Overlawyered » videogames

“Xbox games may have spurred synagogue attacks, lawyer says”

Walter Olson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:44:05 +0000

“A man accused of firebombing three New Jersey synagogues may have been influenced by violent Xbox video games that aggravated his mental issues, his attorney said Tuesday. … [Anthony] Graziano’s attorney, Robert Kalisch, speaking outside court after the hearing Tuesday morning, described Graziano as a young man with mental health issues who had few friends and played violent games on his Xbox.” [MSNBC, Patrick Scott Patterson/Examiner](& Elie Mystal, Above the Law)

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, videogames

January 26 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:01:35 +0000

Judge Edith Jones rules: 5th Circuit spanks judge who overturned result of anti-traffic-cam vote [The Newspaper, background]
“UK Nanny State: Let’s Send Gamers To Rehab” [Nick Sibilla, Reason] “If Poker Is a Public Health Issue, What Isn’t?” [Jacob Sullum]
Struggle Resolutely Against Misleaders of the People In Weather Broadcasts Everywhere! [TP; reactions from Tony Hake/Examiner, Geoff Fox, Andrew Revkin, Watts Up With That]
Jury awards $178 million in bariatric-surgery case against Jacksonville hospital, sum greater than GDP of several small island nations [Florida Times-Union]
Sikh sues Jay Leno over comparison of Romney vacation home to Golden Temple of Amritsar [Daily Mail]
Redevelopment without prerequisite “blight” akin to Hittite sack of Babylon [Gideon Kanner]
Convinced hospital broke naming promise, jury tells it to pay $1 million to country singer Garth Brooks [AP]
“Dean of law bloggers” — why, thank you, sir [Hans Bader, CEI]

Tags: accolades, climate change, eminent domain, Fifth Circuit, global warming, hospitals, India, red light cameras, videogames

Judge rules videogame maker has 1st Amendment right to depict college football players

Walter Olson — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:33:21 +0000

A federal judge “found that EA’s right to use the likeness of [former Rutgers quarterback Ryan] Hart was protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution and this right ‘outweighs’ Hart’s right to control the use of his name and likeness.” [GamePro]

Tags: right of publicity, videogames

June 30 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:10:01 +0000

First Amendment wins as SCOTUS strikes down violent-videogame ban [Ilya Shapiro, Hans Bader] Justice Scalia cites “Snow White” and “Hansel and Gretel” [Ann Althouse]
More Wal-Mart v. Dukes analysis [Schwartz, Althouse, Trask, Fisher, Beck, Sergio Campos/Prawfs] And aftermath for the litigants and others: ABA Journal (Pelosi wants legislative fix), CLP (plaintiffs), Reuters (law firm that’s won hundreds of millions in class actions complains it’s sunk $7 million into the case), Ted Frank (responding to that), Bay Citizen (”Foundations Could Pull Plug on Wal-Mart Suit”).
“Would the REINS Act Rein In Federal Regulation?” [Jonathan Adler, Regulation magazine (PDF)]
“Hypotheses Are Verified By Testing, Not By Submitting Them To Lay Juries For A Vote” [David Oliver; Drug and Device Law on denture cream product liability suit]
Clash between federalism and some med mal reform proposals could have implications for ObamaCare battle [John Baker, Daily Caller; earlier]
Dan Snyder Gets a Taste of D.C.’s New Anti-SLAPP Law [Citizen Media Law, earlier]
Court skeptical of testimony of lap dance expert [Legal Blog Watch]

Tags: expert witnesses, federalism, First Amendment, regulation and its reform, videogames, Wal-Mart v. Dukes

June 27 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:57:27 +0000

“Electronic Arts Has Right to Refer to John Dillinger in Its Video Games” [Volokh]
Fans of “Civil Gideon” (constitutional entitlement to publicly funded lawyers in civil cases) glum that SCOTUS didn’t give idea much of a boost in Turner v. Rogers case last week [Concurring Opinions symposium, ABA Journal]
Feds (in particular, the FTC) go after Google [AW, Manne & Wright/TotM, Stoll]
“The Dept of Education, Yale, and the New Threat to Free Speech on Campus” [Greg Lukianoff/HuffPo] “In Making Campuses Safe for Women, a Travesty of Justice for Men” [Christina Sommers, Chron Higher Ed] Feds crack down on campus flirting and sex jokes [Michael Barone, D.C. Examiner] Heather Mac Donald on Yale hostile-environment complaint [City Journal, earlier] “Why Cross-Examination Rights Matter in Campus Sexual Harassment Cases” [Hans Bader]
Trial lawyer propaganda coup? HBO airs plaintiff’s-side “Hot Coffee” documentary [Abnormal Use, Ted Frank/PoL, Schwartz/NYT, more, yet more]
Financial institutions abroad will be pleased to be roped into U.S. regulatory schemes. Won’t they? [Dan Mitchell, Cato at Liberty]
Proposal for judge-guided negotiations in NY med-mal cases leaves Ted Frank underwhelmed [PoL]
“Virginia inmate sues after gruesome tries at sex change” [AP]

