I’m debating Washington and Lee professor David Bruck about federal habeas reform (Jul. 17) on Legal Affairs this week.
Archive for August, 2005
A right to water seepage?
Construction is finally approaching on a water conservation project authorized by Congress in 1988, which will line with concrete the All-American Canal, which carries Colorado River water to the Imperial and Coachella valleys in Southern California. The idea is to reduce the currently high rate of seepage into the ground from the canal, thus preserving more water for the intended users. Now, however, Mexican and Californian groups have sued to stop the project, saying their farms and local economies have come to depend on the seepage. They’re throwing in more conventional environmental claims, too, saying endangered species would be harmed by any change in the current arrangements. (Bettina Boxall, “Suit Is Filed Over Plan to Line Canal”, Los Angeles Times, Jul. 20).
The preacher’s cane
At trial, New Hampshire preacher Terry Karr used a cane, saying he could no longer stand for long periods after his slip-fall at a California motor inn. But the jury found against him after the defense produced a videotape “of Karr at the pulpit, shaking both fists in the air and moving about excitedly throughout a sermon.” (Julie O’Shea, “Candid camera”, The Recorder, Jul. 5).
“Scorched earth litigation tactics”
…in a copyright case against Compaq lead the Fifth Circuit to impose $2.7 million in sanctions. Ron Coleman (Likelihood of Confusion) comments (Jul. 29), and mentions us.
$7.25 million verdict for lost “banking” career
A jury awarded Mark Schiffer $7.25 million on his claim that LASIK surgery in 2000 by Dr. Mark Speaker had ruined his eyesight, though apparently not so badly, since he was able to drive to court for the trial. Schiffer’s attorney, Todd Krouner, had asked for $35 million, complaining that Schiffer had been “embarking on the beginnings of an extraordinary career in investment banking” that had been ruined by the surgery. The banking career was so extraordinary that he had previously quit a job with Goldman Sachs to write and direct a movie with Selma Blair (photo). Press coverage notes that Schiffer was “forced” to “take a job with his dad’s security firm,” which makes it sound like he’s carrying a nightstick rather than a CFO for a software company. Wharton must be proud of the entrepreneurial spirit shown by Schiffer to find new revenue sources. (Anthony Lin, “Former Banker Awarded $7M in Damages From LASIK Eye Surgery”, New York Law Journal, Aug. 1; Maggie Haberman, “He wins $7.25M in botched eye surgery suit”, New York Daily News, Jul. 31).