Overlawyered » cellphones http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sun, 27 May 2012 14:01:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Judge: text-sender can’t be sued for recipient’s crash http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/judge-text-sender-cant-be-sued-for-recipients-crash/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=judge-text-sender-cant-be-sued-for-recipients-crash http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/judge-text-sender-cant-be-sued-for-recipients-crash/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 19:19:17 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29998 “A woman who texted her boyfriend while he was driving cannot be held liable for a car crash he caused while responding, seriously injuring a motorcycling couple, a judge ruled Friday in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.” [AP/USA Today, earlier] Tweet Tags: cellphones

Judge: text-sender can’t be sued for recipient’s crash is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> “A woman who texted her boyfriend while he was driving cannot be held liable for a car crash he caused while responding, seriously injuring a motorcycling couple, a judge ruled Friday in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.” [AP/USA Today, earlier]

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Judge: text-sender can’t be sued for recipient’s crash is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/judge-text-sender-cant-be-sued-for-recipients-crash/feed/ 3 LaHood’s cellphone crusade, cont’d http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/lahoods-cellphone-crusade-contd/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lahoods-cellphone-crusade-contd http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/lahoods-cellphone-crusade-contd/#comments Sun, 20 May 2012 14:28:21 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29807 Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s press spokesman describes as “inaccurate” Reuters’ report that his boss endorses a Congressionally enacted national across-the-board ban on cellphone use. (The Newspaper; our earlier posts here and here; Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg View). More from The Newspaper: At the same time that the US Department of Transportation is pushing laws to ban [...]

LaHood’s cellphone crusade, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s press spokesman describes as “inaccurate” Reuters’ report that his boss endorses a Congressionally enacted national across-the-board ban on cellphone use. (The Newspaper; our earlier posts here and here; Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg View).

More from The Newspaper:

At the same time that the US Department of Transportation is pushing laws to ban in-car cell phone use, it is promoting the “511″ government program that encourages drivers to dial 511 for information on traffic conditions instead of tuning in to a traffic reports on AM radio.

Related: “Communities start to fine for texting and walking” [USA Today]

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LaHood’s cellphone crusade, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/lahoods-cellphone-crusade-contd/feed/ 2 New Jersey woman sued over sending text to someone who was driving http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/new-jersey-woman-sued-over-sending-text-to-someone-who-was-driving/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-jersey-woman-sued-over-sending-text-to-someone-who-was-driving http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/new-jersey-woman-sued-over-sending-text-to-someone-who-was-driving/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 15:47:59 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29736 A judge in Morris County, N.J. is expected to rule soon whether to dismiss Shannon Colonna as a defendant in a lawsuit over a car crash. Colonna was far from the scene at the time, but plaintiffs said she had sent a text message to the driver whose inattention caused the accident, and thus aided [...]

New Jersey woman sued over sending text to someone who was driving is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> A judge in Morris County, N.J. is expected to rule soon whether to dismiss Shannon Colonna as a defendant in a lawsuit over a car crash. Colonna was far from the scene at the time, but plaintiffs said she had sent a text message to the driver whose inattention caused the accident, and thus aided and abetted his negligence. [The Record; AP; NJLRA] Update: judge dismisses claims against Colonna.

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New Jersey woman sued over sending text to someone who was driving is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/new-jersey-woman-sued-over-sending-text-to-someone-who-was-driving/feed/ 18 A universal driver-cellphone ban? http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/the-trouble-with-cellphone-bans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-trouble-with-cellphone-bans http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/the-trouble-with-cellphone-bans/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 04:51:52 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29514 I’ve got an op-ed in Saturday’s Orange County Register taking exception to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood’s call for Congressional legislation to ban “talking on a cellphone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country.” Something you might not have known: the feds blame a crash on distraction if [...]

A universal driver-cellphone ban? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> I’ve got an op-ed in Saturday’s Orange County Register taking exception to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood’s call for Congressional legislation to ban “talking on a cellphone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country.” Something you might not have known: the feds blame a crash on distraction if a cellphone is so much as “in the presence of the driver at the time of the crash.” (Distracted Driving Summit Press kit (PDF), “Traffic Safety Facts” p. 2, h/t Investor’s Business Daily; earlier here, here, etc.) More: Rob Port, SayAnythingBlog. Update: LaHood spokesman says Reuters overstated his boss’s position.

