http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:28:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/employment-law-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/employment-law-roundup-3/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:12:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27399

Fueled by liberal foundation grants and federal money, “Restaurant Opportunities Center” launches litigation campaign against chain-eatery leader Darden [Orlando Sentinel] Still to be explained: why the Detroit Chamber of Commerce would be so happy to announce a business-backed non-profit’s funding for ROC.

Major employment plaintiff’s firm Outten & Golden promotes Hearst magazine intern class action [Romenesko, Reason]

“Retaliation Charges Pose Growing Threat to Free Speech” [Hans Bader, CEI]

Debate: “Should state outlaw requirements that job applicants be employed?” [Pia Lopez/Ben Boychuk, Sacramento Bee]

“Is it time to do away with McDonnell Douglas?” [burden-shifting test in job bias cases; Jon Hyman]

Supposed exemption from OSHA for under-10-employee businesses is mostly myth [Eric Conn, EBG]

WSJ is kind enough to pick up my item on Italian labor law professors as a “Notable and Quotable” today;

New York Times fires 23 employees after searching their emails and finding that they had forwarded blonde and ethnic jokes and other common forms of workplace humor [eleven years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: discrimination law, Ford Foundation, hostile environment, New York Times, OSHA, restaurants, wage and hour suits, workplace

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/employment-law-roundup-3/feed/ 1 http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/safety-first-or-just-in-the-top-three/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/safety-first-or-just-in-the-top-three/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:44:52 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24857 Subversive thoughts from Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel hit “Dirty Jobs“. Clearly a man who has no future in Senate-confirmable appointments… [Link fixed now, thanks commenter C.S.]

Tags: OSHA, safety

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/safety-first-or-just-in-the-top-three/feed/ 2 http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-26-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-26-roundup/#comments Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:26:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22714

Study of how class action lawyers interact with their named clients [Stephen Meili via Trask]

California releases numbers on how bounty-hunting lawyers did in 2010 under Prop 65 environmental-warning law [Cal Biz Lit]

According to the tale, lender errors in foreclosure gave Florida borrower home free and clear. Actual story may be more complicated than that [Funnell]

The very long discovery arm of the Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania, courts [Drug & Device Law, more]

UK law firm “could face big bill” after sending thousands of file-sharing demand letters [ABA Journal]

Goodbye to men’s track at U. of Delaware, and the women’s team is suffering too, as often happens with Title IX [Saving Sports]

OSHA’s proposed “illness and injury prevention program” (I2P2) termed a “Super Rule” with potentially widespread economic impact [Kirsanow, NRO]

Tags: class actions, discovery, forum shopping, mortgages, OSHA, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Prop 65, RIAA and file sharing, Title IX

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-26-roundup/feed/ 5 http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-21-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-21-roundup-2/#comments Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:08:24 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=20236

Federalist Society annual convention (which I attended) included panels on anonymity and the First Amendment, judicial recusals, many other topics;

Nomination of R.I.’s McConnell to federal bench could soon reach Senate floor [ProJo]

“Why U.S. Taxpayers Are Paying Brazilian Cotton Growers $147 Million” [NPR via Popehat]

“Litigation Governance: Taking Adequacy Seriously” [Trask, Class Action Countermeasures]

“Family” groups vs. a family, cont’d: Vermont Supreme Court upholds Miller-Jenkins custody ruling [Volokh, BTB]

OSHA allows more comment on what could be an extremely expensive mandate against noise in the workplace [ShopFloor]

Cops who inform on cops are often left to twist in wind [Balko]

Interview with Mark Zaid, collector of comic book art with law/legal themes [Abnormal Use]

Tags: class actions, Federalist Society, Miller-Jenkins case, OSHA, police, recusals, Rhode Island

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-21-roundup-2/feed/ 0 http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/a-tuckpointers-travails/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/a-tuckpointers-travails/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:06:40 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=19087 A St. Louis chimney repairer’s recent run-in with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) illustrates some of the regulatory burdens that might be worsened by pending legislation that would greatly expand OSHA’s punitive powers. I explain at Cato at Liberty.

Tags: OSHA

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“Wacky warning dept.: Steven Morris v. Harley-Davidson Motor Co.” [Wajert and Ted at PoL]

“Are HOA Foreclosures a Necessary Tool or an Extortion Racket?” [Jurow, Business Insider]

“Court Under Roberts Is Most Restrained in Decades” [Adler/Volokh, earlier]

New Jersey Supreme Court confirms equestrian center’s legal protection in horseback-injury case [NJLRA]

White-collar prosecution: Is “Conscious Avoidance” the Next “Honest Services”? [Christine Hurt, Conglomerate]

Cy pres class action giveaways arrive in Canada [National Post]

More on why Wal-Mart is spending big to fight a relatively low OSHA fine [Paul Greenberg, earlier]

Older jobseekers find offers scarce? Someone should pass a law! Oh wait [four years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: Canada, cy pres, failure to warn, mortgages, New Jersey, OSHA, product liability, prosecution, recreation, Supreme Court, Wal-Mart

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/august-4-roundup/feed/ 2 http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/the-regulatory-avalanche-from-washington-d-c/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/the-regulatory-avalanche-from-washington-d-c/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:03:57 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=18353 New obligations and liabilities for employers, as catalogued by the law firm of Ogletree Deakins.

