“A federal court hearing on whether some two dozen hurricane evacuees can remain on a cruise ship past a mid-week deadline was delayed Monday while lawyers for the evacuees and the federal government tried to work out a compromise.” (“Settlement efforts underway in lawsuit over cruise ship deadline”, AP/KATC, Feb. 27). The Scotia Prince, on loan by its owners to FEMA to house St. Bernard Parish evacuees, was supposed to set sail this week. “Evacuees’ attorney Michael Ginart Jr. said he would work to keep the evacuees on the ship as long as possible but declined to say what exactly what the settlement might entail.” (“Hurricane Evacuees Head to Court Over Cruise Ship Housing”, AP/FoxNews.com, Feb. 27; Steve Ritea, “Cruise ship residents sue over Wednesday eviction”, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Feb. 25).
Tagged as:
Katrina
In the mail: my old friend Bruce Bartlett’s new book, “Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy“, discussed by its author here. I haven’t had a chance to do more than skim it, but here’s a truncated version of its Appendix I, reminding us of the record of Presidents in using their veto pens to stop legislation:
FDR…………635 vetoes
Truman…………250
Eisenhower…..181
Kennedy…………21
Johnson…………30
Nixon……………..43
Ford………………66
Carter…………….31
Reagan………….78
G.H.W. Bush…..44
Clinton……………38
Geo. W. Bush……0
Among the legislation enacted under the presidency of George W. Bush is the free-speech-curtailing McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill (which he’d pledged to veto), Sarbanes-Oxley, the prescription drug entitlement, and the expansion of the federal role in education, as well as innumerable profligate appropriations bills. The most recent president to veto no bills, before the current one, was James Garfield, who served for only about a half year in 1881 because of his untimely death.
Tagged as:
politics
I’m scheduled to be on the Fox News program at approximately 4:20 PM ET discussing the United Seniors’ suit against tobacco companies, which we covered on Feb. 23.
Tagged as:
on TV and radio,
tobacco
More skirmishing in preparation for the expected lawsuit against soft-drink vendors over sales in Massachusetts schools (see Dec. 5, Dec. 7, Feb. 7, etc.), via a Boston Globe editorial (“Vending against obesity”, Jan. 30):
In advance of the suit, Washington lawyer John Banzhaf sent an e-mail to 50-100 school committee members in Massachusetts ”to warn of your inevitable involvement in these law suits as a named party or otherwise…”
A couple of years back, Banzhaf threatened to sue the Seattle school district for renewing a $400,000 vending-machine contract with Coca-Cola (Jul. 3, 2003). Prof. Banzhaf’s other doings, which have ensured him regular appearances on this site, include proposing lawsuits against parents of obese children and against doctors who fail to warn their obese patients about overeating (Dec. 3, 2004).
Tagged as:
Coca-Cola,
Massachusetts,
schools,
Seattle,
soft drinks
From a Rolling Stone investigative report on L. Ron Hubbard’s Church of Scientology (Janet Reitman, “Inside Scientology”, Feb. 23):
The church has a storied reputation for squelching its critics through litigation, and according to some reports, intimidation (a trait that may explain why the creators of South Park jokingly attributed every credit on its November 2005 sendup of Scientology to the fictional John and Jane Smith; Paramount, reportedly under pressure, has agreed not to rerun the episode here or to air it in England).
More on Scientology and litigation: Oct. 25, 2005, Apr. 16, 2004; Mar. 25-26, 2002; Mar. 19-20, 2001; May 3, 2000.
Tagged as:
broadcasters,
Scientology
It’s common for producers of fashionable clothing to rip off each other’s popular ideas, and unless an item of apparel carries a deceptive label American law will provide little legal recourse for the original innovator against the imitator. Why is American fashion design nonetheless a highly innovative field? And does a similar analysis carry over to other areas where legal protection against copycats is weak, such as furniture design, hairstyle design and the development of food recipes? Tyler Cowen wonders at Marginal Revolution (Feb. 27).
Tagged as:
technology
Was high-profile civil rights lawyer and NYU lawprof Burt Neuborne working pro bono in the Swiss banks reparations case? Well, yes and no, it now seems. (William K. Rashbaum, “Lawyer’s $4.1 Million Fee Angers Holocaust Survivors”, New York Times, Feb. 25; Lattman, Feb. 27). Later updates: Jun. 30, Jul. 6, Oct. 6, 2006; Mar. 18, 2007.