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A universal driver-cellphone ban? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/the-trouble-with-cellphone-bans/feed/ 12 May 3 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=may-3-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 04:07:59 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29372 Salute to Bill Childs, who blogged with distinction at TortsProf, on departing academia for private practice [Sheila Scheuerman and Chris Robinette] North Carolina voters who know that Amendment One would ban civil unions oppose the measure by 22 points; unfortunately, most don’t know that [Greg Sargent, WaPo; earlier] Patrick at Popehat proposes 5 things Tar [...]

May 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]>
  • Salute to Bill Childs, who blogged with distinction at TortsProf, on departing academia for private practice [Sheila Scheuerman and Chris Robinette]
  • North Carolina voters who know that Amendment One would ban civil unions oppose the measure by 22 points; unfortunately, most don’t know that [Greg Sargent, WaPo; earlier] Patrick at Popehat proposes 5 things Tar Heels can do to help defeat it;
  • Cellphone app to hail nearby taxi? DC government searches for a way to keep that illegal [Julian Sanchez, Cato at Liberty]
  • Can’t the left-wing Alliance for Justice be at least minimally consistent on Supreme Court ethics? [Freedman, Legal Ethics Forum]
  • On lawyer jokes [David Conway and commenters, Law and Liberty]
  • “2,000 patents have been granted for shaped pasta” [Doctorow; see also Martin Weiss ("It pays to noodle around in the lab")]
  • Texas barratry law trips up state rep [Southeast Texas Record, ABA Journal]
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    May 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/feed/ 0     April 30 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/april-30-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=april-30-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/april-30-roundup-2/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:10:12 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27426 Because Washington knows best: “U.S. ban sought on cell phone use while driving” [Reuters, earlier here, here, here, etc.] More here; and LaHood spokesman says Reuters overstated his boss’s position. Janice Brown’s Hettinga opinion: Lithwick can’t abide “starkly ideological” judging of this sort, except of course when she favors it [Root, earlier] At Yale law [...]

    April 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Because Washington knows best: “U.S. ban sought on cell phone use while driving” [Reuters, earlier here, here, here, etc.] More here; and LaHood spokesman says Reuters overstated his boss’s position.
  • Janice Brown’s Hettinga opinion: Lithwick can’t abide “starkly ideological” judging of this sort, except of course when she favors it [Root, earlier] At Yale law conclave, legal establishment works itself into hysterical froth over individual mandate case [Michael Greve] And David Bernstein again corrects some Left commentators regarding the standing of child labor under the pre-New Deal Constitution;
  • Latest antiquities battle: Feds, Sotheby’s fight over 1,000-year-old Khmer statue probably removed from Cambodia circa 1960s [VOA, Kent Davis]
  • Sebelius surprised by firestorm over religious (non-) exemption, hadn’t sought written opinions as to whether it was constitutional [Becket, Maguire] Obamanauts misread the views of many Catholics on health care mandate [Potemra, NRO]
  • “20 Years for Standing Her Ground Against a Violent Husband” [Jacob Sullum] How Trayvon Martin story moved through the press [Poynter] And Reuters’ profile of George Zimmerman is full of details one wishes reporters had brought out weeks ago;
  • Coaching accident fraud is bad enough, making off with client funds lends that extra squalid touch [NYLJ]
  • Kip Viscusi, “Does Product Liability Make Us Safer?” [Cato's Regulation magazine, PDF]
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    April 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/april-30-roundup-2/feed/ 6     “Chapel Hill Cell Phone Ban Draws Ire of Business Owners” http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/chapel-hill-cell-phone-ban-draws-ire-of-business-owners/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chapel-hill-cell-phone-ban-draws-ire-of-business-owners http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/chapel-hill-cell-phone-ban-draws-ire-of-business-owners/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:21:52 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29041 I’m quoted in this Carolina Journal article by Karen McMahan. “Chapel Hill became the first municipality in the nation to issue such a far-reaching ban when the town council enacted the measure March 26 by a 5-4 vote. The law goes into effect June 1.” Earlier on distracted driving here, etc. Tweet Tags: cellphones, North [...]

