Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

It’s only fair, the GOP had Enron

“The embattled securities class-action law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman received some political backing last week with the release of a statement signed by four Democrats from the House of Representatives condemning last month’s indictment in Los Angeles of the firm on criminal charges. … The statement was signed by three representatives from New York — Charles Rangel, Carolyn McCarthy and Gary Ackerman — and Robert Wexler from Florida. One of the founders of the law firm, Melvyn Weiss, is a high-profile fund-raiser for the Democratic Party.” (Julie Creswell, New York Times/Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News, Jun. 12).

TheLawyer.com, based in the United Kingdom, fumbles the story badly by reporting that Milberg “has picked up a powerful ally in the shape of the US Congress”. (Joanne Harris, “US Congress slams Milberg Weiss indictment”, Jun. 13, note the equally erroneous headline). In fact, the four representatives who signed the letter are hardly typical members even of the Democratic caucus in the House, let alone of the Congress as a whole (which, someone should tell TheLawyer.com, is controlled by Republicans). See, for example, Jeremy Pelofsky, “Democrats returning money to two Milberg lawyers”, Reuters, Jun. 9 (Democratic National Committee, perhaps wiser than Reps. Rangel, McCarthy et al., seek to distance themselves from firm by returning some of its donations, a step already taken by New York’s Eliot Spitzer). More: Prof. Bainbridge, Jun. 12.

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By reader acclaim: foiled robber sues store employees

“A man who was beaten by employees of a store he was trying to rob is now suing.” Dana Buckman “pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a repeat violent felon” after police say he pulled a semi-automatic pistol and demanded cash from workers at an AutoZone in Rochester last July. Instead, “employees Eli Crespo and Jerry Vega beat him with a pipe and held Buckman at bay with his own gun. …Now Buckman is suing the auto parts store and the two employees who beat him, claiming they committed assault and battery and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.” (“Man who tried to rob store sues for ’emotional distress'”, AP/WAVY, Jun. 12; Michael Zeigler, “Foiled robber claims he’s the victim”, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Jun. 10).

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Canada’s hate speech law

Selective enforcement is one of the many problems with a law that can reach out to ensnare David Ahenakew, an elderly aboriginal leader in Saskatchewan, but seems to pass right over preachers of violent jihad. “But hate laws aren’t really about hate. They’re about abusing and stretching the criminal code to criminalize political dissidents.” (Ezra Levant, “Abolish foolish law”, Calgary Sun/Canoe, Jun. 12).

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English-only cheesesteak ordering? Tell it to the judge

“An English-only ordering policy at one of Philadelphia’s most famous cheesesteak joints has prompted a city agency to pursue a discrimination complaint. The city’s Commission on Human Relations plans to file the complaint Monday, alleging the policy at Geno’s Steaks discourages customers of certain backgrounds from eating there, said Rachel Lawton, acting executive director.” Owner Joseph Vento, who posted the now-famous signs telling customers, “This is America: When Ordering ‘Please Speak English'”, says “he has no plans to budge. ‘I would say they would have to handcuff me and take me out because I’m not taking it down.'” (Patrick Walters, “City agency: Cheesesteak shop’s English-only policy discriminates”, AP/PennLive, Jun. 12; BizzyBlog; Bainbridge, Jun. 10). P.S. At XRLQ, commenter “Doc Rampage” writes, “If this suit goes forward, I’m going to sue Starbucks for making me say ‘Venti’ instead of ‘large.'” Update Feb. 18, 2007: city commission finds probable cause for discrimination complaint.

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Welcome Reader’s Digest readers

“There’s big money in blaming others for your own bad luck. Too bad it costs all of us.” Roundup of numerous baffling/colorful cases most of which will be familiar to readers of this site; yes, I helped, and yes, reporter Michael Crowley generously quotes me and cites this website (“That’s Outrageous: Lawsuit Lunacy”, Jul.).

More: in a sidebar, the Digest’s Dan O’Connor lists us among three sites it recommends that “can help you learn more and speak up”.

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Bar, bank blamed in drug shooting

On Jun. 19, 2005, police say, at the Keg of Evanston pub in suburban Chicago, Antoine Hill, then 19, shot to death Robert Gresham, 22, in a dispute over drugs. Now Gresham’s estate is suing the bar, for allegedly letting Hill inside and serving him alcohol; and a bank, as well as Hill himself. “Charles Jacques, the attorney representing Gresham’s estate, said he suspects the bank might own the building the bar is in.” Hill has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder. (“Suit filed in Evanston shooting”, Chicago Tribune, Jun. 9).

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“The timorous may stay at home”

John Caher in the New York Law Journal discusses the views of Benjamin Cardozo on assumption of risk:

Assumption of risk in cases arising from athletic or recreational activities is a principle that has been part of New York law at least since 1929, when in Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Co., 250 NY 479, Chief Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo said that one who “takes part in … sport accepts the dangers that inhere in it so far as they are obvious and necessary.” That case involved a plaintiff who fell from an amusement park ride called “The Flopper” and suffered a leg injury.

“Nothing happened to the plaintiff except what common experience tells us may happen at any time as the consequence of a sudden fall,” Cardozo wrote in reversing the Appellate Division, 1st Department. “Many a skater or a horseman can rehearse a tale of equal woe… . One might as well say that a skating rink should be abandoned because skaters sometimes fall.” He added: “The timorous may stay at home.”

(“Panel Rules Hurt Olympic Skater Assumed ‘Inherent Risk’ of Sport”, May 1). Declarations and Exclusions (Apr. 7) and Rick Karcher (May 22) have more on some recent assumption-of-risk cases in California, including a 6-1 decision by the state’s high court ruling that a college baseball player could not sue over a “bean ball”. See Mike McKee, “Calif. Supreme Court: Ballplayer Can’t Sue for Bean Ball”, The Recorder, Apr. 10.

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UK: Danger! Palm trees ahead!

“Palm trees along the seafront at Torbay have been emblematic of the English Riviera for decades. Now they have become emblematic of the modern obsession with health and safety. Council officials have written to the chamber of trade saying the trees are a potential hazard because their sharp leaves could cause injuries to eyes or faces.” (Richard Savill, “Palm tree ahead danger”, The Telegraph, Jun. 10; Steven Morris, “Keep dangerous palms off the street, Torbay told”, The Guardian, Jun. 10)(& Sense Is Not Common).

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