Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Archive for April, 2005

Update: Judge in Batra swivel-chair case censured

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has censured Acting Supreme Court Justice Diane A. Lebedeff “for presiding over a case in which she had a ‘significant social and professional relationship’ with the plaintiff, attorney Ravi Batra”. The case in question was none other than the one described in our Nov. 11, 2003 entry, in which Batra, a noted judicial kingmaker in city politics, was demanding $80 million in damages for a fall off a swivel chair in his office, eventually settling with the furniture store for $225,000. Reports the New York Law Journal:

One of the aggravating factors the commission’s unanimous decision pointed to was that during the five years Lebedeff handled Batra’s case, she excused the defense lawyers on approximately five occasions, saying she wanted to “engage in ‘gossip’ or other social conversation not related to the case, with Mr. Batra.”

…Batra said, “The fact that the judge and I were friendly is a stipulated fact in the determination and was contemporaneously known to defense counsel, who never objected.”

An attorney with Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman & Mackauf, representing the judge, “said that Lebedeff accepts the censure because she recognizes that there was an appearance of impropriety. He stressed, however, that there was no claim that any of her actions were improper.” (Daniel Wise, “Presiding Over Friend’s Trial Results in Censure”, New York Law Journal, Apr. 11). Norm Pattis (Apr. 12) finds defense mistakes in part to blame.

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Hit by bird at garden center

In far-famed Madison County, Ill., 40-year-old Rhonda Nichols is suing the Lowe’s Home Center in Alton, saying she was seriously injured when a bird flew into her head at the outside gardening area. She wants more than $50,000:

According to the suit, filed by the St. Louis firm of Anderson & Associates, the store “allowed wild birds to enter the Gardening area in which customers travel … (and) that said wild birds created a dangerous condition.”

Nichols claims the bird caused injuries to her head, brain, neck, muscles, bones, nerves, discs, ligaments, as well leading to the loss of neurological functions and cognitive skills.

…The suit said the incident occurred “on or about April 15, 2003.” Bobbi Rose, an assistant manager at Lowe’s, said the store had no record of any human-bird collisions on that date.

(Paul Hampel, “Woman sues store, claims she was attacked by bird”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 13). Update Feb. 12: federal judge throws out suit.

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Untraceable — but still under copyright

Due in part to expansions of copyright law lobbied for by Disney and other giants, a huge volume of writing, art and music which would otherwise by now have entered the public domain is still under copyright, even though the rights to much of it — things like picture postcards, ephemeral commercial illustration and sheet music issued by long-defunct publishers or with no identifying marks at all — cannot be traced to any particular current successor-owner even by good faith efforts. Per Wired News:

According to comments submitted to the copyright office, one married couple couldn’t get a wedding photograph repaired: The photography shop would not scan and reprint the photo because it was taken by a professional and the shop was afraid of violating copyright, even though the photographer was out of business.

“For heaven’s sake, this is a photograph of me and my wife, and I can’t have it legally repaired!!! Wrong, wrong, wrong!” wrote William Haynes.

(Katie Dean, “Copyright Reform to Free Orphans?”, Apr. 12).

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Hevesi and WorldCom

With comptroller Alan Hevesi in charge, the state of New York acted as lead plaintiff (via the New York State Common Retirement Fund) in the WorldCom securities case, but according to Forbes, the large settlement that resulted may not have been such a great deal for Hevesi’s client:

“Judging by a plaintiff expert’s own estimate of shareholder losses, New York’s claim of a $317 million hit would entitle it to 1.1% of the kitty, or a mere $11 million …. Hevesi’s suit cost New York’s pension fund by deflating the value of its investments in the banks it sued. The Hevesi fund owns stakes in J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and BofA. These three banks took aftertax charges totaling $3.2 billion for WorldCom settlement costs. The fund’s pro rata share of these losses, and those of smaller-fry defendants, totes up to $13 million.”

(Neil Weinberg, “Cui bono?”, Forbes, Apr. 25).

