(Updated from July 30 post with new dates.)  I’m going outside the Beltway, and may be in your neighborhood, to speak at a variety of Federalist Society chapters:

• September 3, Loyola Law School, New Orleans (obesity litigation)
• September 4, LSU Law School (obesity litigation)
• October 13, Ave Maria Law School (Is Overlawyering Overtaking Democracy?)
• October 14 (new date!), University of Michigan Law School (debate with Professor Steven Croley)
• October 15, DePaul University Law School (class action settlements)
• October 16, University of Chicago Law School (class action settlements and Grand Theft Auto)
• October 16, Chicago-Kent College of Law (obesity litigation)
• October 21, Florida State University College of Law (TBD)
• October 22, University of Florida Levin College of Law (TBD)
• October 23, Stetson University College of Law (TBD)

Please do suggest my name to your local Federalist Society chapter (or ACS chapter or what-have-you) if you wish me to speak at your law school. (And if your law school is in the Chicago or New Orleans metropolitan areas, now’s a good time to free-ride off of what your neighbors have already scheduled and help save the Federalist Society money. Otherwise I’ll just use the free time to visit local casinos.)

This website is mentioned in an article on allergies and chemical sensitivities in the workplace, specifically on the case of Susan McBride, who’s suing her employer, the city of Detroit, for not preventing a co-worker from wearing perfume to the office (see Jul. 6 and Jul. 18, 2007; earlier Detroit case, May 25, 2005). (Lisa Belkin, “Sickened by the Office (Really)”, May 1).

47-year-old archaeology professor Chris Ratte is perhaps not the most careful of parents; he says he didn’t realize when he bought a $7 “Mike’s Hard Lemonade” at a Tigers game, it was an alcoholic beverage (all of 10 proof), and let his 7-year-old son Leo drink the 12-ounce bottle. A vendor noticed the boy with the drink; the boy had no symptoms of inebriation but said he was nauseated; and stadium officials, in a prime example of defensive overreaction, summoned an ambulance, which found Leo fine with no trace of alcohol in his system.

Silly enough so far, no harm, no foul, but Michigan Child Protective Services intervened, held Leo in foster care for two days (refusing to release him to the custody of his aunts, who drove from New England on short notice for just such a possibility), and forced Ratte to move out of the house until a second hearing okayed his return. If Ratte and his wife weren’t upper-middle-class academics with access to the University of Michigan Law School clinic professors, it could have been much worse. “Don Duquette, a U-M law professor who directs the university’s Child Advocacy Law Clinic, represented Ratte and his wife. He notes sardonically that the most remarkable thing about the couple’s case may be the relative speed with which they were reunited with Leo.” (Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press, Apr. 28 (h/t B.C.)).

Some policy proposals are for taxpayers to fund attorneys to defend parents victimized by Child Protective Services; some go so far as to call it a constitutional right, albeit one having nothing to do with the underlying text of the Constitution. But that would only treat the symptom and ossify the underlying problem of abusive government intervention into the home.

• Plenty of reaction to our Tuesday post questioning the NYT school-bullying story, including reader comments and discussion at other blogs; one lawprof passes along a response by the Wolfe family to the Northwest Arkansas Times’s reporting [updated post]
• Geoffrey Fieger, of jury-swaying fame, says holding his forthcoming criminal trial in Detroit would be unfair because juries there hate his guts [Detroit News]
• Another Borat suit down as Judge Preska says movie may be vulgar but has social value, and thus falls into “newsworthiness” exception to NY law barring commercial use of persons’ images [ABA Journal]
• Employer found mostly responsible for accident that occurred after its functionaries overrode a safety device, but a heavy-equipment dealer also named as defendant will have to pay more than 90 percent of resulting $14.6 million award [Bloomington, Ill. Pantagraph]
• New Mexico Human Rights Commission fines photographer $6600 for refusing a job photographing same-sex commitment ceremony [Volokh, Bader]
• “Virginia reaches settlement with families of VA Tech shooting victims” [Jurist]
• Roger Parloff on downfall of Dickie Scruggs [Fortune]
• Judge in Spain fined heavily and disbarred for letting innocent man spend more than a year in jail [AP/IHT, Guardian]
• Hard to know whether all those emergency airplane groundings actually improved safety, they might even have impaired it [Murray/NRO "Corner", WSJ edit]
• “Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value” — tracking down the context of that now-celebrated quote from a Canadian Human Rights Commission investigator [Volokh]
• Who was it that said that lawyers “need to be held accountable for frivolous lawsuits that help drive up the cost of malpractice insurance”? Hint: initials are J.E. [three years ago on Overlawyered]

