I was a guest this a.m. on Mark Larsen’s morning show on Tampa’s WWBA. For more information on the Florida medical ballot initiatives, see our sister website Point Of Law, May 19, Jul. 20, Aug. 4, Nov. 2 first, second and third posts, Nov. 4, Nov. 5, and also my WSJ piece of Oct. 29.
Archive for November, 2004
“Australians told: don’t hit sixes to win the match”
Not quite cricket: “Australian batsmen have been banned from hitting balls for six by local councils because of fears that their boundary-clearing shots might injure passers-by and prompt compensation claims.” (Anna Gizowska, Daily Telegraph (UK), Oct. 31).
Google News: forever a beta?
Though a smash success with readers, Google News is still in “beta” status three years after its launch and has not attempted to become economically self-sufficient through the sale of advertising. “The reason: The minute Google News runs paid advertising of any sort it could face a torrent of cease-and-desist letters from the legal departments of newspapers, which would argue that ‘fair use’ doesn’t cover lifting headlines and lead paragraphs verbatim from their articles.” (Adam Penenberg, “Google News: Beta Not Make Money”, Wired News, Sept. 29). Update Mar. 21: Agence France-Presse sues Google.
Going bare
Practicing without professional liability insurance? It isn’t just doctors who do that sometimes; it’s lawyers, too, and many of them don’t take kindly to the notion of disclosing to clients their uninsured status, as a proposal in Georgia would have them do. It tends to throw into an ironic light all those laws — customarily enacted with the vigorous support of organized lawyer groups — which require, e.g., taxi drivers to maintain liability insurance before heading out on the road. (Greg Bluestein, “Lawyers Could Face Disbarment for Failing to Disclose Coverage Status”, Fulton County Daily Report, Nov. 3).
“Woman Drops Sunflower Seed, Pays $185 Fine”
The Oklahoma City Municipal Court has upheld Tricia Morgan’s fine for discarding a single sunflower seed on the street: biodegradable or not, it’s still litter. Next stop: fingernail clippings? (The KCRAChannel.com, Nov. 4)(via Matt Welch, Reason “Hit and Run”).
Upcoming D.C. and NYC appearances
I’ll be speaking in Washington, D.C. this Wednesday and again on Friday. On Wednesday, I’ll be at the Cato Institute at noon (there’s even an audio feed) commenting on Robert Levy’s new book Shakedown. On Friday, I’ll be part of a panel discussion that starts at 1:30 at the Mayflower as part of the Federalist Society’s annual National Lawyers Convention, discussing regulation through litigation with a panel that includes Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young Jr. and Northeastern Law’s Richard Daynard, among others.
Next week I’ve giving talks on Tuesday (Nov. 16) at two law schools in New York City, in both case sponsored by Federalist Society chapters. I’ll speak at Fordham in Manhattan at 12:30 and then at Brooklyn Law School at 4 p.m.
School blamed for class-cutters’ drunken binge
Montana:
The parents of two 11-year-old boys who died of exposure and alcohol poisoning last winter after cutting class to go drink have sued Ronan Public Schools for $4 million.
They allege the school district failed in its duty “to follow its policy and protect and safeguard children that were entrusted to their care.”
The lawsuit also alleges that [the school district] has discriminated against American Indians by “failing to properly select, train and implement Native American staff who are sensitive to the disability of alcoholism,” thus making Pablo School District partially responsible “for the actions of children who were allowed to leave school and die of alcohol and hypothermia.”
(John Stromnes, “Parents sue Ronan school over deaths of their sons”, The Missoulian, Nov. 6). Update Mar. 2, 2006: jury renders defense verdict.
Sports medicine: a view from Pa.
Independent team doctors getting scarcer: “The rising cost of medical malpractice insurance, and the proliferation of sponsorship arrangements between teams and large medical groups, have changed the landscape for team physicians in recent years — particularly at the major pro level, but also reaching down to college and high school sports. As part of the sponsorship deals, health care groups provide the team physicians, who have come to realize they need the umbrella of a large health care system to provide malpractice insurance. The combination of the rising cost of malpractice insurance in states such as Pennsylvania that don’t have tort reform and the potential for large judgments going to high-paid athletes has increased the risk for team doctors and made it nearly impossible for independent doctors to work in the field. … Although malpractice lawsuits filed by athletes against team physicians aren’t common, there have been several multimillion-dollar judgments and settlements, and that’s enough to cause a lot of concern.” (Shelly Anderson, “Is there a doctor in the clubhouse?”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 10). For more, see Apr. 7-8, 2003, Jun. 13, 2002 and Dec. 7, 2000.
Latest customer-complaint-website suit
Alan and Linda Townsend of Dallas, Ga. were dissatisfied with a product called Spray On Siding after it was applied to their house and started a website to vent the opinions of other unhappy customers. The company that sold them the siding is now suing them for defamation, trademark infringement and other sins. (“Careful Where You Complain”, AP/Wired News, Nov. 5). For more suits against critics’ websites, see Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 2000 (Terminix case), as well as other cases on our free speech and media page. More: “May It Please the Court” also comments.
Suing the Saudis
“To the extent that its 9/11 attacks were designed to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and shake the Saudi regime, Al-Qaeda succeeded beyond it wildest dreams. … [The Saudi establishment] finds itself under siege not only by Western journalists and politicians, but also by the American plaintiffs’ bar, in the form of a civil lawsuit filed by 17 law firms from seven states in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, demanding $116 trillion in damages on behalf of over 3,000 9/11 victims and their families.” Christopher H. Johnson of Artur & Hadden, co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Middle East Committee, offers a critique of the litigation (“Terrorism as Mass Tort: Responsibility for 9/11”, Saudi-American Forum, Essay Series #3). See Sept. 26 and links from there.