Overlawyered » tobacco

December 13 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:43:41 +0000

“The real cost of patent trolls” [Brad Feld, PoL on BU study] Survey finds patent litigation booming [Corporate Counsel, Reynolds Holding/Reuters] Company claiming patent on wi-fi-in-stores unlikely to sue retail customers “at this stage” [Patent Examiner] Retrospective on crustless-sandwich case [Peter Smith/Good, earlier]
Louisiana federal court holds severe obesity to be disability under ADA [Sam Bagenstos, related]
Florida: many cops remain on job despite evidence linking them to crimes [Balko on Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigation]
“FDA Regulation Could Doom Cigar Shops” [Jacob Sullum]
Ted Frank vs. Brian Fitzpatrick on class action fees [PoL, David Lat on Federalist Society panel]
Orange County keeps mum about partnerships it’s entered with plaintiff’s attorneys Robinson, Calcagnie and Thomas Girardi [Kim Stone, Fox & Hounds] Maybe like “private attorney generals”? Fannie/Freddie genre of government-sponsored enterprises called “monstrous moral hybrids” [Mark Calabria, Cato]
Posner: lawyers appeared more likely to run junk-fax suit for own interests than clients’ [Beck, Trask (Creative Montessori Learning Centers v. Ashford Gear LLC)]

Tags: class actions, Florida, Los Angeles, obesity, patent litigation, patent trolls, police, public employment, tobacco

December 6 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:23:12 +0000

TSA: design of gun on purse is “replica gun” [Radley Balko]
“Note: Before Attaching Ankle Monitor, Make Sure Leg Is Real” [Lowering the Bar]
“Harm to others” rationale seems to fall by wayside as Boston bans workplace use of e-cigarettes [Jacob Sullum]
“Should legislation protect the obese?” [NYT "Room for Debate"]
German town drops charges against Pope Benedict XVI for failure to wear seat belt in Popemobile [WaPo, Lowering the Bar, Irish Times]
Ninth Circuit agrees to review litigation seeking court takeover of vets’ mental care [SFChron, WSJ Law Blog, earlier]
The shaky science of “shaken baby syndrome” [Pfaff, Prawfs, ABA Journal, earlier here, here] Jerry Brown should pardon dubiously convicted grandmother [Emily Bazelon, Slate]

Tags: Boston, Catholic Church, Germany, guns, obesity, seatbelts, tobacco

November 17 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:25:20 +0000

Executive with “Autism Speaks” group quits to found group more aligned with scientific opinion on cause of condition [SciAm]
Here comes the ban-cigarettes-entirely crusade [Peter Singer on forthcoming Robert Proctor "Golden Holocaust"] “Parents try to blame Four Loko for son getting shot” [Elie Mystal, Above the Law] Still-relevant cartoon from ’30s on Federal War on Drugs (or Booze, take your pick) [Perry]
Controversy over definition of medical disorders in DSM-V has implications for workplace law including ADA, FMLA [Labor Related, petition]
“Not Safe to Display an American Flag in an American High School” [Volokh]
“Criminal Defense Lawyer Charged in Alleged $1.5M Fraud On Clients Obtained Under False Pretenses” [ABA Journal, Greenfield; Texas]
Father of Notre Dame student who died says family never considered suing [Chicago Tribune]
“The Ignominious End Of The Digitek Mass Tort” [Beck]

Tags: autism, colleges and universities, don't, pharmaceuticals, psychiatry, tobacco

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 7 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 05:39:50 +0000

Prodded by UNICEF and the Hague Convention, countries cut back on international adoption, leaving kids to future of orphanage life [Reason.tv video, interviewing among others Harvard's Elizabeth Bartholet; more]
Critics: lawyers are main winners in NYC rent settlement [NYDN] NYC rent stabilization rules gave landlords incentive to do luxury conversions [FWIW]
Breast-aurant rivals in court: “Hooters Suing Twin Peaks, Which Previously Sued Grand Tetons” [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
Jonathan Chait: it’ll be “useful” for debate if CEOs “fear for their personal safety” [Matt Welch, related, similar (see "Patterns of Intimidation"), also related to "occupation" as tactic]
Ethics complaint charges that boilerplate affidavits led to fee approval for lawyer in Bronx Surrogate’s Court [ABA Journal]
“Widow allowed to sue tobacco companies [whose products] husband didn’t use” [Florida, DBR] Appeals court: manufacturer not under legal duty to warn of asbestos injury caused by another manufacturer’s products [Business Insurance]
Debit card fee: made in D.C. [Glenn Reynolds; related, Joe Weisenthal]

