- German law firm demands that Wikipedia remove true information about now-paroled murderers [EFF] More: Eugene Volokh.
- “Class Actions: Some Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Fed Up, Too?” [California Civil Justice]
- Drop that Irish coffee and back away: “F.D.A. Says It May Ban Alcoholic Drinks With Caffeine” [NYT]
- Profile of L.A. tort lawyers Walter Lack and Thomas Girardi, now in hot water following Nicaraguan banana-pesticide scandal [The Recorder; my earlier outing on "Erin Brockovich" case]
- Federalist Society panel on federalism and preemption [BLT]
- Confidence in the courts? PriceWaterhouseCoopers would rather face Satyam securities fraud lawsuits in India than in U.S. [Hartley]
- Allegation: Scruggs continuing to wheel and deal behind bars [Freeland]
- Not much that will be new to longtime readers here: “Ten ridiculous lawsuits against Big Business” [Biz Insider] P.S.: Legal Blog Watch had more lists back in June.
Tagged as:
alcohol,
banana pesticide litigation fraud,
Dickie Scruggs,
Erin Brockovich,
FDA,
federalism,
Federalist Society,
Germany,
India,
preemption,
Thomas Girardi,
Wikipedia
For quite a while I’ve been getting complaints that readers in other countries — Australia, in particular — are locked out of Overlawyered with a “403 — you don’t have permission to access the server” error message. (Similarly, see these bulletin board discussions from New Zealand and Germany). Reader Stephen Mepham from Australia wrote to alert me when he encountered this problem on switching to a new cable provider, and helpfully included his IP number (the 777.77.7.777 thing). That allowed me to track down what had happened: in response to a series of spam and denial-of-service attacks, our hosting providers over the years have taken aggressive measures to exclude various large blocks of IP numbers (as well as country domains associated with spam and DOS attacks). I’ve now taken a few gingerly steps to relax these controls, which I hope should let more Australian readers access the site in particular. Should the attacks resume, of course, we’ll need to go back to tougher blocking.
If you’re a reader who’s encountered this problem or knows someone who has, give it a try again, and feel free to email me with a message along the lines of “Yes, now it works again” or “No, I still get blocked” — and try to include your IP address if convenient, which you can identify here.
Tagged as:
about the site,
Australia,
Germany,
New Zealand
“For the graffiti artists, copyright cases are a common problem. ‘It is very disappointing that copyrights of our work are often not respected’, [says German graffiti artist CanTwo,] who received damages from a music label using one of his pieces illegally some years ago. ‘Strangely enough, but people think that because our work is public and it is sometimes illegally painted, they could use it any way they want.’” (Markus Balser, WSJ Law Blog, Sept. 9).
Tagged as:
art and artists,
copyright,
Germany,
Spain
- “Dog owners in Switzerland will have to pass a test to prove they can control and care for their animal, or risk losing it, the Swiss government said yesterday.” [Daily Telegraph]
- 72-year-old mom visits daughter’s Southport, Ct. home, falls down stairs searching for bathroom at night, sues daughter for lack of night light, law firm boasts of her $2.475 million win on its website [Casper & deToledo, scroll to "Jeremy C. Virgil"]
- Can’t possibly be right: “Every American enjoys a constitutional right to sue any other American in a West Virginia court” [W.V. Record]
- Video contest for best spoof personal injury attorney ads [Sick of Lawsuits; YouTube]
- Good profile of Kathleen Seidel, courageous blogger nemesis of autism/vaccine litigation [Concord Monitor*, Orac]. Plus: all three White House hopefuls now pander to anti-vaxers, Dems having matched McCain [Orac]
- One dollar for every defamed Chinese person amounts to a mighty big lawsuit demand against CNN anchor Jack Cafferty [NYDN link now dead; Independent (U.K.)]
