Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Archive for November, 2006

Activists sue demanding N.Y. foie gras ban

Correspondent R.C. directs our attention to the curious claim of “harm” by the last-named plaintiff:

Animal rights activists have asked a state judge to stop foie gras production in New York, saying the ducks used are overfed to such an extent that they are diseased and unfit for sale under state law.

The lawsuit, if it succeeds, could spell the end of foie gras production in America, a goal animal rights groups have long sought. The two Sullivan county farms that are defendants in the suit are the only foie gras producers in the country, other than a Northern Californian foie gras farm that may shut down under a California state law banning the industry….

The first challenge the suit faces is to convince a judge that the animal-rights activists who filed the suit have suffered enough harm to allow them standing to sue. The plaintiffs in yesterday’s suit offered several ways that they had been harmed by the foie gras industry.

One plaintiff, Caroline Lee, claims that the state’s regulatory departments are misspending her tax dollars by inspecting birds raised for foie gras production without concluding they are diseased. Another plaintiff, an animal rescue organization, Farm Sanctuary, claims its employees have been “aesthetically and emotionally injured” by being exposed to the “suffering” of abandoned ducks that they rescue from foie gras production. Another plaintiff, a New York restaurateur, Joy Pierson, claims that her decision not to serve foie gras has caused her to lose customers at her two Manhattan restaurants, Candle 79 and Candle Café, according to the complaint.

(Joseph Goldstein, “In New Lawsuit, Activists Seek Ban On Production of Foie Gras in N.Y.”, New York Sun, Nov. 16). More: Nov. 10, Nov. 2, Aug. 18, Jun. 8, Apr. 27, etc.

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Smoke in Belmont, Calif.? Only in single-family detached houses

“Belmont is set to make history by becoming the first city in the nation to ban smoking on its streets and almost everywhere else. The Belmont City Council voted unanimously last night to pursue a strict law that will prohibit smoking anywhere in the city except for single-family detached residences. Smoking on the street, in a park and even in one’s car will become illegal and police would have the option of handing out tickets if they catch someone.” (Dana Yates, “Belmont to be first U.S. city to ban all smoking”, San Mateo County Daily Journal, Nov. 15). More: Jacob Sullum, Reason “Hit and Run”, Nov. 16.

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Sid Schwab (SurgeonsBlog) on getting sued

His first: “news of the lawsuit was in the newspaper before anyone had had the decency to contact me. What kind of people act like that?” Not that everyone sympathizes: “Ho hum,” says Greedy Trial Lawyer, who read the first two posts in Schwab’s series. “Get out the violins.” Don’t miss this one, or the outpouring of reader comments (parts one, two, three)(cross-posted from Point of Law).

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Wrongful birth reaches Germany

“A court ruling which ordered a gynecologist to pay child support for up to 18 years as compensation for botching a contraceptive implant was condemned by the German media as scandalous on Wednesday. The Karlsruhe-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the doctor must pay his former patient, now a mother of a three-year-old boy, 600 euros ($769) a month because she became pregnant after he implanted her with a contraceptive device.” (“Doctor ordered to pay for unwanted baby”, Reuters, Nov. 15; “GYN’s “Human” Error Will Now Be Getting Child Support”, Deutsche Welle, Nov. 15). Similar: Apr. 9 (Scotland), May 9 and Jun. 8, 2000, etc.

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Condo developers sued

The sudden slamming of brakes on the housing boom seems to be coinciding with a rise in litigation against condominium developers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Most peculiar-sounding lawsuit mentioned: one against a Miami developer that has canceled an unbuilt 49-floor condo tower and, it says, has refunded prospective buyers’ deposits with interest. It’s still being sued by 58 buyers demanding the profits they expected to reap had the condos been built — though the plunging South Florida real estate market makes such profits sound, um, speculative at best. Maybe they should thank the developer for canceling. (Troy McMullen, “Condo buyers take developers to court over promises”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov. 11).

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A greener shade of envy?

Or credit unfairly denied for an accompaniment that was better than the song itself? Saying he was instrumental in the creation of the 1967 rock classic A Whiter Shade of Pale, former Procul Harum organist Matthew Fisher has sued in British courts for a share of royalties. His lawyer “said that the 38-year delay in making a formal legal claim was because Mr Fisher was unaware of his legal entitlement.” (Lucy Bannerman, “They skipped the light fandango and are turning cartwheels in the courts”, Times Online, Nov. 14).

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“Dear FTC: please adopt tougher regulations…”

Who writes to a federal agency encouraging it to adopt regulations imposing new burdens on the private sector? In at least one recent case, the public-spirited correspondent turned out to be a lawyer representing a short-seller who would profit if the enactment of new regulations caused a target company’s stock price to fall:

In one instance, a lawyer representing an investor who had shorted Pre-Paid Legal’s stock filed documents with the agency urging the rules’ adoption. Without explaining his client’s motivation, the lawyer, Hal Neier, wrote that “Pre-Paid and companies like it provide concrete examples of the very sort of practices that the proposed rule was designed to eradicate.”

The New York Times has more (Charles Duhigg, “Why Short Sellers Want to Crash the Tupperware Party”, Nov. 13).

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November 14 roundup

  • Plaintiffs’ lawyers and Clinton appointee damage, almost kill the entire pension system. [Point of Law] Earlier: POL Aug. 8.
  • Another view of the elections on liability reform. [National Law Journal]
  • Second verse, same as the first: illegitimate Wal-Mart class action (Jul. 22, 2004 and links therein) being repeated against Costco, presumably other retailers to follow. [Point of Law; Wall Street Journal]
  • “I can see why, if you’re sitting in a roomful of lawyers, you might come to that conclusion. But no one outside of that room would say: ‘Hey, that’s a good idea. Let’s sue Daniel Moore.’” U of Alabama sues locally famous artist and alum for using school colors in painting famous Alabama football moments. [NYT; Lattman]
  • Roundup of links as Illinois Justice Bob Thomas’s attempt to squelch public criticism goes to the jury. [Bashman]
  • Silver v. Frank, Round III. [Point of Law]
  • Ninth Circuit illegitimately overturns another death sentence; Supreme Court reverses for the second time. [Ayers v. Belmontes; SCOTUSblog; Daily Pundit; NY Times; WaPo]
  • Chief Roberts on Nightline. [ABC News; Prawfsblawg via Bashman]
  • Sam Peltzman interviewed on podcast. [Econtalk]

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