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 http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/february-6-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/february-6-roundup-3/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:02:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27368

“A 4-Page Playdate Waiver? Is This the New Normal?” [Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids; our 2000 post on "Rise of the High-School Sleepover Disclaimer"]

Spirit Airlines sets what it calls DOTUC fee, for “Dept. of Transportation Unintended Consequences” [Stoll]

How fairly are fathers treated in family court? [Nina Shapiro, Seattle Weekly via Alkon]

“‘Insider’ Trading by the Representative Plaintiff in Shareholder Litigation” [Bainbridge]

“Donation controversy focuses attention on Madison County asbestos litigation” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chamber-backed LNL]

Update: Appeals court reinstates Duluth doc’s defamation claims [DNT, earlier here, here, here; "bedside manner" criticism]

U.K.: “‘Psychic’ Sally Morgan Sues Critics for £150,000 After Refusing $1 Million to Prove Her Powers” [D.J. Grothe, HuffPo] “She’ll be calling witnesses such as ‘an uncle, or father, or a man… with a b in his first name’.” [@thegagthief]

Tags: airlines, asbestos, divorce, family law, libel slander and defamation, Madison County, recreation, Seattle, securities litigation, United Kingdom

Related posts

• November 1999 archives, part 1 (1)
• March 2000 archives, part 2 (1)
• June 2003 archives, part 2 (1)
• July 2000 archives, part 2 (2)
• February 11 roundup (1)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/february-6-roundup-3/feed/ 1 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]

Tags: Los Angeles, recreation

Related posts

• Wildfires and land management litigation (5)
• Wanted to hire: one Wikipedia writer (1)
• Update: Erin Brockovich vs. Beverly Hills High School (5)
• Update: Brockovich Beverly Hills case (0)
• Unintended results of bicycle helmet laws (4)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/that-treehouse-has-to-go/feed/ 35 http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-3-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-3-roundup-3/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:16:13 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26437

Popehat’s Ken to the rescue after Maine lawyer/lawmaker assists naturopath in bullying critical blogger [Popehat]

Newt’s “patriotism made me stray” among highlights of the year in blame-shifting [Jacob Sullum]

Nifong sidekick, now in a spot of legal bother himself, hits back with lawsuit [K C Johnson, Durham in Wonderland]

Shareholder action: “Delaware approves $285 Million in Plaintiffs’ Lawyers’ Fees” [Bainbridge, WSJ Deal Journal, WSJ Law Blog]

“Even one death is too many — WE MUST BAN NETI POTS!” [NYDN via Christopher Tozzo]

Debatable premise of Joe Nocera analysis on Stephen Glass case: bar admission turn-down = “rest of his life … destroyed” [NYT, Howard Wasserman/Prawfs, earlier]

Who says Connecticut never reforms liability? Towns won protection last year from some recreation-land tort exposure [CFPA, earlier here, here]

Tags: bar associations, bloggers and the law, Connecticut, Delaware, Duke lacrosse, recreation, safety

Related posts

• Unmasking anonybloggers, cont’d (0)
• Unintended results of bicycle helmet laws (4)
• U.K.: “Cheese-rolling race axed after 200 years” (3)
• U.K.: “‘Ridiculous’ health and safety bans challenged” (6)
• Suing anonymous bloggers (1)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-3-roundup-3/feed/ 1 http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/montana-bicyclist-gets-nearly-100g-after-fall-on-icy-trail/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/montana-bicyclist-gets-nearly-100g-after-fall-on-icy-trail/#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:37:03 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26045 “The president of the Florence Park District says he’s disappointed in a system that allows a man riding a motorized bicycle on a winter night on a trail that doesn’t allow motorized vehicles to receive an insurance settlement. Half of the settlement came from a Florence bar because snow was pushed onto the trail when the bar parking lot was plowed.” [AP]

Tags: deep pocket, Montana, personal responsibility, recreation

Related posts

• Weidner v. United States: blame the controllers because pilot became disoriented (0)
• Update: suing the goal post maker (0)
• Update: San Diego poisoning (1)
• Update on Ogborn v. McDonald’s (6)
• Truck-driver father runs over own daughter; guess who is to blame? (23)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/montana-bicyclist-gets-nearly-100g-after-fall-on-icy-trail/feed/ 0 http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/park-service-sued-over-fatal-olympic-goat-goring/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/park-service-sued-over-fatal-olympic-goat-goring/#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:04:28 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25504 “The family of a man who was gored to death by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park is suing the Park Service.” [AP, National Parks Traveler, earlier]

Tags: animals, recreation

Related posts

• Takes date horseback riding, gets sued after fall (4)
• Plague-squirrel panic! (3)
• Horse injury suit will discourage charity programs (20)
• Zoo fall blamed on splashy dolphins (9)
• Woman fined $500 for suing police dog (1)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/park-service-sued-over-fatal-olympic-goat-goring/feed/ 10 http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/swan-song-for-swings/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/swan-song-for-swings/#comments Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:35:10 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25265 “The state inspectors strongly advised us against it,” said the director of a New Jersey preschool. [Greg Olear at Free-Range Kids]

