Overlawyered » loser pays 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 European roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:05:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27274
  • Overseas press excoriates new FATCA tax-Americans’-foreign-earnings law; some foreign banks now turn away American customers [Dan Mitchell, Cato, Reason] “The Fatca story is really kind of insane.” [Caplin & Drysdale's H. David Rosenbloom, NYT via TaxProf] Will Congress back down? [Peter Spiro/OJ, more]
  • Important new book from James Maxeiner (University of Baltimore) and co-authors Gyooho Lee and Armin Weber on what the U.S. can learn from legal procedure overseas: “Failures of American Civil Justice in International Perspective” [TortsProf]
  • Don’t do it: British administration mulls further move away from loser-pays rule in search of — what exactly, a yet more Americanized litigation culture? [Guardian, Law Society]
  • Apparently in Norway it’s possible to lose one’s kids by feeding them by hand [Shikha Dalmia, Reason]
  • Financial transaction tax? Ask the Swedes how that worked out [Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Business Insider]
  • Notes from conference on globalization of class actions [Karlsgodt] Related: Adam Zimmerman;
  • “Another conviction in Europe for insulting religion” [Volokh; Polish pop star] Campus secularists’ speech under fire in the U.K. as “Jesus and Mo” controversy spreads to LSE [Popehat] British speech prosecution of soccer star [Suneal Bedi and William Marra, NRO]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/feed/ 0     “Business Leaders for Loser-Pays” http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/business-leaders-for-loser-pays/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/business-leaders-for-loser-pays/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:17:36 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26498 In a new Cato post, I explain why I wish such an organization existed.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/business-leaders-for-loser-pays/feed/ 0     Art scholars fear authentication lawsuits, cont’d http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/art-scholars-fear-authentication-lawsuits-contd/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/art-scholars-fear-authentication-lawsuits-contd/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:18:30 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26250 The Art Newspaper takes up a trend we’ve noted before in this space:

    In New York, the art lawyer Ronald Spencer, of Carter, Ledyard and Milburn, agrees with Sanig. “This is a very serious problem. Specialists are often academics earning $100,000 [or less] a year and they can’t afford litigation they are fearful of being a defendant in a lawsuit, even if they should win.” He admits that there are more of these cases in the US: “It’s a cliché, but we are more litigious here.” He says that the US system, whereby the plaintiff does not have to pay the legal fees of the successful defendant, encourages this.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/art-scholars-fear-authentication-lawsuits-contd/feed/ 2     Texas deadline suit-filing, cont’d http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/texas-deadline-suit-filing-contd/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/texas-deadline-suit-filing-contd/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:38:17 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25529 After we passed along a recent report that Beaumont, Texas lawyers had filed 59 lawsuits the day before the state’s new “loser-pays” package of litigation reforms was to take effect, Texas attorney Brooks Schuelke responded on Twitter as follows (re-formatted and edited for clarity), saying that the issue wasn’t the loser-pays provision, but a separate “responsible third party” provision that set a malpractice trap for lawyers that delayed: “The responsible third party provisions allowed a defendant to name a party, and then plaintiff could join them even if the statute of limitations had expired. The law was changed to remove the ability to sue regardless of the statute of limitations. But defendant can’t name a party not disclosed in discovery. The amendment means we have to file suit long before the statute of limitations expires to send discovery asking defendant to name who it might name. So many cases nearing the statute of limitations had to be filed before the effective date of the change or else they could be victim to the amendment.”

