Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Liability roundup

  • Home lab butane cannabis fatality: “The Hash Oil contributory negligence lawsuit you’ve all been waiting for” [Elie Mystal, Above the Law]
  • With Sheldon Silver out of the speaker’s chair, New York has better chance at reducing sky-high litigation costs [Manhattan Institute, earlier on scaffold law]
  • Per Norton Rose Fulbright annual business survey, responding companies more than twice as likely to be facing five or more lawsuits if based in U.S. than if based elsewhere [Norton Rose Fulbright, Bob Dorigo Jones]
  • “Hearing: H.R. 1927, the “Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015” [April House Judiciary Committee with John Beisner, Mark Behrens, Alexandra Lahav, Andrew Trask]
  • Legal outlook for Illinois defendants deteriorates as Madison County sees resurgence in suits and Cook County remains itself [ICJL]
  • Brown v. Nucor Corp.: did Fourth Circuit just try to gut Wal-Mart v. Dukes rules against combining bias plaintiffs in dissimilar situations into class action? [Hans Bader/Examiner, Derek Stikeleather/Maryland Appellate Blog]
  • No wonder New York City consolidation trials are so popular with asbestos lawyers if they yield average of $24 million per plaintiff [Chamber-backed Legal NewsLine] Information in eye-opening Garlock asbestos bankruptcy (allegations of perjury, witness-coaching, etc.) now unsealed and online [same, earlier]

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2 Comments

  • Re: “The Hash Oil contributory negligence lawsuit you’ve all been waiting for”

    Wrong analysis I think, although the result under OR law would likely be the same as contributory negligence.

    The case was brought in Multnomah County, OR, where the events occurred.

    OR only recognizes “modified comparative negligence”.

    See OR Code Section 18.470.

    Contributory negligence is not a bar to recovery if the fault attributable to claimant is less than combined fault of defendants.

    Given the facts stated in the news report, I think it is likely the result would be the same as contributory negligence. But it is a modified comparative negligence case under OR law.

    But I’m not an OR lawyer.

  • […] Analyzing the Norton Rose survey numbers: US business faced the most litigation, followed by UK, Canada had least [Above the Law, earlier] […]