- Depiction of violence? School said to require psychiatric evaluation of eight year old over drawing of crucifix [Taunton, Mass. Daily Gazette] Update: More complicated than that? School officials call report inaccurate [Boston Globe, Michael Graham]
- “US games company sues British blogger” [Evony, in Australia, Guardian; our earlier coverage here and here]
- Blawg Review #242, on a Chanukah theme, is by Ron Coleman at Likelihood of Confusion;
- Repetitive head injury: “Assumption of risk and football” [Magliocca, ConcurOp]
- If you like CPSIA you may love proposed new chemical regulation law, TSCA [Deputy Headmistress]
- If we had to adopt the Precautionary Principle consistently, well, odds are we wouldn’t [Somin/Volokh]
- “Sex Offender Law Nabs Man Shooting Hoops in His Driveway” [Radley Balko, The Agitator]
- Funny: “How Not To Go From Banking To Law School” [Helen Coster, McSweeney's via John Carney]
Tagged as:
assumption of risk,
crime and punishment,
football,
movies film and videos,
zero tolerance
- Woman jailed for “camcordering” after recording four minutes of sister’s birthday party in movie theater [BoingBoing]
- Senate hearing airs trial lawyer gripes against Iqbal [Jackson and earlier, PoL, Wajert, Beck & Herrmann (scroll)] Franken and other Senators sidestep substance, browbeat witness re: “study” terminology [Alison Frankel, AmLaw]
- Still time to cancel? “2009 is also the first year of global governance” — new EU president [Small Dead Animals]
- Miller-Jenkins battle: judge orders custody switch to law-abiding spouse [Box Turtle Bulletin, background]
- Speedy by government standards? 17 years ago DoT proposed Southeast high-speed rail on existing rights of way, ruling on environmental impact statement is expected next year [McArdle]
- “New York’s New DWI Bill: Compounding Stupidity” [Greenfield; felony to drive intoxicated with passenger 15 or younger]
- “Apple Told To Pay Patent Troll OPTi $21.7 Million” [Business Insider]
- This year’s ABA Blawg 100 listing left out some legal blogs that aren’t half bad [Turkewitz]
Tagged as:
alcohol,
Apple,
environment,
international law,
legal blogs,
Miller-Jenkins case,
movies film and videos,
New York,
patent trolls,
pleading
An already odd binge of litigation has gotten yet odder: the California man who has sued Sony for kicking him off its PlayStation online network, and has sued Nintendo and Microsoft on other grounds, is now suing Activision Blizzard, publisher of the immensely popular online game World of Warcraft, which he accuses of maintaining a “harmful virtual environment” with “sneaky and deceitful practices.” He alleges that use of the game tends to bring on mental health problems, and — the best bit — says he intends to subpoena lyricist Martin Gore of the band Depeche Mode and Hollywood actress Winona Ryder as third party experts on alienation. [GameSpot via Ambrogi/Legal Blog Watch; earlier] Update: Estavillo is subpoenaing Bill Gates too [Seattle PI Microsoft blog]
Tagged as:
movies film and videos,
music and musicians,
videogames
An Ohio town discontinues its municipal WiFi network after MPAA lawyers rattle swords about a copyrighted movie that moved through the system. Andrew Moshirnia at Citizen Media Law explains. And (h/t reader CTrees) note that the town turned the system back on at Sony’s request, following a national outcry over the incident.