Lawyers are coming under fire for numerous alleged derelictions in the Motor City’s abuse-of-executive-power scandal, which involves claims of “false testimony, concealment of information from the city council and possible destruction of evidence. … ‘There’s so much wrongdoing, it’s hard to know where to start,’ says professor John Brennan of Thomas M. Cooley Law School. ‘The city attorneys are not acting like lawyers, they’re acting like (Mayor Kwame) Kilpatrick’s legal bodyguards. They’ve forgotten who their clients are.’” (Martha Neil, “Lawyers in ‘Ethical Minefield’ in $8.4M Detroit Settlement Scandal”, ABA Journal, Mar. 6; Joe Swickard, “Attorneys’ conduct questioned in the Kilpatrick text-message scandal”, Detroit Free Press, Mar. 6).

Ruben Zamora lost control of his Ford Explorer after a tread-tire separation, causing a rollover; because he was not wearing his seatbelt, he was ejected from the vehicle and suffered brain injuries. (His four passengers suffered only minor injuries.) This is, a LaSalle County, Texas state court jury decided, 65% the fault of Ford, putting them on the hook for $6.5 million in damages. Ford denies responsibility and will appeal. (Margaret Cronin Fisk, “Ford Loses $6.5 Million Verdict in Explorer Rollover”, Bloomberg, Feb. 4; “Auto news headlines,” Detroit Free Press, Feb. 5; Nick Sullivan, “Brain-Injured Man Awarded $6.5M in Texas Rollover Case”, Andrews Publications, Feb. 11). Until a 2003 tort reform, Ford would not even have been allowed to introduce evidence that Zamora was not wearing his seat belt.

When highly-paid sports figures are hurt in car crashes or other accidents, the potential damages are of course enormous, and the incentives to pursue creative litigation options seem to be accordingly sharp. On Oct. 4 we reported on the legal aftermath of a 1997 rented-limo crash that ended the careers of Detroit Red Wings hockey star Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov and also injured star player Viacheslav Fetisov, who later returned to the ice. We noted then that lawyers for two of the injured team members were suing a car dealer that sold the vehicle involved, on the perhaps creative theory that by making the seat belts too hard to reach it was legally responsible for the passengers’ non-use of them. Now we learn via the New Jersey Law Journal about a different arena of litigation on the injured players’ behalf. It seems they “sought to cash in on New Jersey’s reputation for pro-policyholder jurisprudence” by filing an action seeking $200 million from the National Hockey League’s providers of auto insurance. However, a “unanimous New Jersey appeals court ruled in 2006 that the carriers were not liable, and affirmed a summary dismissal of the coverage suit. The NHL policy, while it covered team vehicles, did not cover drivers who worked for outside limousine companies, even if the limo companies were hired by teams,” according to the panel’s ruling. Now the New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to review that ruling. (Henry Gottlieb, “NHL’s Insurers Score Hat Trick in N.J. Supreme Court”, New Jersey Law Journal, Oct. 29).

Have you noticed the annoying tendency of seat belts in certain vehicles, such as airport limos, to sink so deep into the cushions that you can crack your fingernails trying to pull them out? Now a lawsuit against a Ford dealership seeks to blame that phenomenon for the 1997 injuries that ended the career of Detroit Red Wings hockey star Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov. The two were seriously injured when their driver, who was driving on a suspended license following a long series of roadway infractions, veered off Woodward Avenue into a tree. Neither of the injured men was wearing a seat belt, which they blame on the “design defect” that prevented the belts from being “easily accessible”. The car dealership, Findlay Ford Lincoln Mercury, “argues it did not manufacture the limo or carry out modifications that were made to it and the dealership had no reason to know about or be liable for any alleged defects.” (Paul Egan, “Court to hear arguments in Konstantinov crash suit”, Detroit News, Aug. 22). Also see Nov. 25 (other litigation arising from crash).

