Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
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Add another to our list of tavern patrons who discovered that dancing on the bar was not as safe a pastime as they initially assumed. This time the scene of the accident, and target of the resulting lawsuit, is Nashville’s Coyote Ugly Saloon. Her attorney says Ms. Barnes “‘had had a few drinks’ but was not drunk.” [Tennessean via Day]
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dietary paternalism in Bloomberg’s NYC and Washington, D.C. doesn’t go over well with writers at Slate [William Saletan, Jacob Weisberg, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Glenn Reynolds] { 2 comments }
The California Supreme Court “has refused to reinstate a lawsuit by a man who approached the flames at the Burning Man festival and got burned.” [Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle; California Civil Justice; earlier here and here][name of second linked source corrected]
Personal injury law attorney/blogger John Hochfelder, who’s also guestblogging this week at my other website Point of Law, has this story from Gardiner, New York. More: Coyote, Right-Thinking from the Left Coast.
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A New Mexico appeals court says the stadium can be sued. [AmLaw Daily]
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“Get too close to the Burning Man fire and you assume the “obvious and inherent” risk of being burned, a California appeals court has ruled in dismissing a personal injury lawsuit against the operators of the iconic countercultural arts festival.” [OnPoint News, ruling in PDF, Bob Egelko/San Francisco Chronicle, Shaun Martin/California Appellate Report (sees ruling as expanding scope of existing California assumption-of-risk defense), Michael Krauss/Point of Law (hails ruling), Lowering the Bar]
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Say not that the assumption-of-risk doctrine is defunct: “As a self-described expert skier with 13 years’ experience, Brian W. Martin, 17, was well aware of the risks associated with rail sliding and had acknowledged falling before while attempting to execute a rail maneuver, an Appellate Division, 3rd Department, panel ruled last week in Martin v. State of New York, 505999.” [NYLJ]
At a Dix Hills, Long Island golf course, Dr. Azad Anand was injured when his golfing buddy hit the ball flying without yelling the traditional cry of “fore”. A New York appellate court, however, “said getting hit by an errant ball is an ‘inherent risk of the game of golf.’” [AP/Staten Island Advance] More: John Hochfelder discusses the concept of the “foreseeable danger zone“.
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A state Supreme Court ruling that allows a Bettendorf woman to sue over injuries her daughter suffered when she was struck with an errant bat at a minor-league baseball game threatens the spirit of America’s pastime, according to a judge who said his fellow justices have “taken a mighty swing … and missed by a mile.”
Cynthia Sweeney had signed a liability waiver, but sued anyway after her daughter, sitting in the bleachers as part of a school field trip, was struck by a bat that went flying. For more baseball-liability reports, follow our baseball tag.
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This time a New York city judge has dismissed the claim of Irish tourist Valerie Morris, who slipped while dancing on a bar and sued the bar owners. We’ve covered previous dancing-on-bar suits from Illinois here and here.
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The famous West Coast festival has obtained a summary judgment against the lawsuit filed by attendee Anthony Beninati, who says he was — you have probably guessed the nature of the injury — burned “when he stumbled and fell into the Burning Man’s ashes trying to ignite a photo of a late friend” (California Civil Justice Blog; Anthony Beninati v. Black Rock City, LLC).
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The golf accident in Hillsborough County, Florida resulted in a $1 million payout. Several legal bloggers discussed the case on Twitter and Nicole Black picked us up on her compilation site, LegalTweets (which is worth checking out generally).
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It was only natural for the professional organization of the civil defense bar, the Defense Research Institute, to include bulletproof disclaimer language when sponsoring a charity race for its own lawyer-members at its annual meeting, which took place earlier this month in New Orleans. As Robert Ambrogi points out, the waiver/disclaimer warned of the risks of high altitude (in a famously low-altitude city) and asked the signer to affirm that various horrific-sounding risks, such as those of terrorism, “contribute to my enjoyment and excitement and are a reason for my voluntary participation”.
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It’s “like a climber suing a mountain”, writes Rod Liddle of the U.K. case of Manchester United trainee Ben Collett, awarded £4.5 million for the injury. (”Footballer” does not signify American football, but soccer). (The Spectator, Aug. 13; Times Online, Telegraph).
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Point of Law Volokh