by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Aren’t New York Settlements for Minors supposed to be Redact Minor’s Name?
M.C. suffered a critical brain injury while at a Buffalo day care. According to a Buffalo News article by Lou Michel published in December 2019 shortly after the case settled with Allstate, she will receive a $200,000 settlement to resolve her family’s lawsuit against Mozee’s Ultimate Family Daycare. The article was later updated in 2020.
Lou Michel’s article screams out for an explanation. By disclosing the New York settlement for minor M.C’s name, it virtually assures that.she will become a target of structured settlement factoring companies in the future. .The child’s picture as a 2 year old,is available in the public domain with a simple Internet search that leads to the 2018 report of the July 24, 2018 incident.
Buffalo Personal Injury Lawyer quoted on specifics in Buffalo News article
William P. Moore Buffalo personal injury lawyer of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP, is quoted
- citing the reasons why the structured settlement was established;
- and the specifics of the structured settlement; including the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments.
Related Toddler critically injured, daycare’s license suspended Spectrum News 1 July 24, 2018
What is 22 NYCRR 202.5(e)?
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Title. 22 § 202.5 – Papers Filed in Court. The Administrative Board of the Courts approved the adoption of section 202.5(e) of the Uniform Rules of the Supreme and County Courts (22 NYCRR 202.5(e) – requiring attorneys to omit or redact certain confidential personal information from court filings in Supreme and County Court. This rule became effective on January 1, 2015. The Chevere case settled in 2019 and the article by Lou MIchel in the Buffalo News was published December 16, 2019.
Publishing the terms of the structured settlement (inartfully referred to as a ” structured annuity settlement”), that benefits the reporter, the newspaper, the newspaper’s advertisers, or the attorney and his law firm, does no service to the attorney’s client
Any attorney who publishes the specific terms of a minor’s settlement is exposing the minor and paving the way to the inevitable harassment that will occur when the cash now vultures start circling at or around the time she reaches age 18. From there it is possible that she could be bamboozled into selling her payments for pennies on the dollar.
Be Smart. Don’t Feed The Vultures
Lawyers and reporters alike should think about the consequences of their actions before placing a vulnerable infant in harm’s way. Be smart. Don’t feed the vultures!
