Apparently thousands of British borrowers had guns held to their heads when they signed on to mortgages that provided low or zero interest rates but promised the lenders the lion’s share of future increases in home value. The subsequent huge runup in housing prices in Great Britain made this a great deal for the banks, and some of the homeowners are now taking their retrospective buyers’ remorse to court in a group action. [Independent] Note the interesting use of the phrase “trapped in their homes and unable to move”, which appears from context to mean “free to move, but lacking the large accumulation of equity that they wish they had”.
Archive for 2009
“Coyote Ugly patron sues after falling off bar”
Add another to our list of tavern patrons who discovered that dancing on the bar was not as safe a pastime as they initially assumed. This time the scene of the accident, and target of the resulting lawsuit, is Nashville’s Coyote Ugly Saloon. Her attorney says Ms. Barnes “‘had had a few drinks’ but was not drunk.” [Tennessean via Day]
Suit over townhouse neighbor’s smoking
“A Dallas woman has filed a lawsuit seeking six figures from a former neighbor and landlord for damage she says was caused by cigarette smoke wafting through adjoining walls of her high-end townhome. ‘Smoking is not a right, it’s a privilege,’ said Chris Daniel, a retired nurse.” [Dallas Morning News]
Update: claims to the word “edge” in videogames
“Whocanisue website skirts the rules for lawyer ads”
Per its critics, at least, who include a vice president of the Florida bar association [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]. More: AP.
October 6 roundup
- Woman who escaped first WTC bombing broke her ankle ten days later. Should New York’s Port Authority pay her $500,000? [Hochfelder]
- Former New York congressman and Pace Law School dean Richard Ottinger and wife rebuffed in what court deems SLAPP suit against commenter who criticized them on online forum; commenter says legal fees have cost him two years’ income [White Plains Journal-News, Westchester County; earlier] Amici in Massachusetts case endorse anti-SLAPP protection for staff of media and advocacy organizations [Citizen Media Law] “Canadian Court Rejects Defamation Liability for Hyperlinks” [same]
- “Chuck Yeager Tries Again to Stretch Right of Publicity” [OnPoint News, earlier]
- And naturally the advocates are demanding more regulation rather than less: “[Restaurant] Calorie Postings Don’t Change Habits, Study Finds” [NYT] More: Ryan Sager, Jacob Sullum.
- Famed L.A. lawyers Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack might get off with wrist-slaps over Nicaraguan banana suit scandal [The Recorder, Cal Civil Justice, earlier]
- Ralph Lauren lawyers: don’t you dare reproduce our skinny-model photo in the course of criticizing our use of skinny models [BoingBoing; and welcome Ron Coleman, Popehat readers; more at Citizen Media Law and an update at BoingBoing] Copyright expert/author Bill Patry is guestblogging at Volokh Conspiracy [intro, first post, earlier]
- Profile of John Edwards aide who played key role in Rielle Hunter affair [Ben Smith, Politico]
- Blind lawyer’s “call girl bilked my credit card” claim includes ADA claim against credit card company (but judge rejects it) [ABA Journal, Above the Law]
Jack Thompson sues Facebook
The disbarred lawyer and anti-videogame crusader says the social networking site is responsible for tolerating user posts that he says constitute physical threats to his well-being. [PC Mag, Ken at Popehat] More: Citizen Media Law.
Judge throws out patent verdict against Microsoft
U.S. District Judge William Smith in Providence vacated a $388 million award to Uniloc, a Singapore-based company, ruling that the jury “lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis.” [Bloomberg]
“Attorney urges court to ban drunken possession of guns”
A Missouri statute raises various civil-liberties and Bill of Rights problems. [Columbia, Mo. Tribune]
“I wasn’t sanctioned. My client was sanctioned.”
John Steele at Legal Ethics Forum finds much to unpack in a lawyer’s statement defending his zealous advocacy in a California discovery dispute.