- Hapless Ben Stein whipped up one side of the street [Salmon on financial regulation] and down the other [Derbyshire on creationism]
- If only Weimar Germany had Canada-style hate-speech laws to prevent the rise of — wait, you mean they did? [Steyn/Maclean's] Plus: unlawful in Alberta to expose a person to contempt based on his “source of income” [Levant quoting sec. 3 (1)(b) of Human Rights Law]
- Hey, these coupon settlements are giving all of us class action lawyers a bad name [Leviant/The Complex Litigator]
- Because patent law is bad enough all by itself? D.C. Circuit tosses out FTC’s antitrust ruling against Rambus [GrokLaw; earlier]
- “The fell attorney prowls for prey” — who wrote that line, and about which city? [four years ago on Overlawyered]
*Okay, one flaw in the profile: If Prof. Irving Gottesman compares Seidel to Erin Brockovich he probably doesn’t know much about Brockovich.
Tagged as:
antitrust,
asbestos,
autism,
Barack Obama,
Ben Stein,
coupon settlements,
Erin Brockovich,
forum shopping,
free speech in Canada,
Germany,
hate speech,
jackpot justice,
John McCain,
Kathleen Seidel subpoena,
libel slander and defamation,
Mark Steyn,
nanny state,
parody,
roundups,
Switzerland,
vaccines,
West Virginia
The automotive innovation (”gently guides the car back in lane if it senses it drifting”) has promising enough safety implications that German insurance companies offer premium discounts of up to 20 percent when it is purchased as part of a package with adaptive cruise control and park assist. No prizes for guessing why Volkswagen isn’t offering it to U.S. buyers of the Passat. “What other cool stuff have auto manufacturers dreamed up, but left on the drawing board because they fear our sharks in expensive suits?” (Edward Loh, Motor Trend, Apr. 17).
Tagged as:
autos,
Germany
“A German court has awarded 3,000 euros ($4,100) in damages to a man who had to have the top of his skull replaced with plastic because of a faulty hospital fridge.” The plaintiff had sought 20,000 euros. [Reuters/MSNBC]
Tagged as:
Europe,
Germany,
hospitals,
medical
- Reversing course, Rhode Island attorney general drops rape charge based on 32-year-old “repressed memory”, thus disappointing some advocates [Volokh; Jul. 10]
- Massachusetts disciplinary panel files misconduct charges against Judge Ernest Murphy over the “bring me a check and keep quiet” surrender-Dorothy letter he sent to Boston Herald publisher during his (successful) libel suit [Ambrogi; Dec. 23, 2005, May 11, 2007, etc.]
- California jury rejects tippling speeder’s lawsuit against landowner, automaker, town, etc. in the case we headlined “Shouldn’t Have Put Its Berm Where He Wanted To Skid” [Dec. 24, 2005; Douglas Domel v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., City of Santa Clarita, and Does 1 to 50, inclusive (PC030045Y), L.A. Superior Court, L.A. Daily Journal, no free link]
- Nominal damages only against German teens accused of scaring ostrich into impotence [UPI/ScienceDaily; Mar. 6]
- Dubious bill authorizing lawsuits against OPEC may be headed to President’s desk [W$J/CattleNetwork; Jun. 8]
- Jury convicts press baron Conrad Black on four counts, acquits on nine [Telegraph; Kirkendall, Bainbridge, Ribstein; Mar. 19, Jun. 5]
- Michigan Supreme Court reinstates reprimand against Geoffrey Fieger over abusive language [NLJ; Jul. 3, Aug. 2, 2006, etc.]
Tagged as:
animals,
attorneys general,
Chrysler,
Geoffrey Fieger,
Germany,
libel slander and defamation,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
OPEC,
Rhode Island,
roundups
The German government, like others around the world, is being pressed by public health specialists to get into the business of reshaping citizens’ diets and hectoring the populace over its indulgent eating habits. However, reports The Scotsman, there are some distinctive obstacles to this happening, even aside from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fondness for baking a cake at home every weekend:
…the legacy of Germany’s Nazi past is forcing the Bundesregierung, or federal government, to forget TV adverts giving millions advice on avoiding fatty foods and taking exercise.
The government is banned from buying advertising space on TV by the country’s own constitution, which was framed in the wake of the Second World War. Those who drew up the laws remembered how the Nazis were masters of using the cinema for propaganda and feared giving any government the same kind of power. They were also nervous that governments might use advertising leverage to put pressure on broadcasters.
One insider quipped: “The last time we had a non-smoking vegetarian who wanted to tell us what to do, it wasn’t a happy experience.”
(Murdo MacLeod, “German fatties fear the wurst”, The Scotsman, May 13).
