Overlawyered » Australia http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 “Passing along” our new tax? Tell it to the judge, mate http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/passing-along-our-new-tax-tell-it-to-the-judge-mate/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/passing-along-our-new-tax-tell-it-to-the-judge-mate/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:17:57 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25745 The official Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is menacing businesses with audits, “substantiation notices” and potentially stiff fines if they tell customers — even over the phone or in emails — that future price hikes on goods or services are the result of the nation’s newly adopted carbon tax. I discuss at Cato at Liberty (& Mark Hemingway, Weekly Standard).

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/passing-along-our-new-tax-tell-it-to-the-judge-mate/feed/ 4 Australia: “A terrible day for free speech in this country” http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:12:35 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24824 Popular commentator Andrew Bolt “was found guilty Wednesday of breaking Australian discrimination law by implying that fair-skinned Aborigines chose to identify as indigenous for profit and career advancement.” A judge “said he will prohibit reproduction of the offending articles,” and “Bolt and his publisher must meet with the plaintiffs to discuss appropriate court orders that would reflect the judgment.” [AP, earlier, Volokh](& Popehat)

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/feed/ 5 September 16 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-16-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-16-roundup/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:11:55 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24652
  • House Judiciary holds hearing on asbestos-claim fraud and abuse, with Prof. Brickman headlining [Main Justice, Legal NewsLine, WSJ law blog, PoL, Brickman testimony]
  • Endangered species habitat in Nevada: “Elko County wants end to 15-year-old trout case” [AP]
  • “Why is the Eastern District of Texas home to so many patent trolls?” [Ted Frank/PoL, more] Tech giants say multi-defendant patent suits place them at disadvantage [WSJ Law Blog] Plus: “Patent company has big case, no office” [John O'Brien, Legal NewsLine]
  • Lawsuit settlement and the lizard brain [Popehat]
  • “U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Looks Into Eminent Domain Abuses” [Kanner, Somin] U.K.: “Squatters could be good for us all, says judge in empty homes ruling” [Telegraph]
  • Madison mob silences Roger Clegg at news conference where he releases new study of UW race bias [ABA Journal, Althouse]
  • Life in Australia: “Another motorized-beer-cooler DUI” [Lowering the Bar]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-16-roundup/feed/ 4     August 2 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-2-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-2-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:45:48 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24105
  • Yikes! “House Committee Approves Bill Mandating That Internet Companies Spy on Their Users” [EFF; Julian Sanchez, New York Post/Cato and podcast]
  • Australia courts skeptical about claim that sex injury is covered under workers’ comp [Herald Sun]
  • Well-off community doesn’t need annual HUD grant, seeks to sell it [Dan Mitchell]
  • Report: playful City Museum in St. Louis has taken down signs criticizing lawyers [Bill Childs/TortsProf, earlier]
  • Chicago neurosurgeons pay $4500 a week in med-mal premiums, blame lawless Illinois Supreme Court [Medill Reports] Supreme Court declines to review Feres doctrine, which shields military doctors (among others) from suits [Stars and Stripes] Why is the most widely cited number of medical-misadventure deaths such an outlier? [White Coat; more here, here, etc.]
  • After “Facebook broken heart” suit, will pre-nups for Mafia Wars relationships be next? [Tri-Cities Herald]
  • Another horrific report of poppy seed positive drug test followed by child-grabbing [Radley Balko]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-2-roundup-2/feed/ 3     Australia: employers liable for home injuries of work-at-home staff http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/australia-employers-liable-for-home-injuries-of-work-at-home-staff/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/australia-employers-liable-for-home-injuries-of-work-at-home-staff/#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:07:56 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23563 “In the first fall at 6pm on August 21, 2006, Ms Hargreaves was going to get cough medicine from the fridge in her sock-clad feet…. The tribunal found both falls ‘arose out of Ms Hargreaves’ employment with Telstra’ which made them workplace injuries. Legal experts said the ruling could force employers to conduct workplace health and safety audits in the