I’m not a fan of Leona Helmsley; among other traits that earned her the title of “Queen of Mean,” she sued her dead son’s estate, financially wiping his widow out with legal fees.
Archive for 2008
New/relocated Overlawyered Facebook page
Shortly after we set up the old Overlawyered.com group there, Facebook began its program of “Pages” for websites and organizations for which users could sign up as “Fans”. This has a number of advantages over the old group format, so if you’re on Facebook (or have been thinking of getting on), please do consider enlisting as a Fan at our new Overlawyered page there.
Slips while dancing on bar, complaint cites lack of handrail
Complainant Rory Beer — yes, her real name, though she used to be known as Rory Roberts — was dancing on the bar at Bar Chicago, a Division Street nightspot, when she fell off, with what her suit says are permanent injuries to her foot and ankle. “The lawsuit claims that Bar Chicago encourages patrons to dance on the bar, but doesn’t warn people of slippery surfaces or provide handrails, ‘cushioned flooring’ or ‘safety nets.'” (Mark J. Konkol, “Dancer slips, now she wants bar to pay”, Chicago Sun-Times, Jul. 1; Chicagoist). We covered another bar-wasn’t-safe-for-her-to-dance-on suit, also from Illinois, last year.
Breaking: Rhode Island lead paint decision overturned
So AP reports. More details as they become available.
9:43: AP/Boston Globe reports a dramatic rejection of public-nuisance theory, holding the case should’ve been dismissed years ago. Good news that. The Rhode Island Supreme Court decision was unanimous.
5:00: Here is the opinion itself. James Beck has the most comprehensive analysis of the opinion so far; Walter gives thorough background at Point of Law as well as a roundup of other links. The defendants and NAM have released statements; Motley Rice claims they were doing it for the children, which doesn’t explain their self-serving settlement with DuPont or why they asked for a highly inefficient remediation remedy that would have maximized their attorneys’ fees.
Also: Jonathan Turley (who I just learned has a year-old blog with over a thousand posts), who, to his credit, has opposed such lawsuits; OpenMarket; Jane Genova; Publius. Attorney General Patrick Lynch is unhappy about the legal setback to his campaign contributors constituents.
Existing abatement efforts already required of landlords under Rhode Island law mean that lead paint exposure is at an all-time low in the state–evidence that was excluded at trial.
Overlawyered’s ninth anniversary
Without our loyal audience we wouldn’t have made it through nine years — and wide acclaim as the oldest legal blog, as well as one of the most popular. In yesterday’s thread, reader Greg Dwyer says he has “read every single post on this site” (I’m impressed) while reader M.T. Glass discovered this blog (a word that didn’t exist then, if memory serves) when it was less than two months old.
Partly in consequence of our popular WordPress redesign we’ve also been setting new traffic records, regularly surpassing 9,000 and often hitting 10,000 unique daily visitors. Thanks for your support! (& welcome Above the Law, National Arbitration Forum, Law Crossing, Point of Law readers).
Losing patience with Jonathan Lee Riches
The federal judges in the Northern District of Georgia decided to place curbs on the famously litigious inmate who’s filed more than 1,000 lawsuits nationwide naming celebrities and politicians as members of hallucinatory cabals against him. In March the judges enjoined him from filing more suits without permission in the district, which he can do only if he agrees to be prosecuted for false statements. (Miami Daily Business Review, Jun. 12, also with some discussion of Jack Thompson and of a few other Florida litigants who’ve had their acts shut down after filing (e.g.) 18, 20 and 60+ meritless or inappropriate actions.)
The order in the Northern District of Georgia has not prevented Riches from continuing to file lawsuits against celebrities and public figures elsewhere, as in the federal District of South Carolina. (Rachel Barron, “Vinod Khosla Slapped With $43M Lawsuit”, Greentech Media, Jun. 20).
Time Warner Cable settlement
Craig Newmark dissects a class action settlement notice he recently received, and finds the classic gimmick/ploy in which the contrite company agrees to give certain free services to customers who file claims, but then will begin billing them monthly if they forget to cancel the services after a short trial run. (Newmark’s Door, Jun. 30).
June 30 roundup
- To hold a party in the public parks of Bergenfield, N.J., you’ll need homeowner’s or renter’s insurance to throw on the line [Bergen Record]
- More on suits against Victoria’s Secret over allegedly hazardous bras, thongs, and undergarments, including an aspiring class action over contact rashes [Heller/On Point News]
- Supreme Court will review Navy sonar controversy, which we’ve long covered in this space [Adler @ Volokh]
- Hope of legalized online gambling fades, and you can blame Republicans on Capitol Hill for that [Stuttaford, NRO “Corner”]
- Disney said to be behind bad proposal to soak foreign tourists to fund visit-America promotions [Crooked Timber]
- “Squishier than most”: Nocera on A.M.D.’s predatory-pricing antitrust suit against Intel [NYT]
- Process serving company lied about delivering SEC witness subpoena and falsified later document, judge rules, awarding victim $3 million [Boston Globe]
- Revisiting the false-accusation ordeal of Dr. Patrick Griffin, and how it relates to pressure to have needless chaperones at medical procedures [Buckeye Surgeon, Dorothy Rabinowitz Pulitzer piece]
- Overlawyered turns nine years old tomorrow (more). Commenters: how long have you been reading the site? Any of you go back to its first year?
Suit: it’s the manufacturer’s fault that I backed a lawn mower over my son
The manual for the L120 John Deere mower reads:
DANGER: ROTATING BLADES CUT OFF ARMS AND LEGS
· Do not mow when children or others are around.