• Picture of farmer with goose appears on greeting card, he wants $7.5 million [Roanoke Times; earlier]


• More class actions filed over Apple iPhone [Ars Technica on roaming and battery claims, O'Grady's PowerPage, iPhoneWorld; earlier]


• L.A. Times quotes attorney Stephen Yagman on prison overcrowding, but forgets to mention that he was lately convicted of thirteen felonies [Patterico]


• Bad idea watch: compulsory national service [Somin @ Volokh]


• Doing well representing the little guy: Gerry Spence lists his Wyoming residence for sale at $35 million [WSJ/Chicago Daily Herald]


• “Appropriate”, not “perfect”, justice needed: “We simply have to stop killing litigants with kindness,” says chief judge of Australia’s largest state [The Australian]


• Toddler killed after wandering into heavy traffic, trucker should have been more on guard against such a thing happening [Salt Lake Tribune]


• Pennsylvania pro se litigant sues Google, says it spells his social security number upside down [Ambrogi] More: Coyote says “Up next, the owner of Social Security number 71077345 sues Shell Oil for the same reason.”


• Once billed as “King of Torts”, Miami asbestos lawyer faces fifteen years behind bars for stealing $13 million from clients [Sun-Sentinel]


• Groom sues bride, saying she took the ring and presents and never got the wedding paperwork straightened out leaving them legally unmarried [ClickOnDetroit]


• Surgical resident on the hook for $23 million in Wisconsin case; she was the only one of the docs involved not covered by damage limits [Journal Sentinel via KevinMD]

“A trio of judicial appointments announced this week underline [Mich. Gov. Jennifer] Granholm’s determination to temper [former Gov. John] Engler’s judicial revolution — and reward Michigan’s plaintiff’s bar, which has been among her most important sources of financial support.” Of three trial lawyers Granholm is naming to judgeships, two have served as board members of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. (Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press, Aug. 22).

Longtime Overlawyered favorite Geoffrey Fieger, a fixture in Michigan politics and personal injury law for many years, and his law partner Vernon (Ven) Johnson were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of unlawfully “conspiring to make more than $125,000 in illegal contributions to presidential candidate John Edwards’ 2004 campaign”. Fieger, who’s being represented by Gerry Spence, says it’s all a plot by Republicans in the U.S. Department of Justice. (Oakland Press; Detroit News, more; Detroit Free Press, more)(& Pattis).

Some in the news media and elsewhere would have us believe that recent legal reforms have made it a tough time to be a plaintiff’s attorney.

Sounds good, but nobody told that to the trial bar.

The fact is, tort costs in the U.S. jumped 46% in just the pasts five years. As noted in this space yesterday, a new study by the Pacific Research Institute reports that the total direct and indirect costs of lawsuits are a staggering $865 billion (for context, the U.S. spends only about $108 billion a year fighting the war in Iraq).

And one need look no further than a few headlines of late to see our lawsuit happy culture is alive and well. Everyone knows about the $54 million “pantsuit” — that is but one of countless, lesser known meritless suits happening on any given day. Consider:

· “Injured Kid’s Mom Sues ‘Slide Fool’ Coach” A 12-year-old Little League player was injured sliding into second base and his mother filed a lawsuit claiming poor coaching.
· “Perfume Lawsuit.” A Detroit city employee is suing because she claims her co-worker’s perform makes her sick.
· “Cheerleader’s family to sue school district” A Texas couple plans to sue their local school board because their daughter did not make the cheerleading squad.

You and I pay for these abusive lawsuits through higher consumer costs, higher taxes, lost jobs and stifled innovation. And the trial lawyers? With apologies to Mark Twain, rumors of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated. They are alive and well…just ask the Little League coach, the perfume wearer or the Cheerleading captain. I wonder who will be next?

Steve Hantler

Susan McBride, who works in the planning department for the city of Detroit, is suing the city “alleging her co-worker’s strong perfume has made it impossible for her to do her job. …McBride alleges the city should accommodate her disability by prohibiting people from wearing perfume in the workplace.” As the Detroit News reports, and as we noted at the time, this isn’t the first time Detroit has been the scene of perfume-in-the-workplace litigation:

In 2005, Detroit country music deejay Erin Weber won a $10.6 million jury verdict against her employer, WYCD (99.5 FM) after she alleged she was sickened by a fellow radio host’s perfume.

But U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh reduced the award to $814,000, saying it was not clear from the evidence that Weber had a perfume allergy.

(Paul Egan, “Worker sues over co-worker’s perfume”, Detroit News, Jul. 4; “Employee Sues City Over Co-Worker’s Perfume, Seeks Ban on Scents”, AP/FoxNews.com, Jul. 5).

