Latest on the reparations bandwagon: A suit was filed earlier this month in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of an estimated 400,000 people of Mexican descent, seeking damages for the “irreparable loss” suffered during deportation campaigns in the 1930s. Representing the plaintiffs, and seeking class action status, are the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Beverly Hills law firm of Kiesel, Boucher & Larson. (“Lawsuit seeks reparations for 1930s-era expulsion from California”, CNN, Jul. 16). Update Sept. 14: legislature passes bill to facilitate suits.
Archive for 2003
Candy-bar confrontation results in bias suit
Alaska: “Jamila Glauber, who was told to leave a city bus for eating a bite-size Snickers bar March 22, 2002, filed suit in Juneau on Monday against Capital Transit, the city and Tad Zurek, the bus driver. Glauber, represented by Anchorage attorney Jay W. Trumble, claims the actions of the defendants caused her severe emotional distress and were based on her race and national origin. As an Arab-American of Yemeni origin, she is protected from such actions under the Alaska Human Rights Act, the suit notes.” (“Woman sues Capital Transit over 2002 incident”, Juneau Empire, Jul. 23).
New guestblogger tomorrow; welcome USA Today readers
Our latest new guestblogger arrives tomorrow for a week of postings. And welcome to USA Today readers — we get mentioned today in connection with a story on strange eBay auctions, a specialty of recent guestblogger Dan Lewis’s site WhattheHeck.com (Karen Schubert, “Bazaar goes bizarre” , Jul. 28). For our original eBay item, see Jun. 21-23, 2002.
Calif. bounty-hunting, again
The Los Angeles Times’s Michael Hiltzik doubts that the cleanup of the Trevor Law Group spells an end to shakedown litigation under California’s Section 17200: “As I write I’m looking at a letter sent two weeks ago by a Bay Area lawyer to a San Jose pool company, offering to settle a potential 17200 claim over a supposedly deceptive newspaper advertisement in exchange for a ‘reasonable attorney’s fee’ of $5,000” (“Consumer-Protection Law Abused in Legal Shakedown”, Jul. 21). Hiltzik also relates an amusing anecdote about how the Trevor lawyers helped seal their fate: “The group also made the mistake of picking on the wrong victims; thinking that it was suing only ma-and-pa service stations, it named, apparently unwittingly, a couple of repair shops owned by the big tire maker Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, which took umbrage and put Sybesma [experienced defense lawyer Edward Sybesma of Costa Mesa’s Rutan & Tucker] on the case. ‘How was I supposed to know this was Bridgestone/Firestone?’ Sybesma recalls one of the Trevor lawyers lamenting one day — a line one wouldn’t be surprised to hear during an episode of ‘America’s Dumbest Criminals.'”
The Wall Street Journal’s free OpinionJournal has now posted our editor’s op-ed on section 17200, which appeared in the paper last Tuesday and was linked here in different form last week (see Jul. 22). (Walter Olson, “The Shakedown State”, OpinionJournal.com, Jul. 27.) Reader comments, too. And Baseball Crank (Jul. 27) quotes extensively and informatively from Justice Stephen Breyer’s dissent in the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to hear the 17200 case against shoemaker Nike.
Update: Miss. high court justice, trial lawyer indicted
“A Mississippi Supreme Court justice and a wealthy attorney who helped land the state millions in tobacco settlement money were among five people indicted Friday on federal fraud and bribery charges. Biloxi attorney Paul Minor is accused of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., Diaz’ former wife, Jennifer, and to two lower court judges. In return, Minor allegedly received favorable treatment for Minor and his clients in cases involving multimillion dollar judgments.” The 16-count indictment also names former Harrison County Judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield. Prominent in the state’s tobacco litigation, Minor is the son of a well known Magnolia State political columnist, Bill Minor. (Jack Elliott Jr., “Justice, Attorney Charged in Mississippi”, AP/Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jul. 25; Jerry Mitchell, “Justice, 4 others indicted”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Jul. 26; Jerry Mitchell, “Charges may alter opinions of Miss. judiciary”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Jul. 27; Jack Elliott Jr., “Indictment of justice and lawyer come amid debate between Mississippi business, trial lawyers”, AP/New Orleans Times Picayune, Jul. 27). More: Beth Musgrave, “‘Go see Paul Minor'”, Biloxi Sun Herald, May 18. For our earlier coverage, see: Oct. 9-10 and Oct. 11-13, 2002; May 7 and Jul. 24, 2003.
