Posts tagged as:

autos

A Fistful of Rebates“:

….what’s true about Detroit is true about all of us. This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get back up, slip again, and send the video to our personal injury lawyer. And when we do – the world is going to hear the roar of our engines.

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A much-linked L.A. Times account seemed somehow “off,” and George Wallace now explains why.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who has made “distracted driving” his “signature safety issue,” is putting distance between himself and the NTSB’s call for a sweeping ban. [Reuters, Tina Korbe/Hot Air, earlier here and here]

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Volt vs. Toyota

by Walter Olson on December 12, 2011

Coyote wonders about the contrast between the frantic, America-in-crisis media and political coverage of an imaginary Toyota sudden acceleration glitch and the considerably mellower reception given an alleged safety hazard in Chevy Volts, put out by government-sponsored General Motors.

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“…then suing for the same reason seems illogical.” [Nick Farr, Abnormal Use, on Yamaha Rhino cases]

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November 26 roundup

by Walter Olson on November 26, 2011

  • “Ohio Attorney Sues Over Misleading Emails, Even Though He Wasn’t Misled” [Chris Danzig, Above the Law]
  • Feds say new EPA-ordered fuel economy standards could add $2000 to price of new car [C.J. Ciamarella, Daily Caller] More: WSJ.
  • Las Vegas considers following Chicago’s lenders-must-cut-grass folly [Kevin Funnell, earlier] “The Fed actually does impose, via legal risk, a de facto ceiling on mortgage rates.” [Mark Calabria, Cato]
  • 2nd Circuit: Prison Litigation Reform Act curbs attorney fee shift at 150% of cash won, and yes, that applies to a $1 award [PoL] Panel on attorneys’ fees in class actions at Federalist Society convention [video, PoL]
  • John McClaughry reviews Reckless Endangerment, Morgenson/Rosner book on financial crisis [Reason]
  • Daniel Hannan on John Fonte’s new book on transnational law, Sovereignty or Submission [Telegraph, and see chapters 11-12 of Schools for Misrule] International human rights activism pushes into “economic rights” [James P. Kelly III, Federalist Society "Engage"] NGOs exercise oft-envied combination of power without responsibility [Anderson] UK attorney general Dominic Grieve takes on the European court of human rights [Joshua Rozenberg, Guardian] UN battle plan on non-communicable diseases aims to save us from ourselves;
  • Sans statutory authority, EPA wanders into “environmental justice” [PowerLine]

October 6 roundup

by Walter Olson on October 6, 2011

August 12 roundup

by Walter Olson on August 12, 2011

  • More reviews of Schools for Misrule: Counterpoint (U. of Chicago), Wilson Trivino at PurePolitics.com;
  • “Cops Collar 12 Year Old for “Walking Alone” in Downtown Toronto” [Free-Range Kids] Cop tells mom kids under ten “by law are not allowed outside unsupervised except in their parents’ yard.” [western Maryland, same]
  • As lawmakers seek budget cuts, school finance litigators are on the march to counter their plans [WSJ Law Blog]
  • Wouldn’t waive regs: “U.S. blocks $1 million Italian supercar” [CNN Money]
  • You see, entrepreneurial suit-filing does create jobs: “Hike in Wage-and-Hour Litigation Spurs Demand for Calif. Employment Law Associates” [ABA Journal] How U.S. Congress devastated American Samoa through minimum wage hikes [Mark Perry]
  • CCAF objects in Sirius class action settlement [PoL, earlier]
  • “The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors” [Darshak Sanghavi, NY Times Magazine]

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Alcohol interlocks and our dystopian driving future [Rick Berman, Daily Caller; earlier here, here, etc.]

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July 7 roundup

by Walter Olson on July 7, 2011

  • Correct result, yet potential for mischief in latest SCOTUS climate ruling [Ilya Shapiro/Cato, my earlier take]
  • Wouldn’t even want to guess: how the Howard Stern show handles sexual harassment training [Hyman]
  • Philadelphia: $21 million award against emergency room handling noncompliant patient [Kennerly]
  • Antitrust assault on Google seems geared to protect competitors more than consumers [Josh Wright]
  • “They knew there was a risk!” Curb your indignation please [Coyote]
  • Theme issue of Reason magazine on failures of criminal justice system is now online;
  • “Why Your New Car Doesn’t Have a Spare Tire” [Sam Kazman, WSJ]

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June 14 roundup

by Walter Olson on June 14, 2011

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Self-driving cars

by Walter Olson on June 7, 2011

The technology is advancing rapidly, and promises a vast emancipation from drudgery — if punitive/prohibitive liability and regulatory rules don’t block its path. [Tyler Cowen] More: Ryan Calo.

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“Every time we go to hire an attorney to defend a lawsuit, as soon as we say ‘Ford Explorer,’ they charge us more money,” explains a company spokeswoman. Today’s Explorer is based on a design entirely different from the model that attracted rollover litigation in the 1990s, which doesn’t seem to matter. [Edward Niedermeyer, Truth About Cars]

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Soaring prices have lately rocked the used-car market, which — I argue in a new post at Cato at Liberty — should cast even more doubt on the wisdom of some of the federal government’s recent interventions in the auto business.

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James Beck explains and Orac has some strong views as well (”I’m afraid Justice Sotomayor borders on the delusional when she blithely proclaims that courts are so good at efficiently disposing of meritless product liability claims.”) More: Kathleen Seidel and footnotes.

P.S. But preemption does not carry the day in an automotive case, Williamson v. Mazda.

December 28 roundup

by Walter Olson on December 28, 2010

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That’s something Congress should remember, notes the Economist, before it passes more laws named after victims, such as the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2008, under which the Department of Transportation is in the process of mandating rear cameras on cars so as to reduce back-over accidents in family driveways.

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Kevin at Lowering the Bar spots a promising new theory in a defense expert’s testimony, though it’s not clear the lawyers actually wound up making use of it. [Vail Daily, same at Denver Post]

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