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/texas-deadline-suit-filing-contd/feed/ 1     “Day before ‘Loser Pays’ launches, Beaumont lawyers file 59 lawsuits” http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/day-before-loser-pays-launches-beaumont-lawyers-file-59-lawsuits/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/day-before-loser-pays-launches-beaumont-lawyers-file-59-lawsuits/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:36:02 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25486 I’m on record as noting that the Texas bill labeled as “loser pays” doesn’t do nearly as much to revamp litigation incentives as its name implies, but if lawyers rushed to beat the deadlines on its provisions, they must be expecting it to make at least some difference. [Chamber-affiliated Southeast Texas Record]

    More: Texas attorney Brooks Schuelke offers a different explanation for the last-minute rush.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/day-before-loser-pays-launches-beaumont-lawyers-file-59-lawsuits/feed/ 1     A timeless legal remedy http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/a-timeless-legal-remedy/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/a-timeless-legal-remedy/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:06:23 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25080 Loser-pays in ancient Greece. [Pero]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/a-timeless-legal-remedy/feed/ 0     “Loser-pays” reform in Texas http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/loser-pays-reform-in-texas/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/loser-pays-reform-in-texas/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:42:09 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24843 It’s a welcome development, but as I told Reuters, by the time it got through the legislative process there was less there than the name had promised. More at Cato. [Reuters link keeps changing, fixed for the moment]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/loser-pays-reform-in-texas/feed/ 0     September 19 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-19-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-19-roundup/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:34:48 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24544
  • Educator: please don’t bring lawyers to parent-teacher meetings [Ron Clark, CNN] Steve Brill: what I found when I investigated NYC teacher “rubber rooms” [Reuters] “The Six Dumbest Things Schools Are Doing in the Name of Safety” [Cracked] School waterfall liability [Lincoln, Neb. Journal-Star]
  • As predicted: “Dodd-Frank Paperwork a Bonanza for Consultants and Lawyers” [NYT]
  • “Running out of common drugs” [Josh Bloom, NY Post] Pharmaceutical shortages: the role of Medicare price controls [Richard Epstein, Hoover; earlier here, here, etc.]
  • DoT insists on exposing private flight plans online. Yoo-hoo, privacy advocates? [Steve Chapman]
  • New class action law in Mexico includes loser-pays provision [WSJ]
  • Newt Gingrich candidacy revives memories of his 1995 call for death penalty (with “mass executions”) for drug smuggling [NYT archive via Josh Barro; see also @timothy_watson "Sounds kinda like Shariah Law to me.")
  • "Cy pres slush fund in Georgia under ethics investigation" [PoL]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-19-roundup/feed/ 3     September 7 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:10:17 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24436
  • Truth through intimidation? U.K.: “Chronic fatigue syndrome researchers face death threats from militants” [Guardian] Nanotechnologists are target of Unabomber copycat [Chronicle of Higher Education]
  • Blogger (and frequent Overlawyered commenter) Amy Alkon criticizes intrusive TSA agent by name, agent threatens $500K libel suit [Mike Masnick/TechDirt, Mark Bennett]
  • NYT fans “pill mill” hysteria, heedless of the costs [Sullum]
  • Patent litigant “pursued baseless infringement allegations in bad faith and for an improper purpose.” More loser-pays, please [NLJ, PoL]
  • Great moments in link solicitation [Scott Greenfield] Quality bar at feminist lawprof blog may not be set terribly high [Popehat]
  • “Wow, this photo got over 475 views from being reposted on Overlawyered” [Erik Magraken]
  • “Popular Comic Strip Has Fun With Wacky Warnings” [Bob Dorigo Jones]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/feed/ 5     August 4 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-4-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-4-roundup-2/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:45:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24152
  • Burning Man, risk, and self-reliance [Claire Gordon, related]
  • Jacob Sullum challenges Mark “tax-the-snacks” Bittman [Reason; related, Rick Esenberg] “Fat tax” would be hard to target, hard to enforce, disliked by voters [David Gratzer]
  • “CSX claims racketeering in Pittsburgh law firm’s legal tactics” [Post-Gazette; earlier here, here, here, etc.] A different view: Max Kennerly.
  • Complaints over new class-action law in Canada [Reuters]
  • Minnesota preacher sues Rachel Maddow [TVNewser, Mother Jones]
  • Does the new Texas loser-pays bill go far enough? [Kyle Baum, WLF, earlier]
  • Tell us about it: “Why the Right to Criticize Lawyers is Vital” [Hans Bader, CEI]
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