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January 18 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:11:45 +0000

A federal fishing raid, the Pew Charitable Trusts and a biased Business Week account [Nils Stolpe on Gloucester, Mass. fisheries, via Stoll]
Intimidating the judiciary? “Group Opposing Citizens United Pushes ‘Occupy the Courts’ Protest” Jan. 20 [Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal] Mob rallies at Michigan governor’s private home [Meegan Holland, MLive] “Occupy” forces Gingrich to cancel event [Daily Caller] Earlier here, here, here, etc.
“Paper Airplane? Late for School? Shouting Too Loud? You’re Under Arrest!” [Free-Range Kids, Texas]
Spielberg in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” paid homage to earlier movie sequences without sweating permissions. Oh, for those days [Joho] “Cultural gems that should be in the public domain today” [Atlantic Wire, Tabarrok]
UPS settlement exaggerates benefits to class members [Ted Frank; related, CCAF] “Federal Judges Have Harsh Words, Rulings for Class Action Plaintiffs’ Lawyers” [Lammi/WLF]
“Justice Breyer Calls Recusal Controversy a ‘Non-Issue’” [ABA Journal]
“Add Plaintiff-Lawyer Fees To The Cost Of Most Mergers” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes on Cornerstone Research report]

Tags: class action settlements, environment, Massachusetts, movies film and videos, police, recusals, schools, securities litigation, Texas

January 18 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Mississippi Court Reverses $322 Million Asbestos Verdict”

Walter Olson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:08:15 +0000

“A Mississippi court has reversed a $322 million asbestos verdict against Union Carbide — believed to be the largest in U.S. history — after the judge failed to disclose his own father had pending asbestos litigation against the same company. … The jury ruled for Brown even though nine treating physicians, an independent medical examiner and an X-ray technician all testified that the plaintiff had no symptoms of asbestos-related disease.” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes; earlier here, here and here]

Tags: asbestos, jackpot justice, Mississippi, recusals

“Mississippi Court Reverses $322 Million Asbestos Verdict” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

December 19 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:09:06 +0000

Too much of a stretch: US nixes copyright in yoga exercises [Bloomberg, earlier]
“Know your rights dealing with cops” material construed as probative of criminality [Popehat] Is Justice Scalia really an “unlikely” champion of defendants’ Constitutional rights? [LATimes, Adler] “Overcriminalization: The Legislative Side of the Problem” [Larkin/Heritage, related Meese] When feds spring false-statements trap, it won’t matter whether you committed underlying offense being investigated [Popehat] “‘Clean Up Government Act’ sparks overcriminalization concerns” [PoL]
Former Attorney General Mukasey on ObamaCare recusal flap [Adler]
American Antitrust Institute proposals might be discounted given group’s longstanding pro-plaintiff bias [Thom Lambert]
NYC: “The tour guide said that the way to get rich is to be a zoning lawyer.” [Arnold Kling]
“Obama’s Top Ten Constitutional Violations” [Ilya Shapiro, Daily Caller] In at least two major areas, “Obama has broken with precedent to curtail religious freedom” [Steve Chapman]
Ted Frank-Shirley Svorny med mal debate wraps up [PoL, Bader]

Tags: antitrust, Barack Obama, constitutional law, crime and punishment, land use and zoning, medical malpractice, police, recusals, Ted Frank

December 19 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 14 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:24:11 +0000

Pre-terror-attack antibiotic availability? HHS doesn’t think you’re sophisticated enough to handle that freedom [Stewart Baker]
Uh-oh: some New York lawmakers want “a more refined First Amendment” [Slashdot, Lucy Steigerwald]
Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision could curb certification of some wage and hour class actions [Fox]
“Miss. Supreme Court Removes Judge from $322M Asbestos Case Because of Dad’s Lawsuits” [ABA Journal]
Mass. town wants to seize family motel under forfeiture law, IJ objects [Jacob Sullum, Mark Perry]
Will FDA use its new tobacco-regulatory power to stub out cigars? [DC]
“Dole settles pesticide litigation” [WSJ Law Blog, background]

Tags: banana pesticide litigation fraud, FDA, First Amendment, forfeiture, recusals, terrorism, tobacco, Wal-Mart v. Dukes

October 14 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

August 10 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:34:24 +0000

Maine Supreme Court agrees that not having to show up in court might be reasonable accommodation for plaintiff claiming PTSD disability [Volokh]
Guess how much Richard Kreimer, the New Jersey homeless guy, has made in his many lawsuit settlements [Newark Star-Ledger, PoL]
Given the problems with business-method patents, you can see why banks would want to dodge them [Felix Salmon]
Contempt: “Calling the jailing of a person ‘civil’ doesn’t mean they put curtains on the cell windows.” [Greenfield]
“Class Counsel Request $90.8M In Fees In Black Farmers Case” [BLT]
Law school accreditation, recusal standards, international law among topics in new issue of Federalist Society’s ABA Watch;
Electricity-wise, EPA puts the squeeze on the juice [Andrew Grossman, Heritage; Weston Hicks, AgendaWise; Tatler]