Tags: asbestos, banks, family law, NYC, product liability, tobacco

Don’t call it propaganda

Walter Olson — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:22:42 +0000

The FDA has moved to require tobacco marketers to place grotesque photos of cadavers and body parts on cigarette packs, and Barton Hinkle of the Richmond Times-Dispatch thinks there’s no reason for it to end there. More: Ann Althouse.

Tags: advertising, FDA, obesity, tobacco

May 27 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:42:52 +0000

Prospects dicey at best for CPSIA reform as Waxman, Dems toe consumer-group line [Woldenberg, more, Nord, Northup] If AAP is going to posit 49,000 poisonings from lead in recalled jewelry, shouldn’t it try to document a couple of them? [Woldenberg] Credit at least to House Commerce Committee majority for trying to tackle mess with this law [Mangu-Ward, ShopFloor, AtC]
“Lawsuit claims Jay-Z’s ‘Big Pimpin’ violates Egyptian ‘moral rights’” [DBR]
My Cato Institute colleague Gene Healy reviews new Eric Posner/Adrian Vermeule book on executive power [AmCon]
Subpoena filed by class-action lawyer Stephen Tillery demands contributor list of Chicago-based think tank critical of litigation [Madison County Record] Judge quashes subpoena as chilling of First Amendment liberties [same]
Suits filed by its own officers, often those accused of misconduct, have cost LAPD $18 million since 2005 [L.A. Times via Dave Krueger, Agitator]
“Do Menthol Cigarettes Taste Too Good to Be Legal?” [Sullum, earlier]
“Motion Claims Buxom Woman with Opposing Counsel Is Intended as Jury Distraction” [ABA Journal] More: Ken at Popehat, Lowering The Bar, Above the Law.

Tags: CPSIA, CPSIA and Congress, music and musicians, police, tobacco

“Tobacco Companies Not Liable to Missouri Hospitals”

Walter Olson — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:41:32 +0000

A jury rejects a strained health-outlay recoupment claim. [Mass Tort Lit]

Tags: hospitals, tobacco, tobacco settlement

January 24 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:57:44 +0000

Trouble with hunting bad/burdensome regulations: most of them have entrenched advocates [NY Times] “Obama — the Great Deregulator?” [Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe]. Earlier here and here;
Now we find out: tax hikes on outsourcing in 9/11 compensation bill infuriate India, were never vetted by Hill tax panels [PoL; more on Easter eggs in bill] Law firm that advertises for 9/11 dust clients is fan of Sen. Gillibrand [Stoll]
France will stop censoring some historical images of smokers in ads [NY Times]
“2010: The Year of the Angry, Company-Suing Plaintiff” [WSJ Law Blog] “The most sued companies in America” [Fox Business, counting federal-court suits only]
Death by drunk driving: As bad as purposeful murder? Worse? [Greenfield]
EPA gets specific on its plans to advance “environmental justice,” combat disparate racial impact in project siting, etc. [WLF, Popeo, earlier here, here, here, etc.]
Winners of Chamber’s “Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2010″ competition [US Chamber ILR]
“If the FCC had regulated the Internet” [Jack Shafer, Slate]

Tags: advertising, alcohol, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, France, India, regulation and its reform, September 11, tobacco

Smoking bans and heart attack “miracles,” cont’d

Walter Olson — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:10:43 +0000

After much uncritical reportage of claims that heart attacks in this or that community fell immediately and precipitously after a smoking ban went into effect, a larger and more careful study finds no evidence for any such miraculous effect [Jacob Sullum, Reason] Earlier here, etc.

Tags: smoking bans, tobacco

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