(New Orleans) ‒ Matthew Willard, 30, a lifelong resident of Gentilly, businessperson and President of the Seabrook Neighborhood Association, today announced he will qualify for the District 97 House of Representatives election to be held on Saturday, October 12.
 
Matthew is the Senior Marketing and Communications Manager for the local technology start up, Fluence Analytics, and he comes from deep roots in New Orleans public service. Matthew’s grandparents, Dr. Elliot and Mary Jane Willard, were civil rights leaders and lifelong educators at St. Augustine, Booker T. Washington and John McDonogh High Schools. His Aunt Cynthia served as a State Senator and City Councilperson, and his Uncle Benedict is a Criminal District Court Judge. His parents, Dominic and Terrie Willard, are a local contractor and a lifelong educator, respectively.​

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home; all children deserve a quality education; we deserve good streets and working street lights; every working person should receive a living wage; we all deserve a chance at success. As your next State Representative, I will fight to make sure New Orleans remains a great place to visit but an even better place to live,” said Willard.


Matthew said he is running to serve District 97 in the spirit of faith, community service and integrity. “Our area of strong neighborhoods and residential business corridors deserves a principled and dedicated leader to fight for them,” Willard said. 
 
His legislative priorities will be to: 

• Focus on securing revenue to fix our crumbling infrastructure;  
• Advocate for mental health and addiction disorders services; 
• Fight for a living wage in Louisiana by 2025;  
• Seek solutions to stop the rising costs of property taxes on home owners;  
• Prioritize Early Childcare and Education funding; Increase the protections and rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence; 
• Serve as a leader for small business initiatives and support; and 
• Support new approaches to criminal justice reform. 

Matthew attended elementary school at Corpus Christi, Stuart Hall for middle school, and is a graduate of Jesuit High School. He received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans. As a child, Matthew grew up in the NORD system, playing baseball for Milne and the Lakeshore Allstars.
 
As a business leader, Matthew guides Fluence Analytics’ overall marketing direction and manages business development initiatives and communication policies. Recently, Matthew led successful public relations campaigns following the company’s Series A and A-1 venture capital funding rounds. He is a certified Scrum Master in agile project management and was recently honored by Gambit New Orleans as a 40 Under 40 leader.
 
Matthew is as an elected member of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee for City Council District D and serves as a Board Member for Jason’s House, a nonprofit organization working to finance low-cost housing for men following rehabilitation for chemical dependency. Matthew is a homeowner and Board Member for the Seabrook Neighborhood Improvement and Security District. He is a parishioner of St. Raymond / St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.
 
Election Day, October 12, 2019 | MatthewWillard97.com | Facebook & Instagram: MatthewWillard97 | Twitter @MattWillard97

Student Orientation to be held August 5-7
 
WHAT:          New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy (NOMMA), a public charter school adjacent to the Marine Forces Reserve national headquarters in Federal City, will return to school for the 2019-20 school year. It is the only public charter of its kind in the metro area. The following activities provide a colorful and unique back-to-school visual and message. This is the first year the school has expanded by adding an 8thgrade.
 
WHEN:          August 5-7: Cadet orientation 
Monday, August 5: New Cadet Uniform Issue, 7:45am to 3:05
Wednesday, August 7: Formation Initial Inspections will be held throughout the afternoon from Noon-3pm
 
August 12: First day of school for students (grades 8-12) 7:35am to 3:05pm
 
Please contact Heather at hharper@h2nola.net or (504) 289-0499 if you would like to visit the school on one of these dates.
 
WHERE:      New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy
                       425 O'Bannon St., NOLA 70114, in Algiers
 
WHY:
NOMMA’s high quality academic program has a 100 percent student body participation in the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC), and was designated as a Naval Honor School due to superior performance of its MCJROTC program.  NOMMA has a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and also offers career and technical training. 
 
It is one of the top open-enrollment public high schools in the four-parish metropolitan area with a graduation rate over 95 percent.  NOMMA exceeded both the city and state averages for ACT scores, End-of-Course (EOC) exams, and LEAP 2025 assessments and was recognized by the Louisiana Department of Education as a Top Gains Honoree for consistently demonstrating exceptional student progress.