Tagged as:
ethics,
pro bono,
reparations,
Switzerland
Shannon Peterson, a special education teacher in the Arvada, Colo. public schools, “can’t believe she’s being sued for bathing before leaving for work.” But the elderly couple who lives upstairs from her Denver condo unit have been complaining about noisy pipes, and unfortunately for Ms. Peterson they happen to have a son, Sheldon Smith, who’s an attorney at the large law firm of Holland and Hart. Represented by their son, the Smiths “sued Peterson just before Christmas, citing the ‘reckless and negligent use of her bathtub.’” Before that, the younger Smith had fired off a letter to Peterson, saying her “intransigence … and tortuous conduct have resulted in incredible sleep deprivation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Your obstinacy has ruled the day. That will now cease.” According to the Denver Post, his demand letter insisted that Peterson not run water in her bathtub before 8 a.m. Peterson says she can’t afford steep legal fees on a schoolteacher’s salary; a judge has scheduled a hearing on the suit for March 22. (Mike McPhee, “Lawsuit: Baths swamp sleep”, Denver Post, Feb. 21).
Tagged as:
Denver
Duly noted: Pennsylvania state treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Robert P. Casey Jr. last June made his first fund-raising trip outside the East Coast, flying to Dallas aboard a private jet owned by the law firm of Baron & Budd, poster kids for legal ethics in the asbestos realm. “Casey flew out of Dallas with more than $71,000, including $28,000 from employees of Baron and Budd.” (Carrie Budoff, “Money at center of Senate contest”, Knight Ridder/Centre Daily Times, Feb. 13)(OpenSecrets.org). Similar: Jan. 8, 2001 (Sen. Edward Kennedy).
Tagged as:
Dallas,
Pennsylvania,
politics
Now it’s California legislators: “California residents who sell goods on eBay could have to pay a $295 fee and be regulated in the same way as pawnbrokers under legislation designed to crack down on the sale of stolen property.” Opponents say the bill would drive out of business thousands of antique dealers and consignment shops, as well as eBay sellers and the dropoff shops and sellers’ agents that work with them. Pawnbrokers, who are pushing the legislation, say that state law already requires that sales of secondhand goods be reported to local law enforcement, but that the law has gone unenforced against everyone but themselves. In recent years influential Sacramento legislators, including Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), have unsuccessfully proposed measures to require secondhand sellers to report transactions to a state law enforcement database, which is the pawnbrokers’ key demand. (Greg Lucas, “Pawnbrokers try, try and try again”, San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 25). We earlier discussed proposals for licensing of eBay sellers in Ohio (Mar. 21, 2005) and North Dakota (Oct. 13, 2005).
Tagged as:
eBay,
North Dakota,
Ohio
So says Rob Pegoraro in today’s Washington Post.
It’s not that NTP never turned its ideas into a product. The patent system doesn’t reserve success to owners of factories and laboratories; the guy living in his parents’ basement is allowed to sell his idea to people with those resources.
No, the problem here is simpler. There are too many bogus patents getting handed out.
Pegoraro also notes that RIM is hardly an innocent in the patent wars. The potential injunction has gotten loads of press coverage; Howard Bashman has roundups here, here, and here. See also Point of Law, Nov. 25, and Overlawyered’s Blackberry litigation coverage.
Tagged as:
BlackBerry,
technology
Richard Kreimer, the homeless man who made headlines in 1991 when he won $230,000 from officials of the Morristown, N.J. public library, who had ejected him for his strongly offensive body odor and for repeatedly staring at patrons, has now obtained a settlement in his lawsuit against a New Jersey bus company whose drivers allegedly refused to let him board their vehicles for similar reasons (see Mar. 17, 2005). Kreimer says that as a condition of receiving money he is bound not to discuss the terms of the settlement. He still has individual lawsuits pending against the two bus drivers involved, as well as a separate federal lawsuit pending “against NJ Transit, the city of Summit, and others, alleging he was wrongly ejected from train stations because he is homeless.” Although a court later overturned the ruling on which the 1991 settlement had been based, it proved impossible to reclaim the $230,000 settlement paid him, which according to AP was spent about half on lawyers’ fees and half on Kreimer’s living expenses. (Wayne Parry, “Homeless man settles lawsuit against bus company”, AP/NJ.com, Feb. 17; New Jersey for Change, Feb. 18)(& welcome Fark readers — and apologies for the practice of Hosting Matters, which, we just now learned, blocks referrers from that popular site because it doesn’t want to process the burst of traffic. If you get a blocking message, try “refresh/reload” or go to our main page and scroll down).
