Overlawyered.com commentary
[through
mid-June 2003. Items after that date collected
here]:
Mold, 2003: "Mold --
to the highest bidder!", Jun. 23. 2002: "'Doctors
find no evidence of mold as a toxic disease'", Sept. 23; "Judge
questions 'shotgun' naming of 282 defendants in trailer-mold case",
Aug. 21; "The rewards of growing
mold together", May 9; "Mold
sweepstakes: You May Already Be a Winner", Apr. 25 (& update May
21, 2003). 2001: "Plastic
cup blamed for child's autism", Apr. 9; "Mold
wars, cont'd", Mar. 2-4. 2000: "Spread
of mold law", Oct. 10.
Wildlife management, species protection, 2003: "U.K.
roundup" (licensing of exotic pet fish), Jun. 12-15. 2001: "False
trail of missing lynx", Dec. 18; "Pricing
out the human species", Aug. 22-23; "Stories
that got away", Jul. 23; "Bush's
environmental centrism", Apr. 24. 2000: "Endangered
list", Dec. 4; "Snakes' rights
not always paramount" (man killed snake in self-defense), Aug. 18-20;
"'Imperfect laws add to danger
of perfect storms'", Aug. 10. 1999: "Property
owners obliged to host rattlesnakes", Oct. 12; "Knock
him over with a feather" (migratory bird contraband laws), Sept. 11;
"Mow' better ADA claims"
(claim of "exotic prairie plants" by resident who didn't want to mow her
lawn), Jul. 26.
"Bounty-hunting in New Jersey",
Jun. 10-11, 2003.
"'State
is suing ex-dry cleaners'" (Calif., Superfund), May 27, 2003.
Animal rights and wrongs, 2003: "'Suit
seeks to keep elephant at L.A. zoo'", May 16-18 (& update Jun.
2); "Pigs' right not to be
bored" (EU), Feb. 26; "Pet
custody as legal practice area", Feb. 17; "'Grieve
for Fido, but don't litigate'", Feb. 12. 2002: "Suit:
schoolkids shouldn't attend rodeo", Oct. 24; "Officious
intermeddlers, pet division" (chimps; lawyers intervene in divorces
on behalf of couple's cats and dogs), May 14-15; "Zoo
asserts animals' 'medical privacy'", May 8; "Lawyers
for chimps?", Apr. 29-30; "'PETA
Says It Will Sue New Jersey Over Deer/Car Accident'", Feb. 25-26; "All
things sentimental and recoverable", Jan. 30-31. 2001:
"'North America's most dangerous
mammal'" (deer), Nov. 29; "Fight
over dog's disposition said to cost taxpayers $200K", Nov. 21-22; "Harvard
Law's new Bob Barker program in animal rights", Jul. 5. 2000:
"Lab mice paperwork", Oct.
26; "European roundup" (Swiss
animal-rights initiative), Oct. 16-17; "'Parody
of animal rights site told to close'", Jul. 3-4; "Compare
and contrast: puppy's life and human's", Jun. 22-25; "Suits
by household pets?", May 26-29; "From
the dog's point of view", Feb. 8-9; "Down,
attorney! Down!", Feb. 1; "Weekend
reading: columnist-fest" (Laura Pulfer on animal rights), Feb. 5-6.
1999:
"Got milk? Get sued" (veggie
lawsuit against milk in schools), Dec. 16; "Wide
world of federal law enforcement" ("crush video" ban), Oct. 16-17;
"Not just our imagination"
(class action against "Big Meat"?), Sept. 25-26; "Polly
in Margaritaville" (felony defendant charged with getting parrot tipsy),
Aug. 2.
"Suing 'til the cows come home",
May 20, 2003.
"U.K. roundup" (global
warming suits), Jun. 12-15, 2003; "Tort
suits over global warming", Feb. 6-9, 2003; "Global
warming suit?", Jul. 31, 2001 (& Aug.
10-12); "Plus extra damages
for having argued with us", Aug. 19, 1999.
"California's hazardous holiday"
(fireplaces), Dec. 27-29, 2002; "Chestnuts-roasting
menace averted", Dec. 24-27, 2001; "Put
out that match" (agricultural burning, residential wood burning), Feb.
28-Mar. 1, 2001.
"Right to know" laws, 2002: "California's
hazardous holiday" (acrylamide), Dec. 27-29; "'Lawyers
who sue to settle'", Nov. 4-5; "Chocolate,
gas-pump fumes, playground sand and so much more", Oct. 15; "'Greedy
or Just Green'", Mar. 13-14. 2001: "There'll
always be a California" (chocolate and Prop 65), Dec. 4; Letter
to the editor (lutefisk exempted from toxic-substance status in Wisconsin),
Nov. 29; "Be somewhat less afraid"
(nuclear plant terrorism), Nov. 30-Dec. 2; "'U.S.
