Overlawyered » San Francisco

February 14 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:08:05 +0000

“Brazil Sues Twitter in Bid to Ban Speed Trap and Roadblock Warnings” [ABA Journal]
Obama nominates Michigan trial lawyer Marietta Robinson to vacancy on Consumer Product Safety Commission, ensuring aggressively pro-regulatory majority [Bluey, Heritage]
“AMA reports show high cost of malpractice suits” [HCFN] “Average expense to defend against a medical liability claim in 2010 was $47,158″ [American Medical News, more] Survey of 1,200 orthopedic surgeons finds defensive medicine rife, at cost of billions, accounting for 7 percent of all hospital admissions [MedPageToday]
“Sue us only in Delaware” bylaws would kill off forum-shopping and what fun is that? [Bainbridge, Reuters]
Trial by media: Lefty “SourceWatch” posts, then deletes, docs from Madison County pesticide suit [Madison County Record]
Think you’ve beaten FCPA rap? Meet the obscure “Travel Act” [Mike Emmick, Reuters] Federal court expands “honest services fraud” in lobbying case [Paul Enzinna, Point of Law]
“On the horrors of getting approval for an ice-cream parlour in San Francisco” [NYT via Doctorow/BoingBoing]

Tags: Brazil, CPSC, defensive medicine, Delaware, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, forum shopping, Madison County, medical malpractice, San Francisco, small business, traffic laws, Twitter

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

San Francisco Happy Meal ban

Walter Olson — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:01:40 +0000

It takes effect Thursday, but, as some had predicted, the hamburger chain seems to be evading its reach fairly easily just by assigning a separate price to the toy. [SF Weekly]

Tags: McDonald's, obesity, San Francisco

San Francisco Happy Meal ban is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

ADA roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:21:37 +0000

“Federal judge: ADA makes porches in new stores illegal” [PoL]
“San Francisco Manages to Spend $700K for a Wheelchair Ramp” [Lowering the Bar] Taco Bell hit with potentially expensive California verdict [AP]
Looking for regulations that burden economy? Look no further than the ADA [Bader]
Website critical of serial California filers [Highest Paid Lawyer]
Parking lot rules imperil historic re-creation of Victorian setting in east L.A. [EastSider]
“Morbidly” obese, at least, covered: EEOC sues over firm’s dismissal of 680-lb. man [Houston Chronicle, Hyman, MySanAntonio]
$1.1 million verdict against Iowa university for failing to accommodate worker’s mental state could encourage more suits [Fox]
Missed this in June: “Netflix sued by deaf group over lack of subtitles” [Lance Whitney, CNet]

Tags: disabled rights, obesity, San Francisco

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

Pet shop banners

Walter Olson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:10:15 +0000

The San Francisco board of supervisors will consider a measure that would ban the sale of all pets in the city [L.A. Times, Outdoor Life, Telegraph (U.K.)] (& welcome Above the Law readers)

Tags: animal rights, San Francisco

Pet shop banners is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

June 24 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:04:47 +0000

“Law Prof Threatens Suit over University’s Plan to Reinstitute Single-Sex Dorms” [ABA Journal, WSJ Law Blog; John Banzhaf vs. Catholic U. in Washington, D.C.]
Mississippi: Dickie Scruggs files motion to vacate conviction in Scruggs II (DeLaughter case) [Freeland, YallPolitics] Before defending Paul Minor’s conduct in cash-for-judges scandal, review the evidence [Lange, YallPolitics and more]
Woman who filmed cop from own yard charged with obstructing his administration of governmen [BoingBoing]
East St. Louis, Ill. jury awards $95 million in sexual harassment, assault case against Aaron’s rental chain [ABA Journal]
Connecticut unions demand investigation of conservative Yankee Institute think tank [Public Sector Inc.]
“Court Upends $1.75M Award, Finding Plaintiff Lawyer’s Remarks Prejudicial” [NJLJ]
Hold it! San Francisco debates bathroom rights for schoolkids [C.W. Nevius, SF Chronicle]

Tags: colleges and universities, Connecticut, Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, San Francisco, Washington D.C.

June 24 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

San Francisco proposed ban on infant circumcision

Walter Olson — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:16:35 +0000

Eugene Volokh has a legal analysis of the ballot proposal, which includes no religious-belief exemption. More: Dave Hoffman.

Tags: child protection, churches, San Francisco

San Francisco proposed ban on infant circumcision is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“‘Social justice’ in contracts costs S.F. millions”

Walter Olson — Wed, 18 May 2011 05:16:23 +0000

San Francisco’s public contracting requirements could drive both taxpayers and vendors batty: “[C]ity purchasing policies, if followed, would mean paying about $240 for getting a copy of a key that actually cost a worker $1.35 to get done at a hardware store on his break,” according to one whistleblowing employee. [SF Chronicle via Matt Welch]

Tags: contracts, San Francisco, taxpayers

“‘Social justice’ in contracts costs S.F. millions” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

San Francisco panel: places of public assembly should have to photograph patrons

Walter Olson — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:05:57 +0000

“The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined civil liberties and privacy groups in criticizing a proposal from the San Francisco Entertainment Commission that would require all venues with an occupancy of over 100 people to record the faces of all patrons and employees and scan their ID’s for storage in a database which they must hand over to law enforcement on request. … Events with strong cultural, ideological, and political components are frequently held at venues that would be affected by these rules.” [EFF]

Tags: constitutional law, privacy, San Francisco

San Francisco panel: places of public assembly should have to photograph patrons is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Radio: Dennis Prager show today, Ronn Owens show tomorrow

Walter Olson — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:31:27 +0000

I’m scheduled to be a guest on two of the nation’s leading radio programs, both California-based: Dennis Prager’s today (Tuesday) (broadcast times vary; find a station), and Ronn Owens at San Francisco’s KGO AM 810 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. Pacific. Tune in and listen!

P.S. Both shows were a pleasure; host Prager generously singled out the book as “so devastating” and “mandatory reading,” and said it was “difficult to overstate the importance of this book.”

Tags: accolades, Bay Area, California, on TV and radio, San Francisco

Radio: Dennis Prager show today, Ronn Owens show tomorrow is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 28 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:08:21 +0000

Feds indict activist for handing out “jury nullification” tracts outside courthouse [Volokh, Greenfield] Anti-abortion billboard taken down after demand by NYC pol; co. says fear of violence was spur [NY Times]
Pigford class action (USDA bias against black farmers) defended and assailed [Friedersdorf and readers, Daniel Foster/NR, Mark Thompson/LOG, earlier here, here, here, etc.]
Avik Roy on Pennsylvania defensive-medicine study [Forbes]
Backstory: Scott Walker battled AFSCME for years as Milwaukee County exec [Aaron Rodriguez, Hispanic Conservative] “Wisconsin’s teachers required to teach kids labor union and collective bargaining history” [Daily Caller]
“The return of the $0 Costco fuel settlement” [CCAF]
Historic preservation vs. the obesity crusade: should a vintage Coke sign in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood come down? [SFGate]
Law blog that covers a single beat closely can turn itself into a valued practice tool [Eric Turkewitz on John Hochfelder's New York Injury Cases]
“Soda suits: Banzhaf browbeats school officials” [five years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: agriculture and farming, defensive medicine, free speech, historic preservation, jury nullification, labor unions, legal blogs, NYC, San Francisco, Wisconsin

February 28 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system