homes of the one-in-four Queenslanders who regularly work from their private residence for lifestyle reasons.” A law professor said employers “should not enter lightly into home work arrangements” because homes are “inherently dangerous places,” while a labor union spokeswomen said employers should not be able to “contract out” of safety and health obligations. [Courier-Mail; my related take a while back]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/australia-employers-liable-for-home-injuries-of-work-at-home-staff/feed/ 5     June 10 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-10-roundup-4/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-10-roundup-4/#comments Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:41:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23338
  • The appalling reign of California’s prison guards union [Tim Kowal, League of Ordinary Gentlemen via Tim Cavanaugh; Steven Malanga, City Journal; earlier]
  • Defense side, including dozens of sued bloggers, begins to respond in “Rakofsky v. Internet” case [Turkewitz, Popehat, earlier]
  • Point/counterpoint on class action arbitration clauses [Karlsgodt]
  • Group plans to Twitter-fy the novel Ulysses via crowdsourcing in time for Bloomsday, but let’s hope nobody tells litigation-prone Joyce heir [Ulysses Meets Twitter 2011 via BoingBoing]
  • Battle over reform of joint and several liability continues in Pennsylvania legislature [Wajert]
  • From Miami, latest dramatic tale of cops vs. citizen video-taking [David Rittgers, Cato at Liberty] New Jersey bill would criminalize taking photos of kids in many circumstances [Nicole Ciandella, CEI, see also]
  • Australia: “Man Gets Workers’ Comp for Injury Sustained When Punching Customer” [Lowering the Bar]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-10-roundup-4/feed/ 1     April 6 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-6-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-6-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:08:23 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22358
  • Lack of defect poses problem for plaintiff: Toyota prevails in first acceleration case [NLJ]
  • Australia: writer Andrew Bolt on trial for alleged racially disparaging columns [Herald Sun, Crikey, The Age]
  • “Attorneys Put Themselves Before Consumers in Class Action over Faulty Computer Chip” [CJAC, Frank/CCAF on NVidia case]
  • Ruling by Federal Circuit is thinning out rush of patent marking cases [Qualters, NLJ, earlier]
  • Podcast: Lester Brickman and “Lawyer Barons” [PoL, earlier here and here]
  • “Are class actions unconstitutional?” [Lahav, Mass Tort Lit, on Martin Redish book]
  • “Free speech belongs on campuses too” [Ilya Shapiro, Cato, on Widener case, with kind mention of Schools for Misrule]
  • King Canute turns attention to dry land: states mull bills to forbid use of distressed properties as appraisal comps [Funnell]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-6-roundup-2/feed/ 5     Children’s sidewalk chalk drawing http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/childrens-sidewalk-chalk-drawing/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/childrens-sidewalk-chalk-drawing/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:49:00 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22376 Per some in Australia, it may be too dangerous an activity: “‘The mayor said they would like to issue us a permit but can’t because it raises health and safety issues, in case somebody fell over a child on the footpath or into the street,’ [a cafe owner] said.” [Free-Range Kids]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/childrens-sidewalk-chalk-drawing/feed/ 1     Oz: “Companies to face mandatory reporting in bid to boost gender equality” http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/oz-companies-to-face-mandatory-reporting-in-bid-to-boost-gender-equality/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/oz-companies-to-face-mandatory-reporting-in-bid-to-boost-gender-equality/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:25:42 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21998 “Companies with more than 100 workers will face spot checks and mandatory reporting on the numbers of women they employ and their position under tough new measures aimed at boosting gender equality in the workplace.” [The Australian]

    Plus, related: Case against UK quotas for women on corporate boards [Bainbridge]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/oz-companies-to-face-mandatory-reporting-in-bid-to-boost-gender-equality/feed/ 0     “Crocodile Dundee planning to sue Australia” http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/crocodile-dundee-planning-to-sue-australia/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/crocodile-dundee-planning-to-sue-australia/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:23:32 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21245 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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