Personal injury lawyers filing the first lawsuits arising from a July 11 fire and derailment on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line “said their clients’ damages may be greater than normal due to initial fears that the accident was a terrorist attack.” Attorney Dan Kotin of Corboy & Demetrio, representing plaintiffs, “said the timing of the accident might have magnified their emotional distress. ‘Coming just hours after the subway bombings in India, these women were convinced that they were under attack,’ Kotin said.” Kotin’s clients were treated and released at a hospital at the time; how badly hurt are they now? “I think we’re going to learn over the course of time that the emotional suffering is far worse than the physical pain.” Oh. (Michael Higgins, “First lawsuits filed in subway fire”, Chicago Tribune, Jul. 12).
Botched police raids
Radley Balko has a new report out for Cato (press release)(more). Check out a botched raid near you.
“If something went wrong, we could be sued”
In Great Britain, a nursing home spokeswoman explains why visitors are allowed to bring in cakes and other baked goods only when they’re store-bought, not homemade. (Nanny Knows Best (U.K.), Jun. 14)(via Nobody’s Business). Other food menaces averted: Dec. 13, 1999 (homemade pies), Jan. 29, 2001 (cookies), Feb. 1-3, 2002 (figurines in New Orleans king cake), Apr. 15, 2004 (potluck dinners).
Hey mom, got a surprise for you
A federal judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit by an Illinois woman who “is suing her Wisconsin parents for maintaining an icy driveway that she blames for a fall that broke her ankle two winters ago…. Carriel Louah, 25, visited Darlington, Wis., to surprise her mother on her birthday in January 2005. But the next morning, she was injured when she slipped and fell on her parents’ driveway. …The daughter said that a letter from her mom apologizing months after the fall proves that her parents knew they had a defective gutter for years and did nothing about it.” (“Judge OKs Trial After Daughter’s Surprise Visit Home Ends In Lawsuit”, Channel3000.com, Jul. 13).
Exploding-townhouse suicide: gas co. blamed
Among the first legal actions filed in the wake of the spectacular Manhattan suicide of Dr. Nicholas Bartha is one by neighbors naming energy provider Con Ed (as well as Bartha himself) as a defendant. It alleges that Con Ed failed to install “safety devices” which would presumably have prevented Bartha from deliberately opening a flow of gas to his Upper East Side house for purposes of blowing it up. (AP/MyWay, Jul. 16).
Diet-book author sues Coke over promotion
A St. Louis weight-loss instructor is suing the Coca-Cola Co. over its product loyalty campaign, claiming the program might encourage kids to drink so much of the sugary soft drink that they could die.
The campaign, “My Coke Rewards” gives customers points for buying Coca-Cola products. …
Coca-Cola spokesman Scott Williamson said [Julia] Havey is “horribly misinformed” about the rewards program and the lawsuit is simply an attempt to drum up attention for weight-loss books she writes.
(Christopher Leonard, “Missouri woman sues Coca-Cola”, AP/Springfield, Mo., News-Leader, Jul. 14). Update Aug. 3: she drops suit.
ABA Journal promotes thimerosal quacks
RIAA [might be] told to pay attorney fees
The recording industry association sued Debbie Foster of Oklahoma along with her daughter Amanda for $5000, saying her broadband account had been used for song downloading. But when Foster resisted the suit, and requested to know the dates and song titles of the allegedly infringing downloads, the association failed to respond. Foster filed for summary judgment and RIAA withdrew its suit against her. A judge said Foster counted as a prevailing party under the terms of the Copyright Act and that RIAA should could apply for RIAA to pay her attorney’s fees. (Eric Bangeman, Ars Tecnica, Jul. 13). See, e.g., Nov. 4, 2005, Feb. 7, 2005. (Fixed Jul. 16 to respond to reader comment noting that the judge did not in fact order a fee shift but only declared Foster eligible to apply for one. A PDF of the ruling is here)
$4 million custody fight over dog
In Manhattan, “Alexis Carroll, 26, is suing her former roommate, Michelle Clarity, also 26,” seeking the return of a West Highland terrier that both women had considered their pet when they shared an apartment in Tribeca. She also wants $4 million. (Janon Fisher, “Pals’ $4 M fight over puppy love”, New York Post, Jul. 2)(via KipEsquire).
ATLA name change official
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America is going to attempt to hide the fact that its interests are solely those that enrich trial lawyers, and change its name to the Orwellian “American Association for Justice,” with truth and the American way apparently not making the cut, and “jackpots” too obvious. Al Kamen and Lisa Rickard snicker in the Washington Post. (“Just Don’t Call Them the Suers”, Jul. 14).