Posts Tagged ‘deep pocket’

Illinois high court nixes collective-geographic-liability law on drug overdoses

Over a dissent from two of its justices, the Illinois Supreme Court has struck down a law purporting to establish collectivized liability for drug overdoses: “Illinois state law allows family members of people who overdose to sue anyone within a given geographic area who sold or distributed the same kind of drug. Illinois Supreme Court: It violates due process for a plaintiff to recover a lot of money from a person who had no connection at all to the drug user. Dissent: Although the law ‘pushes the boundary of civil liability by dispensing with traditional notions of causation,’ we’re meant to be more deferential to the legislature under the rational basis test.'” [John K. Ross, IJ “Short Circuit” on Wingert v. Hradisky (citing parallel “market share liability” doctrines; “At least 18 states and one territory of the United States have adopted the Model Act or some version of [the Model Drug Dealer Liability Act]”)]

April 10 roundup

Fifth Circuit: Apple not liable for crash of driver reading texts

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has a rejected a products liability claim against Apple alleging that a woman’s neurobiological response to looking at a text message on her iPhone 5 while behind the wheel was the cause of a car crash that killed two people and paralyzed a child.” [John Council/Texas Lawyer, Tim Cushing/TechDirt; Meador v. Apple]

Liability roundup

Deep pockets to blame after shopping cart dropped onto bystander

In 2011, at the East River Plaza mall in East Harlem, two youngsters tossed a shopping cart “from a 79-foot-high landing outside a Target store,” nearly killing Marion Hedges below. Hedges and her family “sued Target, the mall and its security company for negligence in 2011, saying the businesses ignored past incidents involving kids fooling around with carts.” A jury has now awarded the family $45.2 million. “The Hedgeses previously settled with Target for a confidential sum. The six-person jury found the teens 10 percent responsible for Hedges’ injuries while assigning 65 percent of the fault to the mall and 25 percent to Planned Security Services.” [Julia Marsh and Kalah Siegel, New York Post] In 2015 the New York Post reported on the further extralegal adventures of one of the only-a-little-bit-responsible teen attackers, who had been sentenced to 6 to 16 months in a group home as punishment.

Pickup crosses interstate median, strikes oncoming vehicle. Guess who pays $89.6 million?

Driver of pickup truck loses control on Texas interstate, crosses median and strikes oncoming semi-trailer truck. Among passengers in pickup truck are two kids, one killed and one horribly injured. Driver of oncoming semi was in own lane, did not lose control, and was driving under speed limit. Plaintiff’s creative theory: there might have been ice on the road, the Werner Enterprises manual tells drivers not to drive during icy conditions; so the driver should not have been on the road at all, and if he hadn’t it would have averted that particular collision. Werner, in its defense: not only was evidence contradictory as to whether conditions were icy or just damp, but driver guidelines do not somehow create legally binding obligations to third parties or prove negligence that could not be shown otherwise. Jury to Werner Enterprises: pay $89.6 million. [Michael O’Connor, Omaha World-Herald]

New floor for nuisance settlements?

Presidential attorney and former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani, on the Stormy Daniels payment [ABC News reporting on-air comments]:

“I never thought $130,000 — I know this sounds funny to people there at home — I never thought $130,000 was a real payment; it’s a nuisance payment,” Giuliani said. “People don’t go away for $130,000.”

“Man sues 10-year-old girl after jogging into her bike”

British Columbia, Canada: “A man who sued a young girl and her grandparents after he was injured when he jogged into the back wheel of her bike has lost his case in B.C. Supreme Court.” The jogger “also included the girl’s grandparents, Wendy and Patrick Marlow, in the lawsuit on the basis that they didn’t properly teach her to ride a bike safely. The judgment also clears them of liability.” [Maryse Zeidler, CBC]

Liability roundup

Concert booker not liable for patron’s injury

“The Alabama Supreme Court says a man can’t go forward with his lawsuit against a company involved in booking a death metal concert where he was injured.” The plaintiff said he was thrown to the ground during the Mobile event and suffered serious spinal injuries. “The decision says ICM Partners received a $250 commission for booking the band but had no other involvement.” [Insurance Journal; compare successful claims against advertisers, broadcasters, and others following the 2003 Rhode Island Station Nightclub fire]