Morris Lilienthal

Rocket City, Home of 101 Inventions

January 24, 2015 by Morris Lilienthal

As the first incorporated city in Alabama, Huntsville has a long and illustrious history. Over the years, Huntsville has been home to important industries including the cotton, railroad, munitions, technology, space, and defense industries. Huntsville’s heavy involvement in the U.S. space missions of the mid-twentieth century earned it the nickname “The Rocket City.”

Since 1805, the city has grown from a small, quiet town to the city we enjoy today (one that has actually been named as “America’s Best City” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and to “America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010” by The National Trust for Historic Preservation). [Read more…] about Rocket City, Home of 101 Inventions

Everything You Need to Know About Bad Weather Driving

December 29, 2014 by Morris Lilienthal

Alabama typically has very mild winters, with temperatures rarely getting below freezing. It’s rare that we have snow or even freezing rain.

However, snowstorms can still happen in Alabama; in fact, one happened in January of this year. This freak storm left thousands of motorists throughout the Deep South—particularly in Georgia and Alabama—stranded on the highway for hours, unable to get home from work or pick up their children from school. Many people holed up in the cars for the night, while others walked miles to get home, simply abandoning their cars.

The gridlock was so bad in Atlanta that one woman, unable to reach a hospital, delivered her baby on the side of the road,. (Fortunately, her husband and a police officer were there to help her deliver.) Alabama’s Interstate 65 was littered was cars and semi-trucks that had been involved in accidents caused by the icy roads.

According to a Fox News article covering the situation, Alabama State Troopers identified five people killed and at least 23 injured in accidents attributable to the weather. In Georgia, 130 injuries and one death from more than 1,000 accidents were related to the weather. [Read more…] about Everything You Need to Know About Bad Weather Driving

Win FREE Tickets to Signature Chefs of Huntsville Event

October 15, 2014 by Morris Lilienthal

If you love good food, and are all about supporting a good cause, then Martinson & Beason, PC has an offer you won’t be able to resist. We are giving away a pair of tickets to the March of Dimes 2014 Signature Chefs of Huntsville Event on October 27th. The event will take place at the beautiful Westin Huntsville Hotel and starts at 6 p.m.

Professional chefs from the Huntsville, Alabama area will be there, cooking up their best dishes — and you’ll get to sample all of them. These chefs are from some of our favorite Huntsville restaurants, including Sage Grill and Nick’s Ristorante. You’ll also have an opportunity to participate in the live auction and silent auction, all proceeds of which go to March of Dimes.

All you have to do is fill in your name and e-mail address (using the form below) to enter to win these tickets. The event is for community members who are 21 and up. We will randomly select a winner and notify him or her by email on the October 22nd.

What the Jury Doesn’t Know Won’t Help You

October 10, 2014 by Morris Lilienthal

M&B7 If you’ve ever watched an episode of Law & Order, you know that trials can range from the mundane to the dramatic. You also know that the lawyers are not always allowed to offer into evidence all of the information they have. This is because the law provides “rules of evidence”stating what information may and may not be used in court.

Just like in criminal trials, certain evidence is not allowed to be presented before a jury in civil trials. Is this fair? It depends on which party you ask.

If you have filed a personal injury suit, it’s important for you to know what a jury may never hear about your case—and why. We’ve outlined five of the most important pieces of information below that won’t make it into the jurors’ notes.

Stay Safe: Get Recall Alerts

September 30, 2014 by Morris Lilienthal

It seems that you can’t turn on the news these days without seeing another story about a vehicle defect and recall.

General Motors alone has recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles this past year. The company’s delayed and mishandled recall of vehicles with defective ignition switches resulted in the deaths of 13 people (and the injuries of who knows how many others), leading to sanctions by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most recently, GM has recalled nearly 200,000 Saturn Vue SUVs over a fire risk.

Chrysler also issued a recall to fix an ignition switch defect in their Town & Country minivans, Dodge Grand Caravans, Dodge Journey crossovers, Jeep Commanders, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs. [Read more…] about Stay Safe: Get Recall Alerts

Chrysler Recalls More than Half a Million Minivans

September 25, 2014 by Morris Lilienthal

With all of the recalls that have happened in the past several years, it makes one wonder if it’s safe to drive anymore!

We hope that the rash of recalls is due to increased caution on the part of automakers and not a systemic problem in quality control. But whatever the cause, recalls are important: they alert the public that the vehicle they are driving is potentially very dangerous.

The latest recall is from Chrysler. The company is expanding a previous recall to add Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravans from the 2008 and 2009 model years.

Nearly 696,000 vehicles are affected. [Read more…] about Chrysler Recalls More than Half a Million Minivans