Update: suspension for maverick Wash. lawyer
In April the Washington Supreme Court issued a six-month suspension from practice to Douglas Schafer, the Tacoma-based attorney who had divulged client confidences in the course of a successful effort to expose a corrupt judge (see Jan. 19, 2000)(Gary Young, “Attorney’s suspension sparks debate”, National Law Journal, Apr. 28; Adam Liptak, “Lawyer Whose Disclosure of Confidence Brought Down a Judge Is Punished”, New York Times/Council of Public Relations Firms, Apr. 20; Schafer’s website)
Update: case of the subpoenaed tort reformers ends
Apparently ending the most recent watch-what-you-say-about-lawyers episode (see Jun. 9, Jul. 12): “Two groups that have protested the Madison County legal system will not seek sanctions against a Wood River law firm that subpoenaed them to give information about their members and finances, the groups’ lawyer said Monday. The Illinois Civil Justice League and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dropped their request for sanctions against the Lakin Law Firm after deciding they had already made their point, said their lawyer, Gordon Broom.” (Trisha L. Howard, “Seekers of tort reform drop action against critic”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jul. 21)(more watch-what-you-say-about-lawyers episodes).
“Casino Ordered to Pay Banned Slot Player $875,000”
“A federal jury has ordered a casino to pay $875,000 to a woman who was banished after trying to play a nickel token she found at an unattended slot machine.” Estella Romanski, 74, of Troy, Mich., said she was held by security officers against her will at the MotorCity Casino in Detroit after she saw a nickel token laying in the tray of an unattended machine and played it. “[W]hat is called slot walking, the practice of picking up tokens from unattended slot machines … is discouraged or prohibited by many casinos, including those in Detroit, though a rule against it is generally not posted.” Romanski “said they also confiscated her $9 meal ticket as well as the nickel token and would not let her rejoin her group.” (AP/Casino City Times, Jul. 23; Las Vegas Sun)(& welcome MyShingle.com readers). Update Feb. 28, 2007: Supreme Court denies casino’s certiorari petition.
Firefighters, rescue workers want trauma compensation
New Mexico: “A group of firefighters and rescue workers who responded to a pipeline explosion near Carlsbad that killed 12 people three years ago have filed a lawsuit against El Paso Natural Gas Company.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 24 firefighters and rescue workers, “says the plaintiffs suffered physical and emotional pain and were subjected to horrific traumatizing circumstances while fighting the fire and trying to help the victims.” (“Firefighters, Rescue Workers Sue El Paso Natural Gas”, KRQE.com, Jul. 1). Reader Daniel White comments: “While it is true that the subject pipeline accident was indeed horrific and killed several members of a family camping nearby, isn’t it expected that firefighters and rescue workers will observe horrible things in their day-to-day jobs? Don’t such things ‘come with the territory’ so to speak? … Firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs and other rescue professionals chose to pursue such careers knowing full well that their jobs involve routinely responding to tragedy.” The mayor of Carlsbad apparently agrees (“Mayor Opposes Pipeline Explosion Lawsuit”, KRQE.com, Jul. 21). Update Apr. 1, 2004: judge dismisses case.
Mississippi probers could consider indictments this week
“A federal grand jury investigating state trial lawyers, judges and a Supreme Court justice could consider indictments as early as this week.” (Jerry Mitchell, “Justice investigation may end this week”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Jul. 23). And the Mississippi Supreme Court has issued a new rule providing “that in multi-judge districts and courts, civil cases shall be assigned immediately by a random method when the complaint is filed,” so that no one would know in advance who the judge was. “The problem is a few members of the bar are trying to manipulate the system to get the judge that they want,” said Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman. (“Judge selection process revised”, AP/Jackson Clarion Ledger, May 31).