    “Chapel Hill Cell Phone Ban Draws Ire of Business Owners” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     I’m quoted in this Carolina Journal article by Karen McMahan. “Chapel Hill became the first municipality in the nation to issue such a far-reaching ban when the town council enacted the measure March 26 by a 5-4 vote. The law goes into effect June 1.” Earlier on distracted driving here, etc.

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    “Chapel Hill Cell Phone Ban Draws Ire of Business Owners” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/chapel-hill-cell-phone-ban-draws-ire-of-business-owners/feed/ 8     Class action: Apple’s Siri doesn’t live up to hype http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/class-action-apples-siri-doesnt-live-up-to-hype/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=class-action-apples-siri-doesnt-live-up-to-hype http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/class-action-apples-siri-doesnt-live-up-to-hype/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:57:34 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28289 The class action firm of Robbins Geller, representing some client or other, is demanding damages from Apple on behalf of a class of people disappointed by the iPhone 4S voice-activated assistant, Siri. Reviewers have complained that the program often fails to comprehend users’ speech, returns illogical answers, and when asked “Play some Coltrane,” has been [...]

    Class action: Apple’s Siri doesn’t live up to hype is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     The class action firm of Robbins Geller, representing some client or other, is demanding damages from Apple on behalf of a class of people disappointed by the iPhone 4S voice-activated assistant, Siri. Reviewers have complained that the program often fails to comprehend users’ speech, returns illogical answers, and when asked “Play some Coltrane,” has been known to respond that it doesn’t know any “coal train.” [Mat Honan, Gizmodo; Jason Gilbert/Huffington Post] “When asked her whether her makers exaggerated her worth, Siri told Law Blog, ‘We were talking about you, not me.’” [Joe Palazzolo/WSJ Law Blog]

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    Class action: Apple’s Siri doesn’t live up to hype is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/class-action-apples-siri-doesnt-live-up-to-hype/feed/ 6     “The problem with suing Apple” http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/the-problem-with-suing-apple/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-problem-with-suing-apple http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/the-problem-with-suing-apple/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:23:44 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27734 Belated and unsatisfactory lawsuit “relief”? Nothing especially Applelicious about that; it’s more a matter of joining the class-action crowd. [Rebecca Greenfield, Atlantic Wire] More: Ted Frank, Point of Law (who represents objector Marie Gryphon in the case). Tweet Tags: Apple, cellphones, class action settlements, technology

    “The problem with suing Apple” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Belated and unsatisfactory lawsuit “relief”? Nothing especially Applelicious about that; it’s more a matter of joining the class-action crowd. [Rebecca Greenfield, Atlantic Wire] More: Ted Frank, Point of Law (who represents objector Marie Gryphon in the case).

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    “The problem with suing Apple” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/the-problem-with-suing-apple/feed/ 1     When companies’ hot products are stolen http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/when-companies-hot-products-are-stolen/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-companies-hot-products-are-stolen http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/when-companies-hot-products-are-stolen/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:44:10 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27089 Toronto lawyer Michael Deverett thinks a bad guy must have followed him home from the Apple Store; at least someone smashed his hatchback car window when he stepped away for a couple of minutes and made off with what he said was a well concealed bag of new electronics purchases worth C$2,200. The company — [...]

    When companies’ hot products are stolen is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Toronto lawyer Michael Deverett thinks a bad guy must have followed him home from the Apple Store; at least someone smashed his hatchback car window when he stepped away for a couple of minutes and made off with what he said was a well concealed bag of new electronics purchases worth C$2,200. The company — which gave him a store credit plus a small extra for legal fees — is also facing criticism from theft victims who say it should do more to help owners retrieve stolen cellphones. [Toronto Star](& welcome Elie Mystal, Above the Law readers)

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    When companies’ hot products are stolen is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/when-companies-hot-products-are-stolen/feed/ 8