclusion in the categories of Environmental Litigation and Environmental Law. Sam has been included in the publication since 2001-2002. The big winner this year was new partner John Coulter. John was selected in three categories by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America. Those categories are Employment Law- Individuals, Employment Law-Management, and Labor and Employment Law -Litigation.  John was named Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year in the category of Labor and Employment Law Litigation.  John has been selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America since 2010-2011.

Noel Oman, in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article this morning, addresses the increasing number of Arkansas fatalities on our state’s roads.  Here’s a link to the article: https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/ArDemocrat/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=ArDemocrat%2F2016%2F08%2F24&entity=ar00900

From 2004 to 2013, driving fatalities declined nationally.  However, driving fatalities rose nationally in 2014 and 2015 and that trend continues through June 2016.  Arkansas’s road deaths have followed a similar pattern as fatalities on the state’s roads have increased 27% when comparing statistics for January to June 2014 versus January to June 2016 and 11% when comparing statistics for January to June 2015 versus January to June 2016.

The National Safety Council’s recommendations to motorists and drivers are make sure passengers use their seat belts, designate alcohol- and drug-free drivers, get plenty of sleep and take breaks to avoid fatigue, never use a cellphone and monitor teen driving habits as teens are three times more likely to crash than experienced drivers.

The front page of this morning’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette featured an article by Ryan Tarinelli on call volumes and staffing shortages at Little Rock 911 resulting in wait times for 911 callers.  Here’s a link to the article: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/aug/01/jump-in-calls-shortage-of-staff-lead-to/#/

Little Rock 911 has had staffing shortages for years.  Here’s a link to an article from 2012 addressing the problem: https://katv.com/archive/little-rock-911-dispatch-shortage-grows

The staffing issues and delayed answer times were also addressed in an October 2015 consultant’s report which stated: “[t]he lack of staff appears to be affecting the ability of [Little Rock 911] to provide comprehensive training, answer all calls in a timely manner and provide the required support to field personnel from the dispatch perspective.”

McMath Woods continues to represent the estates of Jinglei Yi and Le Yang, who drowned due to a delayed 911 response by Little Rock 911.

More than 3,000 distracted drivers crash and die every year. Forget the phone and mind the road. One Text or Call Could Wreck It All.