- “Kagan refused to identify anything the government couldn’t do under its Commerce Clause power” and “consciously left herself plenty of breathing room to cite foreign law inappropriately” [Ilya Shapiro, more]
- Multiple civil/criminal hats? “The odd responses of the attorney general to the oil spill” [WaPo editorial]
- Phillies Phanatic, “‘Most-Sued Mascot in the Majors’ Is Back in Court” [Lowering the Bar, which also hosts Blawg Review #271 this week]
- Federalist Society has a new blog;
- California will pay $20 million to woman abducted for nearly two decades [AP]
- Charges dropped against teen who tried to help lost kid in shopping mall [Lenore Skenazy, earlier]
- Two libertarians arrested after videotaping police in Greenfield, Mass. [Balko, earlier here and here]
- “‘Ambulance Chaser’ Lawsuits Hound Apple Over iPhone 4” [Atlantic Wire]
Archive for July, 2010
Lab sues Stephen Barrett (QuackWatch)
At his highly interesting QuackWatch site, where he is scathingly critical of many alternative therapies, Stephen Barrett has expressed the view that some tests frequently prescribed by “chelation” practitioners (who address a variety of ills through techniques designed to remove heavy metals from the body) are inaccurate and misleading. Now a laboratory of which Barrett has been critical has sued him and several related entities, demanding $10 million [QuackWatch, Respectful Insolence]
Because liability reform would be too hard
“Let’s just charge more for auto insurance and homeowners insurance to keep the only two malpractice insurers in New York from going bankrupt.” [White Coat; Greg Davis, Crain’s New York Business]
“Failed to warn escalator was not moving”
Kevin at Lowering the Bar spots a San Francisco lawsuit premised on the idea that a stationary escalator needed to have a sign posted with a warning to that effect.
“12 Most Bizarre Comedian Lawsuits”
Comedy.com rounds some up.
“Reputations Don’t Return When Prosecutors Drop Charges”
Some collateral damage of white-collar prosecution. [David Glovin, Bloomberg]
Yes, tea is hot, too. (Redux: Villona Maryash edition)
Brooklyn mother Villona Maryash spills tea on her five-month-old infant, infant burned, sues Starbucks. But the complaint is not that the beverage was too hot, but that Starbucks should’ve served it on a tray and with a sleeve. Of course, protective sleeves are in ready reach of customers at every Starbucks I’ve been in, and it’s likely that Starbucks doesn’t insert the cups in sleeves automatically for environmental reasons. [NY Post; Gothamist commenters are not impressed]
Shortages of prostate cancer medicine
Cathy Young on Quinnipiac cheerleading trial
“The case illustrates the complexities — and some would say, the inanities — of the debate over gender and college athletics. … the official approach to gender parity now requires more than half of college athletic slots going to women.” [Minding the Campus] Plus: “Title IX: Coming to a High School Near You” [College Sports Council]
Dear Congress: stop criminalizing things
Unless you can truly offer a good reason for doing so, argues Heritage’s Brian Walsh. Heritage issued a joint study last month with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and no, that is not as odd an alliance as it may sound. [Insider Online]