A lawyer has filed an intended class action in Florida court against the San Antonio Spurs, saying it caused him “economic damage” as a ticket buyer for management of the visiting team to have sent top players home to rest amid four games in five days. “Some might argue that the Heat’s fans got their money’s worth. That’s because the team barely beat the undermanned Spurs that night 105-100. [Attorney Larry] McGuinness said that doesn’t mean a game with the Spurs’ top players couldn’t have been more exciting.” [ESPN, auto-plays video]
Archive for January, 2013
Orin Kerr on the Aaron Swartz case
A two-part post, with part 1 on the law as applied to the facts, and part II on sentencing, prosecutorial discretion, and the appropriate targets for reformist energy. Earlier here (& Greenfield; Timothy Lee and Mike Masnick on plea bargaining).
“CNET rescinds positive review because parent company is suing manufacturer”
Rob Beschizza: “While it looks like clueless corporate spite, I bet it’s really about lawyers wanting to lower CBS’s exposure to uncertainty in its boring lawsuit over contracts and copyright. … For some, it seems inconceivable not to accept legal advice after it’s been sought — even when the negative consequences of taking it are profoundly obvious.” [BoingBoing]
“Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment”
A Cato Forum held January 9 and featuring Craig Whitney, author, Living with Guns, and a former New York Times reporter and editor; Alan Gura and Alan Morrison, who argued opposite sides of the Heller case; and as moderator, Cato senior fellow Ilya Shapiro.
Meanwhile, getting the jump on President Obama’s proposals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the legislature of New York have rushed to passage a hasty new gun control package [Roger Pilon, Jacob Sullum, Bob McManus/NY Post, more from Sullum on “false urgency”]
Environment roundup
- Bill McKibben et al press Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against energy producers, hint at direct action [Andrew Sullivan]
- Billion-dollar compensation program may be unstoppable, though: “Cancer Not Increased by Exposure to World Trade Center 9/11 Attack Debris” [Ronald Bailey, Ted Frank/PoL, earlier here, here, here, here, etc.]
- “EPA cries ‘uncle’ in face of lawsuit, withdraws threat against W.Va. chicken farmer” [David Martosko, Daily Caller]
- Jim Manzi finds lead-and-crime thesis less “blindingly obvious” than does Kevin Drum [NRO, and Drum’s response]
- In state’s dispute with EPA, plenty of Virginia moderates think federal agency has overreached [A. Barton Hinkle, Richmond Times-Dispatch]
- “Lawsuits seek to generate “awareness” of global warming, costs states a bundle” [@andrewmgrossman on Laurence Hurley/EENews story; Michael Greve/Liberty and Law]
- EPA’s departing Jackson has been poster child for “we can’t wait” governance approach [Jim Huffman]
“Brooklyn attorney disbarred for ‘severe and gross’ violations”
“A Brooklyn attorney was disbarred Wednesday for a range of misconduct, from fabricating court orders to making misrepresentations to secure third-party litigation funding. … ‘The severe and gross violations committed by the respondent fully merit the special referee’s conclusion that the respondent is “morally corrupt and intellectually bankrupt,”‘ the appellate court wrote in a per curiam opinion.” [Reuters; Mr. Tanella’s happier, award-winning days]
The family that crashes together
“A South Florida mom who brought her five young children along for the ride when she staged car crashes to make cash will spend even longer in prison because she put her kids in harm’s way, a judge ruled Friday.” [Sun-Sentinel]
January 16 roundup
- Woman embroiled in neighbor dispute claims disability bias based on depression, but now faces $107,000 award of legal fees [Buffalo News]
- B.C., Canada: “Law Firm Unsuccessfully Seeks Fees From Their Own Insurer’s Negligence Payout” [Erik Magraken]
- “Worst case a client has ever asked you to take” meme reaches ABA Journal [earlier]
- Hans Bader on re-election of “legally insane” Chicago judge [CEI “Open Market”, earlier]
- Far-fetched theories of constitutional tax immunity claim more victims, this time in Canada [National Post]
- Law geek alert: Prof. Green will be blogging key federal courts decision Erie RR v. Tompkins (1938) daily through the month [Prawfs]
- Appreciations of the late political economist James Buchanan [David Boaz, Alex Tabarrok, Tyler Cowen and more, Arnold Kling, Radley Balko]
Menace of the grotty bouncy-seat
Urgent alert from the Consumer Product Safety Commission: fail to clean a kid’s bouncy seat and it can get, ew, gross [Free-Range Kids]
City of Boston vs. fun
A certain disapproving attitude toward nightlife is not exactly new among Beantown authorities, but discouraging the playing of darts, solitaire and board games in taverns does sound like something of a novelty [Boston Herald]