The city of Detroit’s Department of Transportation, which runs 500 buses, budgeted a whopping $16.1 million this year to cover lawsuits and injury claims arising from its operations (yes, that amounts to $32,000 per bus per year). The city is finding it unusually difficult to reduce those numbers:

Matt Allen, spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, explained that Detroit is self-insured, which means money is set aside annually in an account earmarked for settlements, damages and other mishaps involving city-owned vehicles and drivers.

Meanwhile, the city, particularly the Detroit Department of Transportation, is struggling with union rules and arbitration cases that make it difficult to terminate even the most accident-prone drivers.

In one case, a bus driver was involved in 30 mishaps, hit a bicyclist resulting in a $1.4 million lawsuit settlement and, in a separate incident, had her driver’s license suspended. The city tried to fire her, according to records, but an arbitrator ruled she had to be rehired.

(David Josar, “Workers’ crashes cost Detroit”, Detroit News, Jun. 11).

Next time you feel like living on the edge, there’s no need to go sky diving or ski jumping. Simply bite into a Starburst fruit chew, cross your fingers, and hang on for dear life…

Michigan Woman Claims Starburst Candies Are Dangerously Chewy in Lawsuit

Starburst Fruit Chews are exactly as their name would indicate: chewy. But one Michigan woman says the candies are so chewy, they should come with a warning label.

Victoria McArthur, of Romero, Mich., is suing Starbursts’ parent company, Mars Inc., for more than $25,000 for “permanent personal injuries” she claims she sustained after biting into one of their yellow candy in 2005.

“I don’t know, maybe about 3 chews and it literally locked my jaw … and it just literally pulled my jaw out of joint,” she told MyFoxDetroit.com.

McArthur’s lawyer, Brian Muawad, says the candies caused her to develop a condition known as temporal mandibular joint dysfunction. McArthur says she has had trouble chewing, talking and sleeping since the incident.

I think we need to take whatever steps necessary to keep this woman away from jawbreakers.

You might recall the $55 million verdict in Los Angeles, where Chrysler was held 75% liable for an accident where a defective automatic transmission in a 1992 Dodge Dakota, a failure of the truck owner to respond to multiple product recalls, and a truck driver’s failure to (1) turn off the ignition before exiting a vehicle; (2) engage a parking brake; and (3) not attempt to jump into a moving vehicle resulted in the tragic death of a young longshoreman with a wife and children. Plaintiffs’ attorneys Stephen Cassidy and Scott Nealey took issue with our post. The lengthy exchange begins in the comments section and update to our post and continues over email. Let’s just say I wasn’t persuaded, but judge for yourself.

Continue Reading »

In April 2004, 38 year-old Richard Mraz got out of his employer’s 1992 Dodge Dakota while it was still running. He didn’t set the parking brake, and the vehicle started moving when it shifted itself from park into reverse. Mraz tried to jump into the moving vehicle, and suffered fatal head injuries for his trouble.

Chrysler admitted the vehicle had a defect that caused the automatic transmission to shift from park to reverse in rare circumstances. Thing is, they admitted it when they sent twelve separate recall notices to the Dakota owner, Mraz’s employer, who ignored them all. But, Mraz’s lawyers said, Chrysler spent time in internal discussions deciding whether to recall the vehicle before actually doing so, so they should be punished, pointing to an internal memo debating the question as a “smoking gun.”

A Los Angeles County jury agreed, finding $5.2 million in compensatory damages for the longshoreman’s death, and attributed 75% to DaimlerChrysler (10% for Mraz’s multiple safety errors, and 15% for his employers’ ignoring the recall notices), and issuing $50 million in punitive damages, all to Chrysler. Most press accounts failed to mention the recall notices or Mraz’s negligence, just regurgitating the plaintiff’s lawyer’s account. (David Shepardson, “DCX loses suit in Dodge owner’s death”, Detroit News, Mar. 8). More on California auto product liability cases.

Interestingly, at least one law firm has already purchased the Google search term “Richard Mraz.”

Continue Reading »

We reported Jul. 25 and Aug. 4, 2003 on the case of Stella (or Estella; accounts vary) Romanski, who was banished from the Motor City Casino in Detroit after taking and playing a nickel from an unattended slot machine. The casino said it was enforcing a policy against “slot walking”, the practice of roaming unused machines in search of overlooked coins, but a jury awarded Romanski $875,000 in punitive damages. Reader F.L. now calls our attention to the record (PDF) of U.S. Supreme Court actions taken Oct. 2, 2006, which shows that the high court denied the writ of certiorari sought by the casino.