Last week two trolley cars collided in downtown Memphis, and according to Allison Burton, a spokeswoman for the transit authority, some bystanders attempted to board the cars and fake injuries. Burton “said witnesses saw at least eight people run at the trolleys following the wreck” and at least two appear to have gotten in. [Commercial Appeal] Earlier bus-jumping here, etc.
Archive for June, 2011
Economics of patent trolling
Rob Beschizza sees clues to the economics of patent litigation in the public pronouncements of Lodsys, a company that has sued small Apple developers based on IP claims covering such common app features as upgrade buttons. [BoingBoing, more, This Is My Next (with copy of a 2007 patent for “Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network”] Update: Apple intervenes.
NJ high court: drunks can sue bars that served them
Although the New Jersey legislature enacted a law in 1997 flatly barring drunk drivers from recovering damages over their own car crashes, the state’s supreme court ruled that because the law did not explicitly override the state’s dramshop (liquor-server liability) law, it would be read as having left it intact. [NJLJ, NJLRA, more]
Fined for clearing tornado debris without license
A volunteer clearing debris after the recent tornado in north Minneapolis has been hit with a $275 fine for tree trimming without a license [Star-Tribune via Coyote]
More: In other legal news of tree-trimming, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has settled a battle with San Francisco neighbors over charges that the growth of their trees was spoiling his view [WSJ, more] And the city of Charlotte, N.C., has fined a local church $4,000, or $100 a branch, for excessively trimming crape myrtle trees on its own property under a city tree ordinance [Brittany Penland, Charlotte Observer via Amy Alkon]
Henry Waxman and the Bendectin story
Could it be that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) — known for his extensive involvement in pharmaceutical issues over many years as a Congressional nabob, and for his long, close alliance with the plaintiff’s bar — is really unfamiliar with the story of Bendectin, one of the staple horror stories of litigation run amok in the drug field? [Carter Wood, ShopFloor] Background here, here, here, etc., etc. The whole clip, starring Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), is worth watching: Bilbray wonders aloud whether there are any lawyers he can sue when unfounded lawsuits put needed medical technologies out of reach.
The “pie chart that doesn’t want you to eat pie.”
I’ve got a new opinion piece up at the Daily Caller on the USDA’s new nutritional chart. And tune in to C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern when I’m scheduled to be a guest on this subject.
More: Link to C-SPAN video here, and more at Cato at Liberty.
Chuck Norris: it started with a fight…
According to the actor, in an op-ed (co-authored with Stephen DeMaura) in today’s WSJ:
Two women get into a fight in the ladies’ restroom at a restaurant. Afterward, they sue the restaurant owner, claiming someone should have been in there to break up the fight. It costs the small-business owner $2,000 to pay each plaintiff to drop the complaint, which was cheaper than fighting the lawsuit would have been.
This completely ridiculous story is true, and the restaurant owner was one of us, Mr. Norris. …
“There are enough lawyers”
Per this four-year-old, on video.
“Suit seeks $15,000 for rose thorn prick”
“The suit [by a Florida man against the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain and a flower importer] states the roses should have been stripped of their thorns and the stems should have been wrapped more carefully.” [UPI]
New TV legal drama’s protagonist: a mediator
“It’s refreshing to find a show that can demonstrate to litigation-happy America that it’s possible, even desirable, to amicably resolve disputes without going to court.” [Radley Balko, Reason, on USA Network’s “Fairly Legal”] More: Abnormal Use interview with show creator Michael Sardo (via its update).