 
NOMMA is open to all students in the Greater New Orleans metro area. Any student can apply for 8-11 grade at NOMMA through enrollnola.org with priority given to military dependents in the greater New Orleans area. For more information call (504) 227-3810 or go to www.nomma.net

Read full statement here: http://www.stuarthsmith.com/hackers-virtual-assault-rifles-and-how-jeff-bezos-has-lost-control-of-amazon/

Customer complaints against Amazon have become a dime-a-dozen thanks to a hack in 2017 of more than 143 million Americans' credit card numbers in association with a data breach for the retail giant.

But two Louisiana residents, who just happen to be prominent litigators, have decided it’s time to make Jeff Bezos more accountable.

Attorneys Stuart H. Smith and Barry J. Cooper, Jr. of New Orleans discovered last summer that more than $9000 had been charged to Mr. Cooper’s credit cards for the purchase of 50 “crates” of virtual assault rifles to use in online video games. Because each charge was $200, fraud detection did not kick in until the scam added up.

Mr. Cooper stopped payment of the fraudulent charges and Amazon responded by freezing his account—even though the scam was perpetrated by a wholly-owned Amazon subsidiary, Twitch Interactive. His account remains frozen and ironically so is Mr. Smith’s, since as his husband, he is associated with Mr. Cooper.

The two attorneys repeatedly tried to resolve the matter through personal and written correspondence, but now feel forced to put the Seattle-based tech retailer on notice of their intention to sue Amazon allowing the egregious data breach and for violating Louisiana’s Unfair Trade Practices Act in hounding the two over these fraudulent charges. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Smith are domiciled in New Orleans and the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act bars companies from seeking to collect fees from fraudulent activity such as the hacking of Cooper’s account.

“It shouldn’t have had to come with this. But going to court seems to be the only way to get the attention of a company whose owner Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the history of the planet and that has grown so arrogant that rather than profusely apologize to its customers for a significant privacy breach and trying to track down and arrest the criminals, it adds insult to injury by blocking and billing the victims,” said Mr. Smith in a written statement. 

“Amazon is harassing two longtime Prime account holders, when it could have reported this data breach to the proper authorities, identified the thieves and worked with law enforcement to make the criminals repay the money.  Surely Twitch Interactive — Amazon’s wholly owned subsidiary and retailer of the virtual rifles — could help identify who the wrongdoers are. A theft of this magnitude is punishable with substantial prison time,” Mr. Smith added.

Amazon controls nearly half of the online retail market in the U.S., and is “the judge, the jury, and the executioner” in its actions, according to critical reports. The filed legal action on Cooper’s behalf seeking damages from Amazon for the data breach and for its clear violation of the Additionally, the attorneys claim the firm is in violation of both the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as the Louisiana Fair Debt Collection Act for its multiple, bad-faith efforts to coerce Cooper into paying for the bogus charges. It asks Amazon to halt its collection activities and restore Cooper’s account. A copy of the letter was forwarded to Louisiana’s attorney general, Jeff Landry.  

"When customers plea for help, Amazon does not pick up the phone. But you know what: A jury can make Jeff Bezos pick up the phone. That is the beauty of our incredible Constitution, that gives us the right to speak truth to power,” said Mr. Smith. He has also taken his case to every member of the U.S. Congress. “This is a matter of justice not just for one consumer, but for the millions of consumers who are at risk both from Amazon’s reckless handling of their most personal and private data and from the arrogance of Jeff Bezos’s monopolistic giant, which functions less as a corporation and more as a rogue state making its own harsh and inscrutable rules.”

One Senator, Elizabeth Warren, has already declared that it’s past time for government regulators to break up the tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google. The Democratic presidential candidate told a rally in Queens, N.Y., that Amazon reminds her of the dystopian novel “The Hunger Games,” with its ability to impose its will on the less-fortunate masses. “I’m sick of freeloading billionaires!” she proclaimed.

