Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Archive for September, 2004

Fall speaking schedule

I’ll be speaking this evening (Thurs. Sept. 30) in Baltimore as part of a dinner-hour panel discussion on medical malpractice reform sponsored by the Chesapeake Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society. Other events scheduled for this fall (sponsored by the Federalist Society unless otherwise specified):

* Mon. Oct. 11, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, Calif.

* Tues. Oct. 12, Chapman Law School, Orange, Calif. (lunch) and Trinity Law School, Santa Ana, Calif. (late afternoon)

* Thurs. Oct. 14, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C., Legal Reform Summit, debating Bob Levy of Cato on federalism and litigation reform

* Wed. Nov. 10, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., commenting on publication of Bob Levy’s new book Shakedown

* Fri., Nov. 12, Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, Washington, D.C., panel discussion on regulation by litigation with (among others) former Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young, Jr.;

* week of Nov. 15 (exact date TBA), Fordham Law School, New York City.

To inquire about our availability for speaking engagements, email editor – at – [this-domain-name] for me or tedfrank – at – [this-domain-name] for Ted.

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Okay, towns: build sidewalks or else

Fontana, Calif.: “Karen Medina, a student at A.B. Miller High School, was killed on Cypress Avenue in December 2001 when a car driven by a 15-year-old unlicensed driver veered out of control.” So who’s 75 percent to blame for her death? Why, the taxpayers of Fontana, because the city hadn’t built sidewalks on the thoroughfare in question — or so said a jury which awarded her parents $37.5 million. (Lance Pugmire, “Death of Girl May Cost Fontana Millions”, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 22; “Jury Blames City For Teen’s Death On Busy Road”, NBC4.tv, Sept. 22).

Now, around the country, it’s common for towns to refrain from building sidewalks alongside many or most of their roads, whether for aesthetic reasons, to reflect residents’ wishes, or simply because other ways of spending town funds seem more pressing. Fontana, known as a blue-collar community, planned to build sidewalks along Cypress Avenue at some point but was waiting for state grant money to come through. It may now have less wherewithal with which to pursue similar projects in the future. A footnote: although lawyers made much of the theme that the victim when hit was walking home from school, the actual accident occurred in a residential neighborhood which would appear not to have been especially close to the school (“less than a mile”).

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Rare-burger disclaimers, cont’d

“An exclusive London restaurant stopped asking customers to sign a legal disclaimer if they order rare or medium-rare burgers after the practice came to the attention of the city’s legal community. The restaurant at the five-star Marriott West India Quay in London’s Docklands required diners to complete a form which said it waived the hotel chain’s responsibilities should they suffer food poisoning.” (“Rare burger? Just don’t sue us”, CNN, Sept. 29). We first covered the burger-disclaimer issue more than five years ago: see Aug. 9, 1999.

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Kerry’s career as a lawyer

Blogger Beldar, fresh from a prominent role in exposing the CBS scandal, applies merciless scrutiny to the senator’s brief stint in Massachusetts legal practice (Sept. 28). Okay, so maybe Kerry didn’t accomplish much while he was a lawyer, but we’ll have to think some more about whether that’s necessarily a bad thing.

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Bonds homer lands in court (again)

“The San Francisco Giants fan who caught Barry Bonds’ 700th homer is being sued by another man who says he was the rightful owner of the prized ball, which he maintains was stolen from him during a mad scramble. According to a restraining order to be filed in state court Tuesday, Timothy Murphy said Steve Williams stole the historic blast from him during a melee in the left-center field bleachers at SBC Park on Sept. 17.” (David Kravets, “Man who caught Bonds’ 700th homer ball sued”, AP/FoxSports.com, Sept. 28) “In October 2001, Bonds’ record-setting 73rd homer of the season sparked litigation that ended when a judge ordered both men to split the $450,000 the ball fetched.” Lawyers’ fees were reported to have eaten up most of the proceeds in that case: see Jul. 1, 2003.

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Send us more of your defective product, please

Charlie Morris, the sheriff of Okaloosa County, Florida, is suing Ford Motor over alleged defects in its Crown Victoria Police Interceptor vehicles. But he also wants the company to sell the county more of the cars. When Ford refused, Sheriff Morris sued asking the court to force the automaker to furnish more vehicles. Circuit Judge G. Robert Barron rejected the suit, saying case law makes clear that companies have a right to avoid dealing with unwelcome customers. (“Judge: Ford Can Refuse to Sell Cars to Police Suing Company”, AP/TampaBayOnline, Sept. 28). For more on the Crown Victoria, see Nov. 5, 2003.

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Latest newsletter

The latest installment of our free periodic newsletter went out this afternoon to its c. 2300 subscribers, covering the last three weeks’ worth of postings in telegraphic, even punchy style. It’s a great way to keep up with items you may have missed; when you’re finished, pass on the email to a friend to let them know about the site. Sign up today, right here.

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Cost of defending your product: $250 million

Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma has been highly successful at fending off mass tort lawyers’ assault on its revolutionary but often-abused painkiller, Oxycontin. So the system works? Well, aside from the fact that its defense costs have reached $250 million. And now the company is entangled in insurance coverage litigation. (Lisa Siegel, “No Escaping OxyContin Fee Frenzy”, Connecticut Law Tribune, Sept. 27). For more on Oxycontin, see Oct. 21 and Oct. 19, 2003 and links from there.

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Oz: burger pebble depressed her libido

In Australia, Kelly Rae Hennessey is suing McDonald’s claiming she suffered a loss of libido after biting into a cheeseburger that contained a rock, according to a report in the Melbourne Herald Sun. As a result of the contaminated burger, purchased from a drive-through in Adelaide in 2000, “Hennessey says she’s suffered a loss of libido, as well as depression, nightmares, anxiety, nausea, palpitations, diarrhea, shortness of breath and toothache.” (“Woman sues over bad burger”, UPI/InterestAlert, Sept. 26).

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Pennsylvania malpractice roundup

The IssuesPA/Pew Poll has found that a remarkable 26 percent of Pennsylvanians polled “said rising malpractice insurance costs have forced their family to change doctors in the past year”, and that state residents polled also favored a constitutional cap on pain and suffering damages by a margin of 68 percent to 24 percent. (The state legislature has refused to allow such a measure to reach the ballot.)(doctor availability survey, Sept.; caps survey, Aug.). The Scranton Times Tribune, a newspaper heretofore known for skepticism about the extent of a malpractice crisis, now credits reports that the number of local doctors practicing in key specialties “has declined sharply in recent years” and that specialties with high legal risk are disproportionately affected (Jeff Sonderman, “Area losing its specialists”, Sept. 12). And in a Sept. 3 speech in Scranton, President Bush “cited the tale of Carbondale physician Neal Davis … Dr. Davis, a longtime family practitioner, stopped delivering patients’ children in January because he could no longer afford obstetrics insurance.” The result, said Bush, was that “then-expectant mother Mary Coar of Honesdale [was] out in the cold”; she wound up driving 50 miles each way to see different doctors. (Chris Burk, “Bush stresses liability reform by tale of Carbondale doctor”, Scranton Times Tribune, Sept. 4). More on Pa. malpractice: Jul. 16, May 20, Jan. 18, 2004; Sept. 12 and Jul. 23, 2003, etc.

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