Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
From the monthly archives:
Plaintiff’s lawyers agreed to seek a maximum of $99.9 million in fees in the settlement of the Cobell class action over federal mismanagement of Indian tribal trust funds. Now, however, a different number has suddenly appeared on the agenda: $223 million. [National Law Journal]
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A Wisconsin personal injury firm wants locals to send them word of icy conditions in shopping walkways and suchlike places — as part of a public service campaign, it goes without saying. [Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Warshafsky law firm Spread the Sand]
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NPR, ProPublica and FrontLine collaborate on an extensive investigation of the many problems with coroners’ and medical examiners’ role in death investigation.
The Namby Pamby offers tips for settling low-value cases. Extensive use of Angry Birds is recommended.
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“A golfer whose arm was torn off by an alligator during a round of golf in South Carolina has sued the course’s owner under the novel theory that the design of the course created an alligator hazard.” [OnPoint News]
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According to a Texas hospital, a lawyer called its patients’ rooms more than 1,000 times over a three-month period “with the obvious intent to solicit employment.” An accident victim filed a complaint with the hospital, and now attorney Fisher faces possible reprimand or worse before the state Commission for Lawyer Discipline. [Courthouse News]
Just four weeks to official publication date (now March 1) for my book, and it seems as if everyone’s talking about the state of the law schools:
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Australian authorities dropped a criminal tax investigation of actor Paul Hogan, whose 1986 starring role did much for the nation’s image. Now Hogan, who lives in Los Angeles, says his reputation and career have suffered. [Lowering the Bar]
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In 2007, on Highway 101 north of Ventura, Jeremy White plowed his pickup truck into a vehicle parked along the roadside, killing its driver and paralyzing a California highway patrolman who was standing alongside. White “pleaded guilty in September 2008 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and selling and transporting marijuana. He was sentenced to 15 years.” While he had an insurance policy, its limit was a paltry $15,000. So which deep pockets will be left responsible for paying the nearly $50 million a jury has awarded in damages? The answer, apparently: 1) White’s insurance company, despite the policy limit, due to the magic of “insurance bad faith” law; 2) Bert’s Mega Mall in Covina, whose employees, according to the plaintiffs in the case, “didn’t properly strap down two dirt bikes in the back of White’s truck, which caused a distraction and contributed to the crash.”
After the trial ended Tuesday, the mall’s lawyer, Terrence Cranert, said they would appeal.
He said there was significant evidence the jury didn’t receive, including a statement from White’s passenger who told the CHP that he and White had stopped to smoke marijuana after leaving the mall. Cranert said they weren’t able to find White’s passenger for the trial, but felt the information should have been allowed.
The judge, however, disagreed.
White’s passenger also told the CHP that he and White went into the back of the truck and opened a tool box to get the marijuana, according to Cranert. “They would have to unstrap the motorcycles,” Cranert said.
[Ventura County Star reporting, liability and damages phases]
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Get your copy today! My new book tackles the question of why so many bad ideas come from the law schools. "Cutting-edge commentary, hard-hitting, witty, astute." -- Publisher's Weekly. "Excellent... A fine dissection of these strangely powerful institutions" -- Wall Street Journal.
Individual liberty, free markets, and peace: the world's premier libertarian think tank. Publishes Cato at Liberty, where I blog on contemporary policy issues.