Ask Paramount, whose lawyers zealously police unauthorized discussion of the Star Trek franchise (NitCentral, May 15, 1998, scroll to Phil Farrand, “I’m afraid I have some bad news”; Aug. 7, 1998, scroll to “Bullies on the Playground”). More on fan literature: Feb. 14, 2005.
Archive for 2006
Assumption of risk (mollusc dept.)
Diners who order shellfish, such as mussels, assume the risk of encountering broken pieces of shell, ruled a New York judge who threw out a Long Island woman’s lawsuit against the Blue Moon restaurant in Rockville Centre attempting to recover for injuries arising from her encounter with the allegedly defective plate of mussels marinara. (“Judge Shucks Shellfish Suit”, WCBS, undated, about Jun. 7). More: Lattman, Jun. 12.
Jack Thompson at it again
Perennial anti-videogame action-filer (and Overlawyered favorite) Jack Thompson is at it again, this time in Louisiana:
Acting on a Florida lawyer’s suggestion that violent video games may have figured in Tuesday’s slaying of a West Feliciana Parish man, sheriff’s deputies searched the home of one teenage suspect again on Thursday.
West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Capt. Spence Dilworth said deputies seized several video games rated “M” for “Mature” from the residence of Kurt Edward Neher, 16, but the detective said he is not drawing any conclusions from his findings.
Thompson says “published reports of Gore’s injuries ‘raised a red flag’ in his, Thompson’s, mind.” For instance? Well, reports that the youths killed their victim because he would not lend them his car reminded Thompson of scenarios in “Grand Theft Auto”, and that “the apparent repeated ‘pummeling’ of the victim is consistent with scenes in violent video games.” Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, responded in a rather restrained fashion, pointing out that “Violent crime involving kids predates video games”. (James Minton, “Video games seized from teen’s home”, Baton Rouge Advocate, Jun. 3).
Foie gras and slippery slopes
Chicago’s recently enacted ban on the delicacy (Apr. 27, May 4) has got Alderman Edward M. Burke thinking: now that we’ve started, why can’t the city ban less healthy frying oils and that sort of thing too? (Fran Spielman, “Alderman wants to limit fatty, fried fast food”, Chicago Sun-Times, Jun. 8).
More: In April, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by a cardiologist who averred:
Food calories are so pervasively and inexpensively available in our environment that they should be regarded as a pollutant. Just as an asthmatic can’t help but inhale pollutants in the air all around him, we Americans cannot help but ingest the calories present in the environment all around us.
(John G. Sotos, “A Modest — and Slimming! — Proposal”, Apr. 7). The Consumerist (Apr. 13) and Rogier van Bakel (Apr. 18) react with appropriate scorn. And a new report commissioned by the federal government proposes that the feds jawbone restaurants into reducing portion sizes (“FDA Report Urges Restaurants to Help Downsize America”, AP/Washington Post, Jun. 3). See also Radley Balko, Apr. 21.
Hometown justice, Las Vegas style
L.A. Times runs with the first part of a three-part series investigating the court system in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the quality of justice obtained seems to have a lot to do with whether lawyers have forked over campaign donations to the judge who hears their cases, where judges can do all sorts of things with their campaign funds that they’d be barred from doing in other states, and where undisclosed conflicts are rife. Names lots of names, too (Michael J. Goodman and William C. Rempel, , “In Las Vegas, They’re Playing With a Stacked Judicial Deck”, Jun. 8). More: Part II is here and Part III is here.
Boing Boing gets a nastygram
UK: Holed-up perp had right to fried chicken
Gloucester, England:
A suspected car thief who bombarded police with bricks and tiles during a rooftop siege was given a Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway meal by officers to ensure his “well-being and human rights”….
A spokesman for Gloucester police said: “He has been demanding various things and one was a KFC bargain bucket. Although he’s a nuisance, we still have to look after his well-being and human rights. He’s also been given cigarettes.”
(Richard Savill, “KFC meal ‘ensures siege man’s rights'”, Daily Telegraph, Jun. 7).
Google rankings lawsuits
Another one has been filed, but in this case voluntarily dismissed, says Eric Goldman (Jun. 5).
Rock, paper, scissors
A federal judge has ordered lawyers to use a round of the game to resolve a squabble over the location of a deposition (Roger Parloff, “Judge orders lawyers to play game”, Fortune, Jun. 7; Carton, Jun. 7). As Eugene Volokh points out (Jun. 7), there are many legal disputes and issues which can be resolved through a random mechanism without shocking the conscience. For one that went too far, however, see our May 1, 2000 post on a Louisville, Ky. jury that reportedly flipped a coin to convict a man of murder.
Bounteous bankruptcies: Delta, Enron, cont’d
Peter Lattman (Jun. 6) notes a judge’s approval of $10.5 million in legal fees for 4 1/2 months’ work in the Delta Air Lines bankruptcy (see Apr. 1). “According to the AP, the overall fees and expenses for all advisors (lawyers, bankers, consultants) working on the case could reach $205.9 million if the bills continue at the same rate until Delta exits bankruptcy, which it expects to do by next summer.”
Also, back on Mar. 28, Tom Kirkendall noted the trimming of a fee request in the Enron bankruptcy (see Jul. 23, 2004).
More: Carolyn Elefant writes, “It’s cases like these, where the client is captive and using other people’s money, i.e., its creditors’, that drive rates up and perpetuate the billable hour….Why is a firm charging $420 an hour for kids just out of law school?” (Jun. 7).