Fireworks and the 4th of July Caused Injury to Many in Floyd County, Iowa

Floyd County, Iowa - A fireworks accident in Charles City on the 2008 Fourth of July is causing ... well, fireworks in the Courthouse. Judge Bryan McKinley has ruled all four lawsuits will be consolidated. The defendant is J&M Displays of Yarmouth. Reportedly 37 people were injured when a shell malfunctioned and fireworks were set off in a crowd of onlookers. Five other lawsuits were already settled but the amounts aren't being disclosed. Checking Iowa Courts Online produced three lawsuits involving J&M Displays, Inc. It's difficult to determine which if any are the same defendant.  Two where J&M is the plaintiff (LACV006604 and SCSC010582) and a third where it is listed as an obligee. (SRIN004841)

LACV006604 - Buchanan County, created 4/23/2008 and disposed of on 2/2/2010. Titled: J&M DISPLAYS VS SCOTT ANDERSON ETAL, appearances by attorneys Timothy Roberts and Jay Roberts.

Now let's consider for a moment the confidential settlements which make me wonder if corporate America is held in higher priority than are human citizens. If you get divorced in Iowa the Courts never want to make your financial disclosures confidential and shield the financial facts from the public's eyes. I've always wondered why because bad characters who may want to kidnap someone's children will focus on those with money. But corporate America wants it's dirty laundry hid from the public's eye and gets just that.

Now back to these lawsuits. Here are the relevant docket entries.

Iowa Secretary of State shows J&M Displays is active with corporation number 11369 a domestic for profit corporation effectively October 8, 1986 in Yarmouth, Iowa. The registered agent is James J. Oetken. Mr. Oetken is also shown to be the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Wouldn't it be nice to know what went wrong? Isn't the public entitled to know when public funds are used to pay for the service?