Tags: recreation, safety

Related posts

• Unintended results of bicycle helmet laws (4)
• U.K.: “Cheese-rolling race axed after 200 years” (3)
• U.K.: “‘Ridiculous’ health and safety bans challenged” (6)
• Plague-squirrel panic! (3)
• January 3 roundup (1)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/swan-song-for-swings/feed/ 0 http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/child-welfareprotection-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/child-welfareprotection-roundup/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 05:10:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24879

Oh, American Academy of Pediatrics, why are you so consistently wrong? On videogames, on food-ad bans, on guns, CPSIA…

New book by Annette Fuentes, Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse [John Harris, Guardian]

There are genuine problems with some countries’ international adoption practices, but should UNICEF really be pushing toward a “leave the kids in orphanages” alternative? [Nick Gillespie on Reason documentary to be released tomorrow]

At expense of both federalism and religious accommodation, bill entitled “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” (ECDFA) would impose anti-bias rules on state adoption and foster care programs [Washington Blade]

Cash-for-kids Pennsylvania judge: “Former Luzerne judge Conahan sentenced to 17.5 years” [Times-Tribune, our earlier coverage]

“Met a guy who works at my old summer camp. Bunks still do raids on other bunks, but their counselors have to file raid forms first. How sad.” [@adamlisberg]

Sex offender registry horror story #14,283 [Skenazy]

“Safety rules rob pupils of hands-on science, say MPs” [Independent, U.K.]

Gee, who could’ve predicted that? NJ’s aggressive “anti-bullying” law leads to new problems [NYT, Greenfield, PoL, NJLRA] Rapid growth in bullying law assisted by push from Obama administration [WSJ Law Blog, Kenneth Marcus/Federalist Society, Bader]

Tags: bullying, child protection, CPSIA, family law, guns, recreation, science and scientists, United Nations, zero tolerance

Related posts

• U.K.: “Scouts banned from carrying knives” (5)
• Criminal charges for spitballs in school (13)
• U.K.: Better off institutionalized than with a parent who smokes? (0)
• Texas overreached in snatching polygamy kids (1)
• Texas lawmakers modify zero tolerance (0)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/child-welfareprotection-roundup/feed/ 2 http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/u-k-ridiculous-health-and-safety-bans-challenged/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/u-k-ridiculous-health-and-safety-bans-challenged/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:47:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24783 “Kite flying, schoolyard games and sports day sack races have all been hit by an ‘epidemic’ of health and safety excuses, which should be challenged by the public, the Government said.” [Independent] Plus: UK school deems leather balls too dangerous for youngsters, directs use of sponge balls instead [BBC]

Tags: recreation, safety, schools, United Kingdom

Related posts

• U.K.: “Old school tie is shunned amid safety concerns” (4)
• U.K.: “Cheese-rolling race axed after 200 years” (3)
• For fear of choking (7)
• Welcome Observer (UK) readers (0)
• Wales: “School bans ‘dangerous’ swimming goggles” (3)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/u-k-ridiculous-health-and-safety-bans-challenged/feed/ 6 http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-3-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-3-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:25:12 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24123

Central Falls, R.I. lands in bankruptcy court [NYT; my Cato take]

Less efficient patdowns? Man with one arm files complaint after being turned down as TSA inspector [MSNBC via Hyman]

Don’t join the Mommy Mob [Ken at Popehat]

Montana high court upholds failure-to-warn verdict against maker of aluminum baseball bat [PoL link roundup, Russell Jackson; earlier here and here]

Finally some good news from Connecticut: state enacts law protecting municipalities from lawsuits over recreational land use [BikeRag; earlier here, etc.]

Claim: climate-change tort suits will require radical changes in tort law and that’s a good thing [Douglas Kysar (Yale), SSRN]

Attorney keen to go on TV, will take any case, either side [Balko]

Tags: baseball bats, climate change, Connecticut, recreation, Rhode Island

Related posts

• Specialized business courts (1)
• September 10 roundup (1)
• Recreation on Connecticut public land (4)
• October 2000 archives, part 2 (1)
• Newport, R.I.’s Cliff Walk (2)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-3-roundup-2/feed/ 1 http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/quest-for-a-risk-free-playground/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/quest-for-a-risk-free-playground/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:10:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23970 My new post at Cato at Liberty, following on a theme pursued by NYT science writer John Tierney, looks at some of the risks of trying to make children’s play too safe. More: UK Telegraph (”Health and safety fears are taking the joy out of playtime.”); Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids.

Tags: assumption of risk, recreation, schools

Related posts

• U.K.: defending assumption of risk (0)
• U.K.: “Butlins bans bumping on the bumper cars” (6)
• U.K.: “‘Ridiculous’ health and safety bans challenged” (6)
• Takes date horseback riding, gets sued after fall (4)
• Jello wrestling and assumption of risk (5)

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/quest-for-a-risk-free-playground/feed/ 4