Ed Morrissey of the Captain’s Quarters Blog interviews me about the Stoneridge case and argument, and about Sarbanes-Oxley. Morrissey comments further about the case.
Archive for 2007
Capitol Records v. Thomas, cont’d
Why the case played out as a strong one for the record labels (Eric Bangeman, “How the RIAA tasted victory: a perfect storm which might not be repeated”, ArsTechnica, Oct. 7; and extensive coverage of the trial by the same author). More: Greg Sandoval, “For RIAA, a black eye comes with the job”, CNet, Oct. 9. Earlier: Oct. 7.
Here come the Crocs suits
The comfortable footwear can apparently lead to “shoe entrapment” accidents at the tops and bottoms of escalators, attracting lawyers’ interest. (Southern California Injury Law Blog, Oct. 1)(via Turkewitz). More: Earlier escalator suits on Overlawyered (h/t Ted) include February 2005, first and second posts.
U.K.: Union defends eBay-addicted town workers
A Labour-run municipal authority in Wales has sacked nine workers after discovering that they were spending up to two hours of their workday on eBay, but “union officials said that the employer had ‘put temptation in their way’ by allowing computer access to external internet sites. They called on all large employers to install a firewall program to prevent staff from being distracted by sites such as eBay, BBC Online and those that provide gambling.” (Simon de Bruxelles, “Office staff lose their jobs after bosses catch them trading on eBay”, Times Online, Sept. 21)(via ABA Journal).
Fox News tomorrow A.M.
I’m scheduled to join Fox News tomorrow (Tues.) morning around 9:40 a.m. Eastern to discuss the Lynne Stewart/Hofstra affair.
On Bloomberg TV
I’m scheduled to be on Bloomberg TV at 5 pm Eastern talking about the Stoneridge case. See also Point of Law October 6 for more links.
October 8 Roundup
- The DC Examiner quotes both Walter and me in their series on corruption in the trial bar.
- Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: privacy laws interfere with college mental-health treatment, which of course doesn’t keep them from being sued when the treatment doesn’t work. [LA Times; earlier in April; and May 2006]
- Charlie Weis didn’t just lose his first several games of the season at Notre Dame; he also lost his silly medical malpractice case retrial. [Childs; February in Overlawyered]
- Ninth Circuit revives one claim in deep-vein thrombosis litigation against airlines. [Montalvo v. Spirit Airlines; San Francisco Chronicle; earlier on Overlawyered]
- Hugh Hewitt discusses tort reform with Overlawyered bloggers. [Ted on Hugh Hewitt; Walter on Hugh Hewitt]
- Overlawyered and Public Citizen agree: it’s silly for law firms to try to copyright their nastygrams. [CL&P Blog]
- More on the Target website disability suit. [Open Market; Oct. 3 and links therein]
- Utah Supreme Court adopts common-sense product liability rule. [Products Liability Law Prof]
- DC City Council objects to recovering millions spent by city on medical care of patient who sued city after gouging out his own eyes. [DC Examiner; Washington Post; BLT]
- The most embarrassing thing Joe Stiglitz ever wrote? [Manne via Boudreaux; Cowen; Frum]
- Are Overlawyered readers “fringe element” “sycophants”? From the same blogger who says no one can criticize Lynne Stewart unless they personally know her, but I presume that’s “For thee, but not for me”-style hypocrisy. [Scott Greenfield]
“Disrespectful cockalorum…mordaciously sarcastic”
It would appear U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn has reached the end of his patience with attorney Mark E. Brennan, and then some. Throwing out a $1.2 million verdict obtained by Brennan against the city of Denver on a claim of age discrimination against a firefighter, Judge Blackburn condemned Brennan’s courtroom antics as “disgraceful” as well as “boorish and unprofessional”:
“In over 19 years on the bench, I have seen nothing comparable,” the judge wrote. “Such disrespectful cockalorum, grandstanding, bombast, bullying and hyperbole as Mr. Brennan exhibited throughout the trial are quite beyond my experience as a jurist, and, I fervently hope, will remain an aberration during the remainder of my time on the bench.”
(Daniel J. Chacon, “Judge points to lawyer’s antics in junking $1.2 million ruling”, Rocky Mountain News, Oct. 6). No response from Mr. Brennan is recorded yet in the news coverage assembled by Google. The dictionary, incidentally, defines “cockalorum” as “boastful talk; crowing”. P.S. Brennan’s response, as reported in the Rocky Mountain News (via ABA Journal); also more details at On Point News.
No CLE credit for Stewart panel
Hofstra’s Monroe Freedman announces the news (cross-posted from Point of Law; earlier coverage).
$222,000 for sharing 24 songs
Good thing copyright infringement law isn’t punitive or anything (David Kravets, “RIAA Trial Produces Playlist of the Century”, Wired News, Oct. 4; more; Recording Industry vs. The People, Oct. 5; via Sullivan). Meanwhile, from the same state, same day, comes word that a school bus driver who pleaded guilty to drinking on the job has been fined $482. (“Bus driver pleads guilty to alcohol charge”, AP/Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Aug. 5; Lileks via Reynolds). More: Declan McCullagh, “Why the RIAA should have won (though the fine was too high)”, CNet, Oct. 5.