“Amazon has a choice. It can start taking its awesome public trust to safeguard the data of its customers – and to treat them as human beings – more seriously. Or it can face the growing chorus calling for a more sweeping kind of change who say it is time for Bezos’ empire to be broken up,” said Mr. Smith.

Stuart H. Smithis an attorney with the Cooper Law Firm of New Orleans and author of Crude Justice: How I Fought Big Oil and Won, and What You Should Know About the New Environmental Attack on America.

The Four Winds Tribe Louisiana Cherokee, through its attorneys at Porteous, Hainkel and Johnson, LLP and the Winch Law Firm, L.L.C., filed a lawsuit this week against America’s pharmaceutical industry for knowingly mislabeling and misrepresenting opiate-based drugs and creating a spiraling addiction crisis across the nation, said Attorney Ralph Alexis. 

The Four Winds lawsuit is the most recent filed by a Tribal Government and joins more than 100 pending suits by other Tribes. The filing underscores the nationwide show of Tribal solidarity in stepping forward and taking necessary legal action to end the opioid epidemic plaguing Native American Tribal populations, according to Mr. Alexis.

There are currently more than 2000 lawsuits filed across the nation against the opioid manufacturers and distributors, many of which have been aggregated in a Multi-District Litigation proceeding in Cleveland, Ohio, before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster. The lawsuits also focus on the distributors’ violation of the Controlled Substances Act by their failing to report unusual patterns associated with certain opioid purchases and use. 

The Louisiana Tribe’s attorneys point to the fact that there have been on-the-record admissions of wrongdoing by some of the defendant manufacturers and distributors of opioids. 

Porteous, Hainkel and Johnson and the Winch Law Firm are part of a national leadership team of attorneys and medical experts called the Opioid Justice Team, which has filed a number of lawsuits, including class actions, on behalf of parishes, cities, non-profit health providers, hospitals, drug rehab centers, opioid-dependent and exposed babies, and Native American Tribes, all of which have borne extensive unreimbursed costs caused by the opioid epidemic.

The team alleges that civil lawsuits brought against the pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, opioid drug distributors and/or wholesalers, are the only way to remedy the prescription opioid drug epidemic.

“The documented facts show that pharmaceutical manufacturers deceptively marketed their opioid products by exaggerating the benefits of opioids and byintentionally downplayingthe extremely addictive nature of opioids,” said co-counsel Ralph Alexis of Porteous, Hainkel and Johnson. “And it is well established that the Opioid Crisis has disproportionately affected Native Americans,” said co-counsel Justin Winch of the Winch Law Firm.

The suit seeks to create long-term solutions to help deal with the medical, social and legal issues related to the epidemic.
​
For more information contact: Ralph Alexis, ralexis@phjlaw.com, (504) 581-3838 or Justin Winch, justin.winch@winchlawfirm.com, (504) 214-3400.

For more information contact: Mark Stein (mstein@lowestein.com)  504-581-2450; Craig Williams [craig@mandwlegal.com] - (318) 963-5980

Update: As of June 14, this care provider has added all its Louisiana facilities to this suit. These facilities are: The Carpenter Hospice of Northwest Louisiana; St. Joseph Hospice; St. Joseph Hospice of Acadiana; St. Joseph Hospice of Bayou Region; St. Joseph Hospice of Cenla; St. Joseph Hospice and Palliative Care of Monroe; Grace Hospice of New Orleans; St. Joseph Hospice & Palliative Care-Northshore; St. Joseph Hospice of Southwest Louisiana; Stat Home Health of Northwest Louisiana; Stat Home Health of Southwest Louisiana; Homedica of Louisiana, LLC; Companion Home Services; NOLA SJH II; Stat Home Health Of Southeast Louisiana, LLC. Additionally Allegiance Health Management facilities from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas will be included. For more information, contact Mark Stein, Lowe & Stein, et al at (504) 581-2450.