Tagged as:
Germany,
nanny state,
obesity
The United States legal system has traditionally permitted significantly more extensive pretrial discovery than other countries’ legal systems have. So what do you do if you’re engaged in litigation in a foreign country, and you want information you couldn’t obtain under their laws? Why, you simply get the U.S. courts to order those who have the information to provide it via American discovery rules, as this China Law Blog post by Dan Harris explains:
“In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the seminal decision interpreting §1782, construing the language liberally in favor of allowing discovery. Among other things, it rejected the notion that §1782 was limited to the discovery of evidence that could be discovered in a foreign jurisdiction if the evidence was located there. Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241 (2004).
Ponder this for just a moment: The Supreme Court ruled that one could engage in U.S. discovery to gather information for a foreign litigation that one would not be allowed to gather in that foreign litigation.
And as everyone knows, if discovery is good, then more discovery is better, so, as Harris explains, the U.S. courts “tend to ‘interpret §1782 liberally in favor of permitting discovery in aid of foreign litigation.’” He gives examples, including this recent case:
In a further example of this trend, a district court in New York ordered McKinsey Company, the global consulting firm, to produce documents requested by a German litigant in aid of a lawsuit in Munich. In re Gemeinschaftspraxis Dr. Med. Schottforf, 2006 WL 3844464 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 29, 2006). McKinsey argued §1782 did not apply because the documents were located outside of the United States. The district court disagreed, holding “Section 1782 requires only that the party from whom discovery is sought be ‘found’ here; not that the documents be found here.” Id. at 5. The court also rejected the argument that the production would be unduly burdensome because the documents would have to be translated from German into English so they could be reviewed by McKinsey’s non-German-speaking U.S. counsel.
In other words, Germans engaged in a lawsuit in Germany can obtain an order from a U.S. court to require an American company to turn over documents that aren’t even located in the United States, and that they couldn’t obtain from the German courts in which they’re actually litigating. That seems perfectly reasonable.
(Hat Tip: Ron Coleman, my co-blogger from Likelihood of Success.)
Tagged as:
Germany,
procedure
- NY trial lawyers furious over state medical society’s plan to put informational posters and postcards in docs’ waiting rooms re: Topic A [Kingston Daily Freeman]
- But can you sue Spider-Man? “Superheroes” linked to multiple pediatric injuries [BlogMD]
- By reader acclaim: German farmer’s suit claims teenagers’ fireworks scared his ostrich Gustav right out of the breeding mood [AP/Jake Young]
- Doug Weinstein is a fan of Edwards, but many of his commenters aren’t [InstaLawyer first, second posts]
- Former Georgia legislator, author of bill that resulted in Genarlow Wilson’s 10-year sentence (see Feb. 8), says he’s sorry [Towery @ TownHall]
- A lesson for grabby New Orleans Mayor Nagin? “In the massive floods of 1993, levees broke up and down the Mississippi — and no one sued. They rebuilt.” [Surber]
- “Defamation of religion” soon to be regarded as contrary to int’l law? [Brayton channeling Volokh](more: Stuttaford)
- Wouldn’t you just know: Bertolt Brecht’s sly legal dodges, at expense of Kurt Weill and other collaborators, still keep litigators busy long after his death [National Post]
- U.K.: “Rectorial liability is a time bomb under every enticing glebe” [Guardian]
- NYC subway system didn’t own or control access stairs, but can be sued over slip-fall anyway [Point of Law]
- Grocery worker with Down’s Syndrome couldn’t follow basic sanitary rule, but that didn’t mean supermarket could fire him [three years ago on Overlawyered]
Tagged as:
child protection,
Germany,
libel slander and defamation,
Mississippi,
roundups
- Tennie Pierce takes his dog-food settlement to the LA City Council (Nov. 22). I repeat my offer to LA politicians: I’ll eat dog food for a lot less than $2.7 million plus severance pay. [LA Times]
- Bogus $20 million asbestos verdict in NY; Chrysler had previously won 14 consecutive asbestos trials in a row; jury found Chrysler 10% liable, which made it responsible for 80% of the damages under New York law. Studies show no relationship between automotive products and asbestos illnesses. [Point of Law; Bloomberg; AP]
- “Madison County Gets $17.6 Million Windfall Despite Philip Morris’ Escape From $10 Billion Judgment.” Earlier: Jun. 20 and links therein. [Alton Telegraph via Products Liability Prof Blog]
- How tenant-friendly courts hurt tenants. [Point of Law]
- Murnane on Justice Bob Thomas libel verdict. [Illinois Justice Blog]
- One year ago on Overlawyered: $60.9 million cerebral palsy verdict. Arbitrary bench verdict arbitrarily reduced to $40.5 million; case on appeal to Eleventh Circuit. [West's Medical Malpractice Law Report]
- One year ago on Point of Law: Ray Harron, asbestos doctor and Connecticut decision against freedom of contract.
