• Polar bears on parade: “Lawsuits are not the best way to force the public into solving planet-size problems such as climate change.” [Christian Science Monitor editorial]
• Jury convicts private investigator Anthony Pellicano, trial of entertainment lawyer Terry Christiansen set for July [Variety; earlier]
• Knockoff sneakers differed from Adidas original in having two or four stripes instead of three, didn’t save Payless Shoes from getting hit with $304 million verdict [American Lawyer]
• Following up on our discussion of municipal tree liability: Michigan high court OKs homeowner class action over sewer line damage from city trees [AP/MLive]
• Attorney Franklin Azar, of Colorado TV-ad fame, says jury’s verdict ordering him to pay a former client $145,000 was really a “big victory” for him [ABA Journal]
• Annals of tolling-for-infancy: “Dog bite 10 years ago subject of civil suit” [MC Record]
• Feds indict Missouri woman for cruel MySpace hoax that drove victim to suicide: Orin Kerr finds legal grounds weak [@ Volokh]
• “I blame R. Kelly for Sept. 11″: some ways potential jurors managed to get off singer’s high-profile Chicago trial [Tribune; h/t reader A.K.]
• Update: “click fraud” class actions filed in Texarkana against online ad providers have all now settled [SE Texas Record; earlier]
• Judge orders dad to stay on top of his daughter’s education, then jails him for 180 days when she fails to get her general equivalency diploma [WCPO, Cincinnati; update, father released]
• Lawyers still soliciting for AOL volunteer class actions [Colossus of Rhodey; earlier]

“When the government accuses you of fathering a child, no matter how flimsy the evidence, you are one month away from having your life wrecked.” What if you’ve got DNA evidence conclusively proving you aren’t the dad? Sorry, but that won’t necessarily help. “The system aimed at catching ‘deadbeat dads’ illustrates how a noble-sounding effort to help children and taxpayers can trample the rights of innocent people.” (Matt Welch, “Injustice by Default”, Feb.)(see Aug. 7-8, 2001; May 22, 2000).