Debates Info on Chemical Hazards'" ("right to know" and terrorism),
Nov. 12; "Chemical-plant vulnerabilities:
read all about them", Oct. 1. 1999: "Lockyer
vs. keys" (California attorney general declares brass a toxic hazard),
Nov. 2.
"How much did you say that
Indian legend was worth?", Sept. 25-26, 2002; "Final
innings for Kennewick Man", Sept. 27-28, 2000; "Free
Kennewick Man!" (pre-Columbian remains), Oct. 11, 1999.
Low exposures, 2002: "A
breast-cancer myth", Sept. 3-4; "'Unharmed
woman awarded $104,000'" (Canada), May 6. 2001: "There'll
always be a California" (chocolate and Prop 65), Dec. 4; "'Incense
link to cancer'", Aug. 27-28; "'Candles
might be polluting your home, EPA says'", Jun. 19; "While
you were out: the carbonless paper crusade", Apr. 25 (& letter
to the editor, May 18); "Hunter
sues store over camouflage mask", Jan. 12-14. 2000: "'Airbag
chemical on trial'", Aug. 14; "Multiple
chemical sensitivity from school construction", Jul. 3-4; "Feelings
of nausea? Get in line" (Baton Rouge chemical spill), Jan. 26-27.
1999:
"Lockyer vs. keys" (California
attorney general declares brass a toxic hazard), Nov. 2.
Zoning, land use, 2002: "How
much did you say that Indian legend was worth?", Sept. 25-26; "'Preserving'
History at Bayonet Point", Feb. 15-17; "Planners
tie up land for twenty years", Jan. 18-20. 2001: "Columnist-fest"
(John Tierney on NYC battle over IKEA site), May 25-27; "Lessons
of shrub-case jailing", May 17; "Perils
of regulatory discretion", Jan. 24-25. 2000: "Cornfield
maze as zoning violation", Oct. 30. 1999: "Great
moments in zoning law" (rescued pets from storm, charged with running
unlawful animal shelter), Nov. 22.
"Mercury in dental fillings",
Jul. 16-17, 2002 (& Nov. 4-5,
2002).
"Going to blazes" (logging
and Western fires), Jul. 1-2, 2002; "Credibility
up in smoke?" (same), Jul. 12-14, 2002; letter
to the editor, Oct. 23.
Industrial farming: "'Tampa
Judge Tosses Out Class-Action Suit Against Hog Company'", Jul. 3-9,
2002; "RFK Jr. blasted for hog
farm remarks", Apr. 15, 2002 (& Apr.
17, Apr. 19-21, letter
to the editor and editor's response, Apr.
19); "Chickens are next",
Feb. 6-7, 2002; "Judge throws
out hog farm suit", May 7, 2001; "Trial
lawyers vs. hog farms", Dec. 7, 2000; "This
little piggy got taken to court", Sept. 12, 2000; "Not
so high off the hog", Oct. 4, 1999.
"'San Francisco Verdict Bodes
Ill for Oil Industry'", Jun. 11-12, 2002.
"'Legal fight over chemical
spill ends with whimper'" (W.V.), Jun. 7-9, 2002.
"Flowers, perfume in airline
cabins not OK?" (Canada), May 17-19, 2002; "Scented
hair gel, deodorant could mean jail time for Canadian youth", Apr.
24, 2000.
"The mystery of the transgenic
corn", May 14-15, 2002.
"Erin Brockovich", 2002: "'Erin
Brockovich, the Brand'", Apr. 29-30. 2001: "Exxon
Brockovich vs. Erin Valdez", Nov. 15; "NBC
mulls Brockovich talk show", Nov. 6, 2001; "Brockovich
a heroine? Julia really can act", Mar. 23-25. 2000:
"Errin' Brockovich?", Dec.
21, 2000; "'All about Erin'",
Oct. 12; "More woes for 'Brockovich'
lawyers", Jun. 22-25; "Brockovich
story, cont'd: the judges' cruise", Apr. 18; Brockovich
story breaks wide open", Apr. 17; "Plume
of controversy", Apr. 14-16; "Hollywood
special", Mar. 30. 1999: "A
Civil Action II?", July 7.
Trial lawyer/enviro alliance? "RFK
Jr. blasted for hog farm remarks", Apr. 15, 2002 (& Apr.