JUNE 14, 2019 Allegiance Health Management has added all its Louisiana facilities, as well as similar health care centers in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Texas, to a lawsuit filed yesterday by Minden Medical Center which seeks a jury trial for unreimbursed damages it has incurred due to America’s manufactured prescription opioid epidemic, announced Counselors Craig Williams of Marioneaux & Williams and Mark Stein of Lowe, Stein, Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver New Orleans.    

Access the original filed lawsuit here.

Here is the updated lawsuit.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, is part of a nationwide effort by a legal-medical partnership seeking damages for hospitals and emergency rooms impacted by the opioid epidemic. It makes claims of deceptive practices and racketeering by America’s drug industry.

The suit seeks to recover monetary losses they have incurred treating adults and opioid-dependent born children. The suit is against America’s pharmaceutical industry for knowingly mislabeling and misrepresenting opiate-based drugs and creating a spiraling addiction crisis across the nation. 
The suit seeks to create a long-term solution to help deal with the medical, social and legal issues related to the epidemic. 
Said Attorney Mark Stein, “Hospital damages during the last five years will increase exponentially and will continue to do so. Inpatient care due to opioid use was estimated at $700 million in 2002. By 2012, that number grew to $15 billion. And the estimates for 2017 exceed $25 billion. The cost of an opioid-related adult ICU admission rose from an average of $58,517 to $92,408 between 2009 and 2015. The in-depth analysis we and our experts have undertaken with hospitals like Minden establishes historic damages.”
 
The Opioid Justice Team has filed a number of lawsuits, including class actions, on behalf of counties, parishes, cities, non-profit health providers, drug rehab centers, opioid-dependent babies, and Native American Tribes for extensive unreimbursed costs caused by the opioid epidemic. Find more information at www.opioidjusticeteam.com
 
 
The Opioid Justice Team media contact: 
C. Brylski/D. Johnson (504) 897-6110
 
 
 

JUNE 13, 2019 (Minden, Louisiana) Minden Medical Center which serves the residents of Webster Parish in Louisiana filed suit today in federal court, seeking a jury trial for unreimbursed damages it has incurred due to America’s manufactured prescription opioid epidemic, announced Counselors Craig Williams of Marioneaux & Williams and Mark Stein of Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver New Orleans.    

The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is part of a nationwide effort by a legal-medical partnership seeking damages for hospitals and emergency rooms impacted by the opioid epidemic. It makes claims of deceptive practices and racketeering by America’s drug industry.

Mr. Williams is also representing the Parish of DeSoto in making similar claims against prescription opioid manufacturers, distributors and marketers for creating a public health problem in that area.

“The question for Minden Medical is not whether to become involved in opioid litigation, since America’s hospitals already are. The question is whether we wanted our own seat at the table to determine the fate of our own claims and be the master of our own future,” said Mr. Williams.

Minden Medical Center seeks to recover monetary losses they have incurred treating adults and opioid-dependent born children. The suit is against America’s pharmaceutical industry for knowingly mislabeling and misrepresenting opiate-based drugs and creating a spiraling addiction crisis across the nation. 

The suit seeks to create a long-term solution to help deal with the medical, social and legal issues related to the epidemic. Minden Medical Center is part of the Allegiance Health Management system which operates 12 hospitals in Louisiana.

Said Attorney Mark Stein, “Hospital damages during the last five years will increase exponentially and will continue to do so. Inpatient care due to opioid use was estimated at $700 million in 2002. By 2012, that number grew to $15 billion. And the estimates for 2017 exceed $25 billion. The cost of an opioid-related adult ICU admission rose from an average of $58,517 to $92,408 between 2009 and 2015. The in-depth analysis we and our experts have undertaken with hospitals like Minden establishes historic damages.”
 
The Opioid Justice Team has filed a number of lawsuits, including class actions, on behalf of counties, parishes, cities, non-profit health providers, drug rehab centers, opioid-dependent babies, and Native American Tribes for extensive unreimbursed costs caused by the opioid epidemic. Find more information at www.opioidjusticeteam.com

 
The Opioid Justice Team media contact: 
C. Brylski/D. Johnson (504) 897-6110
 
Filed Complaint