In 2004, truck driver Simon Loza Mejia violated company regulations, and took his eight-year-old Diana Yuleidy Loza-Jimenez along on a long-haul trip from Oregon to Bakersfield. That November 27, he was pulling away in the truck, but apparently didn’t bother to check where his daughter was, and ran over her. This was, argued her attorneys, the fault of her father’s employer—and a Sacramento County judge agreed with the argument that it was legally irrelevant that her father was the one who ran her over. Unsurprisingly, a jury ignorant of the facts awarded Diana, whose lower body was crushed, a jackpot verdict of $24.3 million, over $20 million of which was noneconomic damages. (Andy Furillo, “Sacramento jury awards record $24.3 million to girl run over by dad’s truck”, Sacramento Bee, Mar. 9 (h/t @BobDorigoJones)).
Tagged as:
California,
deep pocket,
jackpot justice,
noneconomic damages,
pedestrian,
personal responsibility,
vicarious liability
On Super Bowl Sunday, E-Trade ran one of their annoying talking-baby commercials; this one featured a blond baby named “Lindsay” (the 380th most popular baby-girl name in 2008) that another baby calls a “milk-aholic.” This, says 23-year-old Lindsay Lohan, was a violation of the rights to her “name and characterization”; she’s sued in Nassau County, New York state court, and is asking for $100 million. The advertising agency says Baby Lindsay was named after someone on the ad team. [lawsuit via TMZ; NY Post; Reuters]
Commenter Richard Nieporent reminds us of the similar Spike Lee vs. Spike TV silliness.
Tagged as:
advertising,
celebrities,
Lindsay Lohan,
New York state,
right of publicity,
Super Bowl
The Labor Department may abolish the longstanding exemption of home health care aides from federal overtime pay requirements. The shift could greatly increase costs for providing agencies, and perhaps also have effects on quality, since agencies might decide to protect themselves by requiring more aides to clock out and go home at points when housebound patients could really benefit from their continued assistance [Weiner, Epstein Becker Green Prima Facie Law Blog]
Tagged as:
medical,
wage and hour suits
I’ll be traveling this week (mostly Washington, D.C.) and may not be able to respond to inquiries or moderate comments until I return. I’ve set up a number of items to auto-post in my absence, though, so check back.
Tagged as:
blog mechanics
- From attorney Bob Ambrogi, on Twitter: “This felt wrong: Shortly after heated call with lawyer saying he’d sue my client, he sent me invite to connect on LinkedIn.” Related: Amy Alkon.
- “Spot the lawsuit in this commercial” [Louis Vuitton vs. Hyundai; Trademark Blog]
- Video: “Community swimming pool closes due to lawsuit” [Hazleton, Pa.; U.S. Chamber Faces of Lawsuit Abuse series; plaintiff's side of things]
- Recycling, found materials, and why so much “green building” won’t last [Sippican Cottage and followup]
- German ban on homeschooling not a compelling reason to grant asylum to affected family [Krikorian, NRO, Volokh]
- Ted’s Center for Class Action Fairness files objections to a Costco fuel class settlement; related reflections from the judge in the recent Honda case;
- “Photographing Public Art: A Legal Waltz in Seattle” [Citizen Media Law, earlier]
- “Big Bankruptcies’ Big Fees Raising Questions” [Asarco, Station Casinos; Baxter, AmLaw Daily]
Tagged as:
bankruptcy,
class action settlements,
immigration law,
lawyers,
Pennsylvania,
pools,
recycling,
trademarks
Looks like network news departments are up to some of their old tricks. Gawker has the story (”How ABC News’ Brian Ross Staged His Toyota Death Ride”) and followup (”ABC News’ Toyota Test Fiasco”).
In the chapter “Trial Lawyer TV” in my book The Rule of Lawyers (St. Martin’s 2003, not online, why don’t you buy a copy?) I found that not only had the networks seemed to have learned nothing from the notorious 1993 “Dateline NBC” fiasco, they had actually gone back to using some of the same expert witnesses, “consumer” groups and staging techniques that had gotten them in trouble in the first place. So I must say nothing surprises me.
More: Neal Boudette, “Toyota slams ABC News on pedals”, WSJ:
At a news conference, engineering consultants hired by Toyota also showed they are able to cause vehicles made by three other auto makers to rev suddenly by making the same electronic modifications used by a college professor who was the subject of the ABC report, and who testified before Congress last month.
Other coverage: Matt Hardigree, Jalopnik; Washington Post (quoting Edmunds.com senior editor Bill Visnic as saying the carmaker “really chipped away at the evidence provided by Dr. Gilbert during the congressional hearings”); Safety Research & Strategies of Rehoboth, Mass., a trial lawyer consulting firm, “funded Gilbert’s test”, according to Business Week; Gilbert’s response at Barrons.com.
Tagged as:
sudden acceleration,
Toyota
By a 70-30 margin [Telegraph] Earlier coverage is here, and the Wall Street Journal profiled the one cantonal animal public defender in an article last week.
P.S. Ann Althouse, on reading about the “lawyers-for-pets plan”: “I thought: What? Do you turn in your lawyer and get a pet in exchange?”
Tagged as:
animal rights,
Switzerland
“IRS Suspends One of Boston’s ‘Most Highly Regarded’ Tax Lawyers for 48 Months for Failing to File Tax Returns” [Paul Caron, TaxProf]
Tagged as:
taxes
Because touching is tantamount to taking, or something of that sort. “The girl did not bring the prescription drug to her Jeffersonville, IN school, nor did she take it, but she admits that she touched it and in Greater Clark County Schools that is drug possession.” [WAVE3.com]
Tagged as:
Indiana,
zero tolerance
- France: Scholar faces criminal libel charge over mildly negative book review [Steven Landsburg/The Big Questions; more, Citizen Media Law] U.K. atheist convicted of religious harassment for leaving cartoon leaflets in prayer room [Media Watch Watch and earlier via Secular Right]
- Classic New Yorker writer of 1940s: “St. Clair McKelway on insurance, embezzlement, arson, and counterfeiting” [Freeland, North Mississippi Commentor]
- Bulletin: In hiring new editors, New York Times will stop preferring those with scores of 89 over those who score 65. Oh wait;
- “If I can drive a motorcycle, why can’t I drive a marginally more dangerous car concept? Because Detroit and its lobbyists have built it into the system, that’s why.” [reader at Andrew Sullivan]
- “Jersey Shore Victim Wants DVDs Suppressed” [Above the Law]
- Class action suit against Yelp.com alleges “extortion” [NY Times "Bits", TechCrunch]
- “Some Employers Complain Law Barring Genetic Bias Hurts Wellness Efforts” [ABA Journal]
- “The Criminalization of Almost Everything” [Harvey Silverglate and Tim Lynch, Cato Policy Report]
Tagged as:
France,
free speech,
hate speech,
NHTSA,
United Kingdom,
workplace