Hevesi’s campaign ties to the private lawyers who file these suits, which have come under scrutiny before (see May 14 and Dec. 10, 2004) are again a topic of criticism in parts of the press. Lyle Roberts of 10b-5 Daily (Apr. 13) rounds up the links, including a New York Sun editorial (“Hevesi by the letter”, Apr. 12).

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Age bias, inflicted by someone older

A 63-year-old West Texas woman has won an age-discrimination suit against a company run by an entrepreneur who is 72.

On Friday, a Dallas jury awarded Garlan Cunningham of Ranger more than $965,000 for lost wages, mental anguish and punitive damages after being derided as an “old nag,” a possible Alzheimer’s victim and an “old fart,” her attorneys said Monday.

Cunningham said Doris Richeson, a septuagenarian herself, organized the campaign of ridicule, which included an email referring to Cunningham as a lazy cowhand who’d been “in the saddle too long”. The company of which Richeson is founder and chairman operates 49 Dairy Queens in Texas; it denies Cunningham’s allegations and says it plans appeal. (Barry Shlachter, “Texas woman wins discrimination suit”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Apr. 12).

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“Trial Lawyers Inc. — California”

The Manhattan Institute Center for Legal Policy (with which I’m affiliated) this week unveils a “new comprehensive study of the devastating impact of California’s lawsuit industry” entitled “Trial Lawyers Inc.: California”. It builds on 2003’s much talked-about “Trial Lawyers Inc.” report and, like that one, has been assembled by Jim Copland of the Institute.

Tomorrow (Apr. 14) from 10 to 2 at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, the Manhattan Institute and the Pacific Research Institute are sponsoring an event (details) to call attention to the new report. Panelists include Jim Copland, Steven Hantler of DaimlerChrysler, and John Sullivan of the Civil Justice Association of California; there follows a keynote luncheon speech by author/TV host Catherine Crier, introduced by PRI’s Sally Pipes. P.S. The study has now been posted on the web, and is here. And Jim has an op-ed in the San Francisco Examiner (Apr. 13).

(cross-posted at Point of Law)

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U.K. roundup

Meals-on-wheels officials in Gloucestershire were preparing to distribute to elderly clients paper napkins printed with tips on how to avoid being a crime victim, but paused the initiative after being warned that no safety assessment had been made of the possible choking hazard should pensioners insert the napkins into their mouths; the distribution eventually went forward, but critics said the episode encouraged the portrayal of aged persons as senile (Martin Wainwright, “No napkins … elderly might eat them”, The Guardian, Apr. 13). The Royal Chesterfield hospital is locked in a longstanding battle with claims-chasers who prowl its accident and emergency facilities promoting no-win, no-fee legal practices. Said a spokesman: “They have been approaching patients, asking them how they came about their injuries, was it their fault and if they want to sue. We have had several complaints from patients. These people are also handing out official-looking leaflets with an NHS-type logo which makes it look as if the hospital is endorsing their actions.” (Nick Britten, “Hospital lawyers target ‘ambulance chasers'”, Daily Telegraph, Apr. 14). Until recently a number of Scottish prisons provided inmates with chamberpots rather than in-cell toilets for overnight use; the practice has now been ruled a human rights violation and taxpayers are on the hook for compensation claims that some see rising as high as £100 million. (Hamish MacDonell and John Robertson, “Slopping-out prisoners ‘to sue for £100m'”, The Scotsman, Feb. 11; Kirsty Scott, “Slopping out judged a breach of human rights”, The Guardian, Apr. 27, 2004). And the newsletter of the Association of Lloyd’s Members, serving participants in the venerable London insurance market, will be reprinting with credit occasional items from this website (after having asked our permission, which we were happy to grant).

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United Mine Workers of America

It’s among supporters of federal legislation to protect the firearms industry from abusive litigation, as are less surprising counterparts on the business side such as the National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. (UMWA letter at National Shooting Sports Federation site (PDF), with other statements of labor support as addendum; Mar. 15 House testimony of NSSF’s Lawrence Keane).

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