Overlawyered » Los Angeles http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Criminal investigation of ADA noncompliance? http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/criminal-investigation-of-ada-noncompliance/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/criminal-investigation-of-ada-noncompliance/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:03:27 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27509 The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles appears to be proceeding on the theory that city and redevelopment officers committed potential “fraud” by accepting federal money for housing projects but omitting to run the projects in compliance with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring that accommodations be offered for disabled patrons. At Cato at Liberty, I wonder whether we’re in for another venture into criminalization of an area best left to civil law.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/criminal-investigation-of-ada-noncompliance/feed/ 0 “To say that Zaffina is particular about the spelling and presentation of his name would be an understatement” http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/to-say-that-zaffina-is-particular-about-the-spelling-and-presentation-of-his-name-would-be-an-understatement/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/to-say-that-zaffina-is-particular-about-the-spelling-and-presentation-of-his-name-would-be-an-understatement/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:47:17 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27350 Members of an L.A. group devoted to darts, the bar sport, are among those plunged into litigation by a fellow enthusiast. “Says one well-known bar owner who did not wish to be identified for fear of retribution, ‘I’m weary of being involved with this guy because he’s just been firing off lawsuits. Some of us wanted to fight, but these things can be very expensive.’” [L.A. Weekly]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/to-say-that-zaffina-is-particular-about-the-spelling-and-presentation-of-his-name-would-be-an-understatement/feed/ 3 That treehouse has to go http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/that-treehouse-has-to-go/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/that-treehouse-has-to-go/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:11:42 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27222 Kids at a Long Beach preschool had enjoyed it for thirty years without incident, but a state inspector said no. Headline on the resulting article: “Obsession with safety is ruining our playgrounds.” [Gale Holland, L.A. Times]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/that-treehouse-has-to-go/feed/ 35 The wrong guy http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/the-wrong-guy/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/the-wrong-guy/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:24:18 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26519 How often does Los Angeles County throw people in jail due to mistaken identity? In some years “an average of once a day.” [L.A. Times]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/the-wrong-guy/feed/ 8 December 13 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/december-13-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/december-13-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:43:41 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26078
  • “The real cost of patent trolls” [Brad Feld, PoL on BU study] Survey finds patent litigation booming [Corporate Counsel, Reynolds Holding/Reuters] Company claiming patent on wi-fi-in-stores unlikely to sue retail customers “at this stage” [Patent Examiner] Retrospective on crustless-sandwich case [Peter Smith/Good, earlier]
  • Louisiana federal court holds severe obesity to be disability under ADA [Sam Bagenstos, related]
  • Florida: many cops remain on job despite evidence linking them to crimes [Balko on Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigation]
  • “FDA Regulation Could Doom Cigar Shops” [Jacob Sullum]
  • Ted Frank vs. Brian Fitzpatrick on class action fees [PoL, David Lat on Federalist Society panel]
  • Orange County keeps mum about partnerships it’s entered with plaintiff’s attorneys Robinson, Calcagnie and Thomas Girardi [Kim Stone, Fox & Hounds] Maybe like “private attorney generals”? Fannie/Freddie genre of government-sponsored enterprises called “monstrous moral hybrids” [Mark Calabria, Cato]
  • Posner: lawyers appeared more likely to run junk-fax suit for own interests than clients’ [Beck, Trask (Creative Montessori Learning Centers v. Ashford Gear LLC)]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/december-13-roundup-2/feed/ 2     Glendale bans fake grass http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/glendale-bans-fake-grass/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/glendale-bans-fake-grass/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:04:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26164 The Los Angeles suburb claims it adopted the ban because of dangers posed by chemicals, toxins and plastics present in artificial turf. Might there perhaps be an alternative motive, that of policing residents’ aesthetic taste in landscaping? Well, the ban applies only to front yards: “When asked why the fake grass would continue to be allowed in backyards, officials had no answer.” [CBS Los Angeles]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/glendale-bans-fake-grass/feed/ 7     Dies of Ecstasy overdose while attending rave http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/dies-of-ecstasy-overdose-while-attending-rave/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/dies-of-ecstasy-overdose-while-attending-rave/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:48:11 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24532 The teenage girl’s family has now sued the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, the event company Insomniac, a former events manager, and other parties alleging negligent staffing and supervision, inadequate security, slow emergency response and other deficiencies [L.A. Times]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/dies-of-ecstasy-overdose-while-attending-rave/feed/ 8     July 26 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-26-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-26-roundup/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:55:23 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24014
  • Murder victim’s family sues Schwarzenegger for commuting sentence [KTXL]
  • Easter egg in Dodd-Frank: Lawmaker’s pet “conflict minerals” proposal, to be enforced by SEC [Protess] More on costs to automakers and others: WLF, Carter Wood, more. Further: Bader.
  • Push is on again for fashion design copyright protection [NYT, earlier] Another skeptical view of bill [Katy Tasker, Public Knowledge]
  • Charges dropped against woman who videotaped cops from her front yard [Rochester D&C]
  • “Mom Charged with ‘Child Endangerment’ When Tot Wanders Off” [Free-Range Kids]
  • Live off the land? Better not try that in rural L.A. County [Cavanaugh]
  • Does the U.S. maintain diplomatic relations with this strange realm of “Gould, Arkansas”? [Volokh, Underhill/Forbes]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-26-roundup/feed/ 4     Jezebel, the Dodgers and eminent domain http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/jezebel-the-dodgers-and-eminent-domain/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/jezebel-the-dodgers-and-eminent-domain/#comments Sun, 15 May 2011 12:12:11 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22987 Gideon Kanner recalls how the forcible 1950s displacement of a modest Mexican community made way eventually (after the dropping of a public housing scheme) for the construction of L.A.’s baseball stadium. Some of the residents resisted: “Their principled fight became a footnote in the wretched history of eminent domain law which holds that once a condemnor acquires title to private property by eminent domain, it is not bound to put it to the ‘public’ uses for which it was taken.” ["The Curse of Chavez Ravine"]

    In other eminent domain news, voters in the Indian state of West Bengal have ousted the long-ruling Communist party; a rival party “began to gain momentum when angry farmers erupted in protest against the Communist government in 2007 and 2008 after it seized farmland to set up an automobile factory.”

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/jezebel-the-dodgers-and-eminent-domain/feed/ 0     Los Angeles Times on Toyota acceleration http://overlawyered.com/2010/09/los-angeles-times-on-toyota-acceleration/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/09/los-angeles-times-on-toyota-acceleration/#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:10:53 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=19266 Not for the first (or fifty-first) time, the California paper acts as an uncritical stenographer of Litigation Lobby claims — then waits until paragraph 13 to advise readers that NHTSA, not exactly the friendliest witness these days, backs the automaker’s position on the question of the “black box” data. More: AP.

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