And at least somewhat relatedly: “Viacom’s top lawyer: suing P2P users ‘felt like terrorism’” [ArsTechnica]
Tagged as:
movies film and videos,
Ohio,
RIAA and file sharing
- Tiananmen Square events echo today in acrimonious defamation suit against filmmakers [Boston Globe]
- Andrew Ferguson disrespectful toward David Kessler’s nanniferous book on obesity policy [Weekly Standard]
- “Yes, People Dislike The RIAA Because Of Its Actions” [TechDirt]
- The big difference race makes in medical school admissions [Discriminations, Mark Perry/Carpe Diem]
- Texting, workplace flirtation and sexual harassment law [Forbes/MSNBC]
- After real estate firm grabs and uses online pic, photographer finds satisfaction through small claims court [West Seattle Blog h/t @VBalasubramani]
- Virginia: latest case seeking to open emotional-distress damages for death of pets gets help from former White House counsel Lanny Davis [WaPo, earlier]
- Brazil police allege that host of true-crime TV series ordered killings to ensure good footage for the show [AP]
Tagged as:
Boston,
Brazil,
damages for animal companionship,
harassment law,
libel slander and defamation,
movies film and videos,
obesity,
RIAA and file sharing,
Virginia
- Is it OK if Boulder County prosecutor Tweets the murder trial while in progress? [Colorado Daily]
- Pierce O’Donnell terms his gigantic Katrina/New Orleans lawsuit a “crapshoot” [Hiltzik, L.A. Times]
- Massachusetts hospital not responsible for third-party injuries from just-released colonoscopy patient’s auto accident [Ronald Miller]
- Controversial “citizen suit” provision was removed from environment bill as one of the compromises to obtain House passage [Global Climate Law Blog and more, earlier] More: Coyote.
- “I was shocked at the number of cases the neurologist, radiologists, and especially the neurosurgeon had against them.” [ER Stories with a first-person lawsuit tale]
- I liked Dole Food better when it was a victim of the litigation system rather than an aggressor [L.A. Business Journal, NLJ, L.A. Times "The Envelope" on company's suit against Swedish documentary filmmaker; underlying banana-worker pesticide litigation scandal; CJAC]
- Virginia Postrel on kidney donation, altruism, and policy [The Atlantic]
- Grown kids appear in court to exonerate dad who spent nearly 20 years in prison on false charges of abusing them [The Columbian, Wash., via Obscure Store] More: Coyote.
Tagged as:
banana pesticide litigation fraud,
bullying businesses,
child abuse,
climate change,
hospitals,
Katrina,
libel slander and defamation,
medical malpractice,
movies film and videos,
New Orleans,
Twitter
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression:
There is a disturbing new trend in censorship legislation. Bills have been introduced in Utah and Louisiana this year that give private citizens the right to sue booksellers and other retailers for committing an “unfair” trade practice by selling “offensive” material to a minor. The defendants in these lawsuits would have to hire a lawyer to defend them and could be forced to pay thousands of dollars if they lost.
Earlier, the governor of Utah vetoed a similar measure aimed at video and game retailers.
Tagged as:
free speech,
movies film and videos,
publishers,
videogames
- Souter’s middle-of-the-road views on litigation didn’t fit conventional patterns [Copland, PoL]
- Champerty and maintenance watch: new fund invests in commercial litigation for a share of the payouts [Fortune mag via Zywicki]
- Report: distributor of “Religulous” film “has served a written settlement proposal” to preacher depicted onscreen [OnPoint News, earlier]
- U.K.: “Homeowner Suit May Stop Village Cricket” [Telegraph via Never Yet Melted]
- Overlawyered sparks a discussion across usual lines on EMTALA, the federal law on emergency medicine [Kennerly]
- Federal Circuit: think twice before proceeding with frivolous appeals [David Bennett, Law.com]
- Father-son duo who have served as key expert witnesses in litigation alleging autism-vaccine link push risky and questionable therapy for the condition [Chicago Tribune and second article and PDF graphic via Orac; Kathleen Seidel]. Waste and harm that go on in the name of treating autism should give pause to many sides in health care debate [Tyler Cowen]
- One “deadbeat dad’s” story [Amy Alkon]. Forthcoming Lifetime reality show sounds like it will showcase harassment of fathers in child support arrears [Fathers and Families via Instapundit]
Tagged as:
autism,
champerty,
child support,
EMTALA,
fathers,
movies film and videos,
United Kingdom,
vaccine