Tagged as:
New Jersey,
personal responsibility,
Richard Kreimer
Yep, it’s happened again: “The Minnesota Commerce Department on Thursday announced plans to fine a gas station chain $140,000 for repeatedly selling gas below the state’s legal minimum price.” (Tom Ford, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Feb. 24). For earlier installments, see Jun. 5, 2004 (Minnesota again), May 21, 2005 (Maryland). And, of course, for the reverse, see Feb. 17, etc.
Tagged as:
Katrina,
Maryland,
Minnesota
In The Old Days (ITOD for short) it was very unlikely that a six-year-old would draw a three-day suspension from first grade on grounds of “sexual harassment”, as one just did, says Ned Crabb of the Wall Street Journal (“Schoolyard cred”, OpinionJournal, Feb. 24). More: Wendy McElroy comments (“Sexual Harassment Policies Need Reform”, iFeminists/Independent Institute, Feb. 17).
Tagged as:
harassment law,
schools
Mohammed Aqueel Hussain, 26, of Burnley, Lancashire, was on parole from a 2001 conviction for wounding, when, while driving a stolen VW Golf with a provisional license (he hadn’t had a lesson in ten years) and no insurance, he killed a three-year-old girl, Levi Bleasdale, in a hit-and-run accident that he never reported. Hussain pled guilty to careless driving and handling stolen goods, and was sentenced to twelve weeks, leading Tony Blair, among others, to call for stricter sentencing. (BBC, Feb. 22; Mirror, Feb. 24; TimesOnline Law Blog, Feb. 22).
Overlawyered is pleased to be the only American blog on the TimesOnline’s blogroll; one can find our UK coverage here.
Tagged as:
crime and punishment,
United Kingdom
Second verse, same as the first: this time, the defendant is Credit Lyonnais, and once again, the “connection” to a terrorist group is a charity that keeps a fraction of its money at the French bank, is considered by French law to be a legitimate charity. In fact, Commite de Bienfaisance pour la Solidarite avec la Palestine was not designated a “global terrorist organization” by the USA until August 2003, after many of the plaintiffs were injured by Hamas, which is not a defendant in the case. And the bank shut down the account in September 2003! (Joseph Goldstein, “Americans Sue French Bank In Terror Case”, New York Sun, Feb. 24) (via Bashman). The motion to dismiss in the Weiss v. National Westminster case, which we discussed Jan. 6, is available on the Liability Project‘s Documents in the News page. Update Oct. 8: judge denies motion to dismiss.
Tagged as:
deep pocket,
France,
personal responsibility
Mark Bourrie, who puts out the blog Ottawa Watch, indulged in some unkind comments at the expense of Warren Kinsella, a prominent operative in Canada’s Liberal Party. Then Kinsella filed a libel action demanding C$600,000. (Jorge Barrera, Ottawa Sun, Feb. 15; Jay Currie, Feb. 15). Although numerous well-wishers urged Bourrie to resist in court, the two sides settled the case within about a week and Bourrie published an apologetic note on his blog. Sequence of posts at Ottawa Watch: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh.
Tagged as:
bloggers and the law,
Canada,
free speech in Canada,
libel slander and defamation
Retired Texas doctor Max Wells is suing seven casinos and drugmaker Glaxo SmithKline, saying an anti-Parkinson’s drug predisposed him to compulsive gambling. “His lawsuit, filed Friday, says the drug company didn’t warn patients that Requip could cause compulsive behavior. And it cites a 2005 Mayo Clinic study that documented 11 Parkinson’s patients who developed compulsive gambling habits while taking Requip or a similar drug called Mirapex.” (Claire Osborn, Austin American-Statesman, Feb. 22; KevinMD, Feb. 22). More: Derek Lowe comments (Feb. 26).
Tagged as:
compulsive gambling,
personal responsibility,
product liability
