Overlawyered » animals

Maryland pit bull ruling, cont’d

Walter Olson — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:02:08 +0000

It’s presumably an intended effect of the recent court ruling that landlords will threaten families with eviction unless they stop keeping the dogs as pets, and that skittish insurers will hike rates on such households sharply or refuse to insure them entirely. But there is much uncertainty as to exactly which dogs count as “pit bulls”; will Maryland pet owners need to shell out for DNA testing, at $120 a pop? And is it also an intended effect of the ruling that unoffending, well-trained dogs end up being euthanized in droves? “Ohio recently repealed its statewide breed-specific legislation because it was ineffective and inequitable,” notes my Cato Institute colleague Nita Ghei. [Daily Caller, earlier]

Tags: animals, dog bites, Maryland

Maryland pit bull ruling, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Man says custody battle cost life savings

Walter Olson — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:53:18 +0000

Canine custody, that is: Craig Dershowitz says he’s spent $60,000 suing his ex-girlfriend over who will get their dog. “It’s worth it,” he says. [NY Post via Elie Mystal, Above the Law]

Tags: animals, family law

Man says custody battle cost life savings is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

May 15 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:03:38 +0000

“Fan sues Insane Clown Posse after injury at Illinois concert” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] “As Insanity is not a defense to the claim, the Clowns are now adding litigation counsel to their Posse.” [@colinsamuels]
Suit on behalf of school-cheat son “wouldn’t have been much of a story” if dad had left argument to hired gun [Mark Bennett, earlier]
If you can’t buy a Coke with your debit card any more, this may be why [Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason] Related: “a ‘do-nothing Congress’ is sort of like a ‘do-nothing arsonist.’” [IowaHawk]

L.A. judge reverses much-publicized Honda small claims award [CBS Local, earlier]
Harris County judge deems pig “common, traditional” pet in homeowner association suit [Houston Chronicle]
Plaintiffs, not just defendants, can use Daubert to exclude opponents’ scientific theories that fall short of general acceptance by the relevant scientific community. Why is this news when it was clearly part of the intended and expected effect of Daubert from day one? [guestposter Mark Bower at Turkewitz]
“The unfair attack on ALEC” [Ted Frank and Jim Copland at PoL] More: Wendy Gramm and Brooke Rollins, WSJ.

Tags: animals, Daubert, debtor-creditor law, music and musicians

May 15 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Showdown: Protected birds vs. protected fish

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:16:55 +0000

“Oregon officials … want federal approval to shoot a sea bird that eats millions of baby salmon trying to reach the ocean. Oregon needs federal approval to start shooting double-crested cormorants because the birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” The state has previously attempted to protect the salmon fry by paying for speedboats and firecrackers to harass the cormorants, but “harassment has ‘proved insufficient.’” [East Oregonian via Balko]

P.S.: Meanwhile, “Federal prosecutors hope to use an obscure law to punish two recreational pilots whose low flying may have disturbed thousands of resting migratory birds in Iowa.” [h/t Baylen Linnekin]

Tags: animals, endangered species, Oregon

Showdown: Protected birds vs. protected fish is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

NYC issues $300 tickets for ornamental birdbaths

Walter Olson — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:14:43 +0000

The premise is that they are a public health menace since standing water in them might afford a haven for mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus. [Gideon Kanner]

Tags: animals, Michael Bloomberg, NYC, public health

NYC issues $300 tickets for ornamental birdbaths is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Chimp mauling victim wants to sue state

Walter Olson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:16:41 +0000

A Bridgeport attorney for Charla Nash says the attack could have been avoided had Connecticut been tougher in enforcing its regulations. [WCBS]

Tags: animals, Connecticut, sovereign immunity

Chimp mauling victim wants to sue state is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Ethnic foodways vs. state regulation

Walter Olson — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:14:01 +0000

The sale of live seafood, common in Chinese food markets, can collide with blanket state regulation of wildlife sales. Virginia, for example, classifies as wildlife any animals not appearing on a list of domestic animals, even if they are raised on farms and have never lived in the wild. While the Virginia suburbs of D.C. have won fame as a hot spot for admirers of Asian food, the selection got somewhat narrower last year with the confiscation of eels, crayfish, bullfrogs and other critters from the Great Wall supermarket. Two store managers were hit with felony charges. [NY Times, Washington Post ]

Tags: animals, eat drink and be merry, food safety, Virginia

Ethnic foodways vs. state regulation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Park Service sued over fatal Olympic goat goring”

Walter Olson — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:04:28 +0000

“The family of a man who was gored to death by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park is suing the Park Service.” [AP, National Parks Traveler, earlier]

Tags: animals, recreation

“Park Service sued over fatal Olympic goat goring” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawyers can’t safety-proof national parks

Walter Olson — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:04:32 +0000

Timothy Egan, New York Times, on lawsuits over rogue mountain goats and other hazards of wild places:

My experience, purely anecdotal, is that the more rangers try to bring the nanny state to public lands, the more careless, and dependent, people become. There will always be steep cliffs, deep water, and ornery and unpredictable animals in that messy part of the national habitat not crossed by climate-controlled malls and processed-food emporiums. If people expect a grizzly bear to be benign, or think a glacier is just another variant of a theme park slide, it’s not the fault of the government when something goes fatally wrong.

More: Steve Chapman (most dangerous animal in the parks is the one “wearing your pants”); David Boaz.

Tags: animals, environment, nanny state

Lawyers can’t safety-proof national parks is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“ADA Suit May Overturn Pit-Bull Bans”

Walter Olson — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:18:36 +0000

“City officials in Denver and in the neighboring suburb of Aurora are being sued over their enforcement of dog breed bans. The suit claims the bans violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.” [Arin Greenwood, ABA Journal]

Tags: animals, disabled rights, service animals

“ADA Suit May Overturn Pit-Bull Bans” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system