Elizabeth Edwards as Mrs. Stephen Haines, on Rielle Hunter as Crystal Allen: “I don’t know any people like this, I don’t have any friends like this person.” But she does [Paul Horwitz, Prawfsblawg (“It does, after all, take two to tango — or, more precisely, two plus Fred Baron“); more from Mickey Kaus and again]
Archive for May, 2009
Hey, those stimulus bucks were supposed to be for our jobs!
Rochester teachers threaten to sue over the city’s budget cuts [Democrat & Chronicle] And having taken the king’s stimulus shilling, California finds it is no longer free to cut the pay of the king’s powerful retainers, in the form of SEIU members [Los Angeles Times via J.G. Thayer, Commentary]
More: A followup from the L.A. Times.
NYC subway track totterer awarded $5.95 million
You can hardly blame the lawyers for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority if they thought the case looked defensible. John Hochfelder:
the jury heard evidence that on December 12, 2002, James Sanders fell onto the tracks as a subway car in Brooklyn was coming into the station at about 15 mph. The jury was also apprised of the facts that Sanders had been returning from methadone treatment and had drunk pure rum before entering the station (a fact he initially denied).
Then, there were these additional facts:
- Sanders could not recall why he fell
- the motorman’s speed was no more than 15 mph
- witnesses testified that the train was no more than 20 feet away when Sanders fell onto the track
The “last clear chance” doctrine, as Hochfelder explains, provided enough of a basis for Sanders’ lawyer to persuade a jury that the subway motorman was 70 percent responsible for the accident.
More on tipsy track totterers: Feb. 19, etc.
If deathly allergic to burger condiments, consider checking for their absence
This vital step in an allergy-mitigation protocol appears not to have been undertaken by Darius Dugger of Portsmouth, Va., who says he specifically asked that Burger King omit the onions, tomato and pickle from his sandwich, but that they ignored his request, resulting in the severe allergic reaction for which he’d like $100,000. [Norfolk Virginian-Pilot via Patrick at Popehat] He says he’d already taken a bite and swallowed by the time he realized their error, as opposed to, you know, peeking under the bun to see. Earlier on West Virginia McDonald’s “hold the cheese” suit here.
“Landlord on hook for up to $44K even though bias case was dropped”
Dan Bader came to be “embroiled in a messy dispute with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Fair Housing Council of Orange County” when he used Craigslist to advertise a rental unit in his Newport Beach home as “Well suited for professional adults” and “Perfect for 1 or 2 professionals.” As the Orange County Register relates, it never resulted in an actual courtroom loss; the process was the punishment. Bader has a website on the experience: StateGoneCrazy.com (more on Craigslist and the wording of housing ads here, here, etc.).
“Prominent Arkansas Lawyer Probed Over Missing $9 Million”
“Prominent Arkansas plaintiffs’ lawyer Gene Cauley has landed in some hot water due to his apparent inability to produce more than $9 million in settlement money he was overseeing for clients, according to federal court records.” His lawyer, John Wesley Hall, told Judge Jed Rakoff at a hearing “that the missing settlement funds ‘are presently unavailable,’ but Hall declined to elaborate, citing Cauley’s privilege against self-incrimination.” He says, however, that Cauley is working to “find the money and pay it in 90 days” and expects to “make everyone 100% whole”. [WSJ Law Blog].
“Infamous lawsuits quiz”
Or at least famous ones: a bit of fluff from WalletPop.
Jury acquits W.R. Grace and execs in Libby, Mont. asbestos case
A high-profile federal environmental prosecution has struck out following charges of prosecutorial misconduct as well as disputes over the quality of the evidence [Montana’s News Station, Van Voris/Bloomberg] Carter Wood and others have been blogging the case at Point of Law, and a joint blog effort of the University of Montana’s law and journalism schools has given the case extensive coverage. See also Kirk Hartley.
Right to sue over “heightism”?
Reading law review articles can be so depressing, though at least in this case the author winds up rejecting the idea of a comprehensive federal law “that would flatly prohibit height-based employment decisions” (via).
National Animal Identification System advances
The controversial farm-animal tracking proposal NAIS seems to be marching ahead at a rapid pace toward mandatory adoption. La Vida Locavore: 
“During the hearing, I never once heard that there was any distinction between large commercial, small commercial selling direct to consumers, homesteaders or hobbyists. All I ever heard was that everyone wants a mandatory NAIS. For everyone.” The tagging and paperwork would apply not only to four-footed livestock, but to poultry, fish, shellfish “and some crustaceans. Just about any animal you might find on a farm except dogs, cats and rabbits.” Earlier here and here.