Those “creeping sharia” fears

Steve Chapman puts them in perspective, and commenters at the conservative Town Hall site freak out. Then a donnybrook breaks out at National Review, with Matthew Schmitz, Ramesh Ponnuru and Schmitz again advancing the view that religious liberty means liberty for everyone, even Muslims who might wish (say) to enter contracts for a religiously grounded non-interest-yielding savings account.

Speaking of religious liberty, my discussion with Tim Carney and David Boaz last week about whether libertarians are somehow deficient on the topic continues to yield interesting reactions, including one from Rick Esenberg.

Filed under: religious discrimination, religious liberty

June 18 roundup

Any dollar figure will do: “Ohio woman sues for $500 billion after her car is towed” [Jalopnik]
Rabbit-breeding without a license proves costly for Missouri family facing $90K USDA fine [Amy Alkon]
Per Linda Greenhouse, SCOTUS in Bush v Gore said “this opinion is never to be cited.” Oh? [Ed Whelan, NRO, further]
Boston loses young innovation-sector workers by overregulating nightlife [Dante Ramos, Globe]
“Title IX after 40 years” is topic of a discussion and lunch this Wednesday at Cato; “CA Lawmaker Speaks Truths on Title IX, Bashing Ensues” [Deborah Elson, American Sports Council; Chris Norby]
Department of Justice is conducting “incredibly aggressive” push against local governments under civil rights laws, or so says one supporter [Bagenstos] “School discipline and disparate impact” [John R. Martin, Federalist Society “Engage”]
Traffic laws changed considerably following the development of the automobile. Something sinister in that, or pretty much what one would expect? [Sarah Goodyear, “The invention of jaywalking,” Atlantic Cities]

Filed under: Boston, restaurants, school discipline, Supreme Court, Title IX, traffic laws

Who snatched the light bulbs?

If you’re annoyed at federal bossiness, don’t just blame environmentalist groups. A group called the National Electrical Manufacturers Association is keen on restricting your choice, and it’s located right in Rosslyn, Va. where it can do something about it. [Future of Capitalism]

Filed under: competition through regulation, environment, lobbyists

“The new workplace revolution: wage and hour suits”

At Fortune, Jonathan Segal (Duane Morris) covers an employment-law trend much documented in these columns, though the “civil rights” construct is a bit of a distraction: the intersection of entrepreneurial lawyers, high damage possibilities, uncertain legal standards and widespread real or apparent noncompliance is enough to propel the Fair Labor Standards Act into its current prominence without any need for a discrimination angle.

Filed under: wage and hour suits

Very funny lines

“I would say that Judge Kozinski doesn’t have an ideology so much as a Dungeons & Dragons alignment: Chaotic Neutral.” [Kyle Graham]

Filed under: Alex Kozinski, humor

ADA plus ATMs

Banks’ failure to comply with automatic-teller accessibility rules could open up a “goldmine for professional plaintiffs,” thinks Kevin Funnell. [Bank Lawyers’ Blog] More: Cohen/Atlas.

Filed under: ADA filing mills, banks

Taco-copters: the serious side

“Issues surrounding liability and law, rather than technology, now appear to be the biggest obstacle to autonomous vehicles.” [Ryan Avent via Alex Tabarrok]

Filed under: aviation, traffic laws

Torts roundup

“Fla. jury awards $75M to family of dead smoker” [AP] Bad trends catch on 10+ years later up North: Quebec becomes fifth province to sue tobacco companies [Montreal Gazette] We passed a law to let us win, so there: “Manitoba sues tobacco companies” [provincial press release]
“Can There Be Liability When Sending Texts To A Driver?” A debate [Ray Mollica and Mark Bower, Turkewitz; earlier here and here]
Ted Frank vs. Ron Unz on Vioxx health effects [PoL, American Conservative]
Major Florida PI firm denies State Farm claims-inflation allegations [Orlando Sentinel]
East St. Louis, Ill.: jury awards nearly $179 million to 3 injured grain elevator workers [Post-Dispatch]
Siding with plaintiff’s bar, Minnesota Gov. Dayton vetoes legislation reducing state’s general statute of limitations from six years to four, reducing prejudgment interest from current 10%/year, reforming offer of settlement rules, and allowing interlocutory class certification appeal [NFIB] He does however sign one protecting state/local governments [Star-Trib]
Multiple asbestos claims raise eyebrows in Delaware [SE Texas Record] On trends in asbestos litigation [Ben Berkowitz, Reuters]

Filed under: asbestos, Canada, Florida, Minnesota, Ted Frank, tobacco, Vioxx

“No Eviction After Renter Didn’t Pay for 9 Years”

Since the Brooklyn loft space is out of compliance, the New York courts have decided, its owner is entitled neither to reclaim the space from its tenant nor to collect rent from her [NY Times and more via Kanner; ABA Journal]

Filed under: landlord tenant law, NYC

City of the slumped shoulders

Chicago hits a rough patch [Aaron Renn, City Journal] “Cook County is viewed negatively from a litigiousness standpoint,” a statement touched with the quaint understatement for which the insurance business is known [PC 360 on AON, NATO] And here’s a video on how small businesses can face the “Chicagoland shakedown” [via John Cochrane]

Filed under: Chicago, small business