17, Apr. 19-21, letter
to the editor and editor's response, Apr.
19); "'Working' for whom?"
(Environmental Working Group), May 23, 2001; "Judge
throws out hog farm suit", May 7, 2001; "'Bogus'
assault on Norton", Jan. 18, 2001; "Trial
lawyers vs. hog farms", Dec. 7, 2000.
"'Former clients sue attorney
O'Quinn'" (Kennedy Heights case), Apr. 8-9, 2002.
"Arsenic: one last dose?",
Mar. 22-24, 2002; "The view from
Arsenictown", Sept. 11, 2001; "'The
arithmetic of arsenic'", Aug. 17-19; "Bush's
environmental centrism", April 24; "Tempest
in an arsenic-laced teacup?", Apr. 18; "'Bogus'
assault on Norton", Jan. 18; "The
Times
vs. Gale Norton", Jan. 15; "Ecology
and economy", Jan. 5-7, 2001.
"Liability concerns fell giant
sequoia", Mar. 12, 2002.
"Environmental lawsuits vs.
military readiness", Jan. 2-3, 2002.
"Overlawyered schools roundup"
(environmental impact statement for teacher layoffs?), Dec. 7-9, 2001.
"Infectious disease conquered,
CDC now chases sprawl", Nov. 9-11, 2001.
"States lag in curbing junk
science", May 29, 2001.
"'Family awarded $1 billion
in lawsuit'" (Louisiana land contamination), May 24, 2001.
"Prospect of $3 gas", May
10, 2001.
Who needs power anyway?: "Sweetness
and light from Bill Lockyer", Jun. 1-3, 2001 (& see June
8-10, June 22-24); "California
electricity linkfest", Mar. 26, 2001; "Brownout,
Shivers & Dim, attorneys at law", Oct. 11, 2000; "Worse
than Y2K?" (EPA/DOJ suit against coal-burning utility plants), Nov.
18-19, 1999.
"Seventh Circuit rebukes EPA"
(Superfund search and seizure), Apr. 23, 2001.
Attorneys' fees: "Stories
that got away" (Endangered Species Act suits), Jul. 23, 2001; "Losers
should pay" (columnist Thomas Sowell; injunctions, bonding requirements),
Aug. 4-7, 2000; "Marbled
Murrelet v. Babbitt: heads I win, tails let's call it even"
("one-way" fee shifts), Sept. 8, 1999 (& see National Law Journal,
Dec.
14, 1999).
"Enviro litigator: debate
belongs in Congress, not courts", Dec. 29, 2000-Jan. 2, 2001.
"Federal power over mud puddles?"
(wetlands case), Nov. 28, 2000.
"From the evergreen file:
cancer alley a myth?", Nov. 8, 2000.
"'A Civil Action' and Hollywood
views of lawyers", Jun. 20, 2000.
"Don't cooperate" (lawyers'
advice re local health survey), Jun. 9-11, 2000.
"EPA's high courtroom loss
rate", May 26-29, 2000; "When
agencies like getting sued", Dec. 6, 1999.
"After the great power-line
panic", May 24, 2000; "Another
scare starts to fizzle" (endocrine disrupters), Aug. 19, 1999.
"This side of parodies"
("dihydrogen monoxide" parody), May 10, 2000.
"Diapered wildlife?" (animal
emissions as environmental problem), Apr. 10, 2000; "Backyard
trash burning" (suspected as major dioxin source), Jan. 6, 2000.
"Emerging campaign issue:
'brownfields' vs. Superfund lawyers", Apr. 4, 2000; "Mayors:
liability fears stalling 'brownfields' development", Feb. 26-27, 2000.
"Lawyers for famine and wilderness-busting?"
(anti-biotech), Jan. 3, 1999.
"Weekend reading: evergreens"
(Race car great Bobby Unser's snowmobiling rap), Dec. 3-5, 1999.
"Leave that mildew alone"
(EPA considers mildew-proof paint to be pesticide), Nov. 30, 1999.
"Flag-burning protest requires
environmental permits" (one for smoke, one for fire), Nov. 3, 1999.
"A mile wide and an inch deep"
(EPA considers Platte River impaired because sun heats it up), Oct. 15,
1999.
"Careful what you tell your
lawyer" (feds demand waiver of lawyer-client confidentiality in environmental
cases), Sept. 14, 1999; "Overlawyered
skies not always safer" (environmental audits and other "self-critical
analysis"), Jul. 19, 1999.
"Tainted cycle" (class
action over infectious bacterium in Milwaukee water supply), Sept. 2, 1999.
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