Tags: banks, civil gideon, colleges and universities, Federal Trade Commission, Google, hostile environment, medical malpractice, prisoners, right of publicity, videogames

“RuneScape devs refuse to cave in to patent trolls”

Walter Olson — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:29:44 +0000

A UK game developer spent “tens of millions” successfully resisting a broad patent claim over online multiplayer gaming. [BoingBoing, GamaSutra]

“It is exceedingly unfortunate that the U.S. legal system can force a company with a sole presence in Cambridge, UK to incur a seven-digit expense and waste over a year of management time on a case with absolutely no merit,” [said company CEO Mark Gerhard] in a statement. “This anomaly, which could easily break smaller studios, doesn’t happen in the UK since you can pursue frivolous litigants for the costs of such claims,” he added.

Tags: loser pays, patent trolls, videogames

November 30 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:25:07 +0000

Sooooo glad to be an American: that’s how Patrick at Popehat feels following latest Canadian-libel-law outrage directed at conservative blogger Ezra Levant (& see comments for alternate view);
Obama has pardoned more turkeys than people. Why? [Dan Froomkin, HuffPo]
“Reforming medical malpractice liability through contract” [Michael F. Cannon, Cato Institute working paper, PDF]
Memoir of jury foreman in criminal case [Tux Life]
Not too sharp: Massachusetts school district disavows policy of not letting students bring pencils to school [Slashdot]
State governors have big plans for liability reform. Maybe even loser-pays? [Carter at PoL, more; Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas]
Parent who sent buzzworthy demand letter to Kansas City school board is a jazz musician [Wayward Blog, earlier]
From comic books to violent videogames: “Our puritanical progressives” [George Will]

Tags: free speech in Canada, freedom of contract, governors, juries, libel slander and defamation, loser pays, medical malpractice, schools, videogames

November 5 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:06:53 +0000

HUD “defers to Constitutional considerations” and dismisses complaint against woman who’d posted note at church seeking Christian roommate [Fox News, earlier; Oct. 28 statement from Michigan Department of Civil Rights]
Judge denies class action status in Pelman obesity suit against McDonald’s [Bloomberg, earlier]
“Campers mauled by bear at Lake Louise lose lawsuit against Parks Canada” [Calgary Herald]
Supreme Court hears oral argument in Schwarzenegger violent-videogame case [Ilya Shapiro, Cato at Liberty]
Oh, that liberal media: “Consumers’ right to file class actions is in danger” [David Lazarus, L.A. Times, on AT&T v. Concepcion arbitration case]
NLRB files first complaint challenging employer’s social networking policy [Schwartz, Hyman]
Publisher’s threats against 800Notes.com gripe site bolster case for libel-tourism law [Paul Alan Levy, CL&P; earlier on Julia Forte case]
Nevada Supreme Court finds homeowner not liable for motorist’s crash into garden wall [seven years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: animals, Canada, fair housing, libel slander and defamation, media bias, social media, videogames

Update: “Judge rules against edgy ‘troll’ Langdell”

Walter Olson — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 13:09:47 +0000

In a 23-page opinion (PDF), federal judge William Alsup in California has scathingly rebuked a frequent litigant who is in the habit of asserting broad trademark claims over the use of the word “edge” in videogames and related items. [BoingBoing; earlier here and here]

Tags: trademarks, videogames

“Game Over for Plaintiffs in Wii Class Action”

Walter Olson — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:11:08 +0000

The unsuccessful lawsuit claimed the wrist straps were prone to breaking, making it too easy to throw the controller through one’s TV set. [Wajert, earlier] More: Abnormal Use.

Tags: class actions, videogames

Overlawyered » videogames

“Xbox games may have spurred synagogue attacks, lawyer says”

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