Tags: banks, contempt, disabled rights, international law, Maine, patent law, recusals, Richard Kreimer

August 10 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 29 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:47:11 +0000

Don’t: “Lawyer Disbarred for Verbal Aggression to Pay $9.8M Fine for Hiding Cash Overseas” [Weiss, ABA Journal]
Loser-pays might help: “Dropped malpractice lawsuits cost legal system time and money” [Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe]
“Kim Kardashian and the Problem With ‘Celebrity Likeness’ Lawsuits” [Atlantic Wire]
Kim Strassel on the Franken-spun Jamie Leigh Jones case [WSJ]
Peggy Little interviews Prof. Lester Brickman (Lawyer Barons) on new Federalist Society podcast;
Worse than Wisconsin? “Weaponizing” recusal at the Michigan Supreme Court [Jeff Hadden, Detroit News]
New York legislature requires warning labels for sippy cups [NYDN]

Tags: Al Franken, don't, Lester Brickman, loser pays, medical malpractice, Michigan, nanny state, recusals, right of publicity

July 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 19 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:52:12 +0000

More on CPSC’s crib ban train wreck [Commissioner Anne Northup, more, earlier]
One man’s nightmare of false accusation [LA Times via PoL]
How many plaintiff’s-side flicks is HBO going to air this summer, anyway? ["Mann v. Ford," Abnormal Use]
Apple granted “incredibly broad patent” over screen gesture technology [Tabarrok]
Will Congress reverse this term’s much-attacked SCOTUS decisions? [Alison Frankel] Podcast on Wal-Mart v. Dukes with Brian Fitzpatrick [Fed Soc] “Wal-Mart ruling no knock-out blow for class actions” [Reuters] Contrary to some assertions, current law does strongly incentivize individual job-bias claims [Bader] More on case: Dan Bushell, and welcome Craig Newmark readers.
Mississippi stops proceedings in $322 million asbestos case to consider judge’s possible conflict [JCL, earlier here, here]
Nice coat, where’dja get it? [annals of incompetent crime, UK Daily Mail]

Tags: CPSC, environment, Ford Motor, Mississippi, patent law, recusals, Wal-Mart v. Dukes

July 19 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 15 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:38:47 +0000

Dreadful “Caylee’s Law” proposals continue unabated [Balko and more, Lowering the Bar, Skenazy, Frank, Somin] Confirmed non-members of Nancy Grace fan club include Stephen Bainbridge and Scott Greenfield;
Swedish heavy metal fan has musical preferences officially classed as disability [Cowen]
In welcome Goodyear and Nicastro rulings, SCOTUS reins in “stream of commerce” jurisdiction [Yeary, Beck, Wasserman and more, Lahav, Fisher]
Federal lawsuit alleges polka song infringement [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
EPA winning showdown with Texas, power plants may shutter at cost to Lone Star economy [Chron] Don’t dismiss the Texas job creation story — or the role of lawsuit reform [Rick Wartzman, L.A. Times]
Breyer backs Thomas on recusal ethics [Adler]
“Clashing Visions of a ‘Living’ Constitution” [William Van Alstyne on SSRN, his Cato lecture last fall]

Tags: constitutional law, disabled rights, Environmental Protection Agency, music and musicians, Nancy Grace, recusals, Supreme Court, Sweden, Texas

July 15 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Judge’s impartiality questioned in $322 million Mississippi jury verdict

Walter Olson — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:45:02 +0000

“In a motion filed Tuesday, attorneys for Union Carbide said Circuit Judge Eddie H. Bowen neglected to notify defense lawyers that his parents had been involved in similar asbestos litigation and had settled a case against Union Carbide.” A rural Mississippi jury earlier this month returned the largest asbestos verdict in American history, $322 million, against Union Carbide and other defendants. [AP/Stamford Advocate; Jackson Clarion-Ledger] More problems with verdict: Point of Law.

Tags: asbestos, jackpot justice, Mississippi, recusals

Judge’s impartiality questioned in $322 million Mississippi jury verdict is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 27 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:06:06 +0000

“Bioblitz”: Environmental groups file thousands of actions demanding endangered species listings [NYT; related discussion with Jonathan Adler and Steven Hayward at NYT's Room for Debate]
War on painkillers could turn many more Florida docs, druggists into criminals [White Coat]
Feds flex muscle, using debarment to oust company CEOs [Jim Doyle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
“Madigan’s List”: powerful Illinois pol sways selection of Cook County judges [Chicago Tribune]
Nick Gillespie interviews education reformer Jay Greene [Reason]
Social conservatives misplay recusal card against Judge Vaughn Walker in Prop 8 case [Richard Painter, LEF, more, AW, LAT] Other views: Whelan, Gillers, motion.
Why TV shows like “WKRP in Cincinnati” appear in compromised DVD versions [Alex Tabarrok updates a story we had in '06]

Tags: Chicago, endangered species, Florida, movies film and videos, music and musicians, pharmaceuticals, prosecution, recusals, schools

April 27 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system