Tags: OSHA, wage and hour suits, workplace

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/the-regulatory-avalanche-from-washington-d-c/feed/ 1 http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/july-13-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/july-13-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:18:35 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=18172

Wal-Mart spending millions to fight $7,000 OSHA fine? Not so paradoxical when you think about it [Coyote]

Proliferation of product recalls, as with warnings, can result in consumer fatigue and inattention [WaPo via PoL]

Settlement said to be near between casino and gambler who lost $127 million [WSJ, UPI, earlier]

“Think Globally, Sue Locally: Out-of-Court Tactics Employed by Plaintiffs, Their Lawyers, and Their Advocates in Transnational Tort Cases” [study, PDF and press release; Jonathan Drimmer for US Chamber, related WSJ]

“End of an Era? Another Crunch Berries Case Dismissed” [Lowering the Bar, California Civil Justice, earlier on "froot" cases here, here, etc.]

New Jersey: “School legal costs are a killer” [Rayner, Daily Record]

ABA Journal profiles Ted Frank;

We’re the ones who write the laws around here, not you legislators: Washington Supreme Court strikes down med-mal notice law [SeattlePI.com]

Tags: advertising, Alien Tort Claims Act, class actions, compulsive gambling, CPSC, forum shopping, medical malpractice, New Jersey, OSHA, schools, Ted Frank, Wal-Mart, Washington state

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2010/07/july-13-roundup-2/feed/ 0 http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/january-30-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/january-30-roundup-3/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:19:41 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=15683

Renewed attention to Amirault case contributed to Coakley’s political nosedive [e.g., Jacob Weisberg of Slate via Kaus, earlier] First time a Massachusetts prosecutor has paid a political price over that episode?

Many, many Democratic elected officials call for rethinking/renegotiating Obamacare rather than trying to force it through [e.g. Barney Frank] Blue Mass blogger: talk radio fueled ire at Coakley, let’s have FCC shut it down [Graham]

“Big Brother and the Salt Shaker” [NY Times "Room for Debate", Food Liability Law, earlier on NYC initiative and more] NYU’s Marion Nestle “loves” being called a nanny statist, so we’ll just go right on calling her that [Crispy on the Outside]

Terror suspects win right to seek compensation from UK government over restrictions on their activities [Canadian Press]

“Men Without Hats. Meaning no hard hats. Meaning The Safety Dance never met OSHA requirements. No wonder it was shut down.” [Tim Siedell a/k/a Bad Banana]

Italian judge orders father to go on paying $550/month living allowance to his student daughter, who is 32 [Guardian/SMH, earlier on laws mandating support of adult children]

Two informants vie for potential bonanza of whistleblower status against Johnson & Johnson [Frankel, AmLaw Litigation Daily]

“Polling Firm Says John Edwards Is Its Most Unpopular Person Ever” [Lowering the Bar]

Tags: Barney Frank, broadcasters, child abuse, child support, Italy, John Edwards, Massachusetts, nanny state, OSHA, prosecutorial abuse, safety, salt, terrorism, United Kingdom, whistleblowers

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/january-30-roundup-3/feed/ 8 http://overlawyered.com/2009/09/september-25-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/09/september-25-roundup-2/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:12:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=13867

“Highly embarrassing …ugly”: Florida Justice Association apologizes for race-baiting mailer intended to sway state senate race [Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel]

Fanny-state regulation: they wouldn’t really ban soft toilet paper, would they? [Washington Post via Logomasini, CEI "Open Market"]

Update on David Michaels OSHA nomination [Carter Wood, PoL] More: Fox News.

Library of Congress has expanded its law research website, includes archiving project for legal weblogs including this one;

David Leonhardt, NYT economics columnist, looks at defensive medicine debate ["Economic Scene"]

“Republicans denounce identity politics, except when they engage in it themselves.” [Heather Mac Donald, Secular Right]

Aw: Ron Coleman recalls “one of my proudest weeks of blogging”. [Likelihood of Success]

Dewey Decimal System owner sues NYC’s Library Hotel [six years ago at Overlawyered -- link fixed now]

Tags: David Michaels, defensive medicine, Florida, Heather Mac Donald, nanny state, OSHA, politics, state trial lawyers groups

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