Bruce Carton of Securities Litigation Watch writes, regarding the demise of our Trackback function (Sept. 20): I sent you a Trackback when I linked to your great Nelson Rocks post (my post at Securities Litigation Watch is here, where I tried to create a humorous securities disclosure/MD&A version of the Nelson Rocks disclaimer) — I was wondering why it never showed up.”
“Aborigines given ownership of Perth by judge”
In Australia, at least, it seems this whole land claims and reparations business is getting rather serious. “The judgment will not affect homes or businesses, as the Australian courts have ruled that native title does not apply to land owned on a freehold or long-lease basis.” However, if the judgment is upheld against an expected appeal by the state of Western Australia, descendents of natives may win the right to convert public lands in the city (such as urban parks) into permanent encampments, and boaters worry that control over the right to use waterways may also be affected. (Kathy Marks, The Independent (U.K.), Sept. 21; “Native title could lock up parks: Ruddock”, AAP/The Australian, Sept. 22; Chris Merritt and Patricia Karvelas, “Title win boosts capital city claims”, The Australian, Sept. 21). Perth is a city of 1.5 million. A native claim over land in Melbourne and its environs is expected next. (Ben Packham, “Native title claim looms”, Herald-Sun, Sept. 21).
U.K.: “Hair salons offered a cut of solicitors’ fees”
In Salisbury, England, a “firm of solicitors is offering hairdressers cash to refer customers who reveal that they have marital problems. But one hairdresser has criticised the idea as unethical and refuses to help.” The law firm of Trethowans says there is nothing in violation of Law Society rules in its offer of £75 to salon stylists who steer distraught spouses its way, the fee “payable when the courts grant a decree nisi or upon the agreement of a separation deed.” The law firm’s director describes the payments as “just a different sort of advertising” and says he has heard of firms in other geographic areas doing the same thing. (The Times (U.K.), Sept. 1). Alex Wade comments (“‘Short back and sides? How’s your marriage, by the way?'”, The Times (U.K.), Sept. 15).
Defamation suits for the deceased
Truly bad ideas from legal academia, part 2038 of a series: GWU lawprof Jonathan Turley wants to get rid of the common-law rule that you can’t sue someone for injuring the reputation of a dead person. (“Give the Dead Their Due”, Washington Post, Sept. 17). At Volokh Conspiracy, commenter elChato writes,
I for one look forward to the descendants of the original Hatfields and McCoys settling in court who was responsible for starting and perpetuating their long-ago feud. The OK Corral battle can live again. Any descendants of Boss Tweed should be able to sue bookwriters who claim he stole $200 million (where’s the proof?), Huey Long’s descendants should be able to sue anyone who said he engaged in bribery and corruption (he was never convicted- where’s the proof?), and on and on and on.
Yes indeed, a great use for the time and energies of the court system which is otherwise sitting idle because there simply are not enough disputes among the living to keep judges busy.
Deaf sue to force closed-captioning of Redskin football
“The National Association of the Deaf has filed a lawsuit against the Washington Redskins to get team officials to offer closed-captioning for the deaf and hearing-impaired at FedEx Field.” The lawsuit cites the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Hamil R. Harris, “Hearing-Impaired Fans Sue for Access to Closed-Captioning”, Washington Post, Sept. 20). Related: Feb. 19 and Aug. 1, 2000 (movie theaters); Mar. 9-11, 2001 (comedy club, sign interpreters)
British hot coffee: Bogle v. McDonald’s
If you can stand one more post about the McDonald’s coffee case, this 2002 opinion in the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, is extraordinarily sensible. Most notably, coffee served at 65 C (a mere 150 degrees Fahrenheit), will cause a full-thickness burn in 2 seconds, so the court rejected the claim that McDonald’s could have avoided injury by serving not-so-hot coffee, refuting the claims regularly made by the plaintiffs’ bar that a few degrees’ difference could have avoided injury. (Bogle v. McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd., Neutral Citation [2002] EWHC 490 (QB), Case No: HQ0005713.)
No trackbacks
Following a long period in which we battled trackback spam, the entire trackback function just seemed to stop functioning a while back. Since it has been some months now since any legitimate trackback has registered, I’ve turned the whole function off rather than potentially mislead newcomers about its availability. Technorati remains the most convenient way of seeing whether we’ve been linked lately on other sites.
Strictly personal
For those who care about such things, there’s now a slightly updated version of my biographical page up, with (finally) a current photo of the new clean-shaven me (as I’ve been since last December).
“Death after two-hour ER wait ruled homicide”
In Waukegan, Ill., 49-year-old Beatrice Vance died of a heart attack after waiting two hours in a hospital waiting room. A coroner’s jury has declared her death a homicide. (Lake County News-Sun, AP, Chicago Tribune). Medical blogs are discussing: GruntDoc, MedPundit, KevinMD. Plus a discussion at Prof. Bainbridge’s. (cross-posted from Point of Law).
Thumbs down on Va. marriage amendment
As in earlier rounds (May 31 and Nov. 2, 2004, etc.), some proponents are advancing the view that despite its sweeping and ambiguous language, the amendment wouldn’t really endanger any existing legal rights of unmarried persons in Virginia. The Roanoke Times editorially rejects that view: “The legal views conflict sharply. This can mean just one thing: years of litigation under every facet of law that touches upon human interactions. In the antagonistic court arena, the relationships of families and friends will be ripped apart. … Voters should reject this unfair amendment, which has the potential for so many unintended consequences.” (“The anti-family amendment” (editorial), Roanoke Times, Sept. 19). See also Mar. 20, 2005 (sequence of events in Michigan).