- The unpersuasive case for judicial activism. [Whelan @ Weekly Standard]
- Federalist Society Convention podcasts beginning to be posted. [Federalist Society]
- Are African-Americans “lagging” at major law firms, and if so, why? [Point of Law; New York Times; Lat; Sander]
- Nice PETA expose video. [Penn & Teller @ Google Video]
Tagged as:
asbestos,
Chrysler,
Connecticut,
Germany,
Illinois,
libel slander and defamation,
Madison County,
roundups,
Tennie Pierce
“A court ruling which ordered a gynecologist to pay child support for up to 18 years as compensation for botching a contraceptive implant was condemned by the German media as scandalous on Wednesday. The Karlsruhe-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the doctor must pay his former patient, now a mother of a three-year-old boy, 600 euros ($769) a month because she became pregnant after he implanted her with a contraceptive device.” (”Doctor ordered to pay for unwanted baby”, Reuters, Nov. 15; “GYN’s “Human” Error Will Now Be Getting Child Support”, Deutsche Welle, Nov. 15). Similar: Apr. 9 (Scotland), May 9 and Jun. 8, 2000, etc.
Tagged as:
Germany,
medical,
wrongful birth and wrongful life
- Election day is tomorrow; the roundtable is still going on our sister website. [Point of Law]
- One reason the election is important: judicial nominations. Bill Clinton appointed 378 judges; Bush, in six years, 266, with 45 vacancies. [National Law Journal]
- Update: Illinois appellate court rejects Judge Maag’s $110M libel suit. (Earlier: Dec. 23, 2004 and links therein.) [Bashman]
- Does Professor Charles Silver’s single-variable time series on Texas doctor supply tell us anything about reform, as he claims? Did doctors push reform down the throats of an “anonymous and dispersed” group? I argue no. [Point of Law; Silver @ Bizarro-Overlawyered]
- Professor Paul Horwitz questions the convenience of the death-bed statements of the decedent in Williams v. Philip Morris. [PrawfsBlawg]
- More threatened Borat-related litigation (Nov. 29) from Mahir “I kiss you” Cagri and from Gypsies. The latter is resulting in film censorship in Germany. [Wired; Sydney Morning Herald]
- “We live in a very litigious society; it makes it more difficult for a physician to be a good Samaritan.” [MetroWest Daily News via Kevin MD]
- Add Art Bell to the list of people threatening to sue bloggers. [Workbench]
- Twenty years of Scalia. [Weekly Standard]
Tagged as:
Borat,
Germany,
Illinois,
libel slander and defamation,
roundups
“A German lawyer hopes to drum up more business by pursuing state compensation claims for people who believe they were abducted by aliens. ‘There’s quite obviously demand for legal advice here,’ Jens Lorek told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. ‘The trouble is, people are afraid of making fools of themselves in court.’” What’s this guy doing practicing in Germany rather than here? (Reuters, Oct. 6).
Tagged as:
Germany
A court in Hamburg will hear the case (see Mar. 14) in which some 190 athletes from the former East Germany are seeking compensation for the damage done to their bodies by steroids administered by authorities under the pre-1989 Communist regime. The drugs were made by Jenapharm, at that time a state-owned concern, later bought by the Schering corporation, which is the target of the compensation demands. (Luke Harding, “Forgotten victims of East German doping take their battle to court”, The Guardian (U.K.), Nov. 1; “The Quest for Gold Left Lives in Ruins “, Deutsche Welle, Jun. 29).
Tagged as:
Germany,
product liability,
sports