The Library of Congress, as part of a project that aims to preserve press coverage of the 2002 campaign, has archived this site as it appeared in the fall of that year, along with dozens of other weblogs. LiveJournal user “UKSubs” pays us a nice tribute in a list of favorite sites, writing: “I am still shocked by the number of ridiculous frivolous lawsuits filed in this country and others on a daily basis. Overlawyered works by finding a nice tone that is firmly between mocking and anger. Everytime I read Overlawyered, a part of me screams, what have I gotten myself into.” And we got a great big influx of traffic from Neal Boortz’s popular site (see Mar. 1-3, 2002) when the Atlanta-based radio host linked to our Jun. 1 item on the lawyer who hopes to offer “post-traumatic slave syndrome” as an excuse for an Oregon defendant accused of murder.
Great moments in environmental protection
“After six years of regulations and restrictions that have cost builders, local governments and landowners an estimated $100 million, new research suggests the ‘threatened’ Preble’s mouse in fact never existed. It instead seems to be genetically identical to the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse, which is considered common enough not to need protection.” (Mead Gruver, “Research: Endangered Mouse Never Existed”, AP/Las Vegas Sun, Jun. 11; “More mice could muddy waters in Preble’s mouse fight”, AP/Casper Star Tribune, May 14)(more on endangered species).
Behind in your child payments? We’ve got a knife here
A Kentucky family court judge is ordering some dads who fall behind in their court-ordered child support payments to choose between going to jail and submitting to a vasectomy. That’s part of a growing trend (see Jan. 7-8, 2003) for courts to issue edicts against procreation, notwithstanding the bad odor that court-ordered sterilization has been in for the past few decades. (Dee McAree, “Deadbeat Dads Face Ban on Procreation”, National Law Journal, Jun. 10). For more on child support, see Feb. 3, Sept. 18, Feb. 25; more.
Mustn’t undermine their authority
Reversing a seven-year-old precedent, the Massachusetts high court has ruled that even though employees enjoy an absolute right to seek jury trials rather than have their claims of bias adjudicated by the state antibias agency, MCAD, employers do not have a right to bring their case to a jury following an adverse MCAD ruling. In its May 6 decision, the court said that recognizing employers’ right to a jury trial, as it had done in a 1997 decision called Lavelle v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, was undermining the agency’s authority. Mustn’t do that! (“SJC decision curbs employer access to jury trial in job-related discrimination cases”, Boston Business Journal, May 7; “Bias case rulings may have wide impact”, BostonWorks.com (Boston Globe), May 23; “Q&A: MCAD’s Dorca Gomez, on jury trial reversal”, Boston Globe, May 16). The law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot (May 12, PDF) said the ruling “further stacks the deck against employers in discrimination cases”. Remarkably, the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU had pressed to abolish employers’ right to jury trial, and hails the new decision in a press release which seems calculated to lull the casual reader into imagining that the two sides are somehow still endowed with symmetrical rights (by de-emphasizing complainants’ privilege of choosing which forum will hear the dispute). No doubt our friends at ATLA, with their frequent rhetoric about the need to prevent erosion of the jury system, will rise to deplore the stripping away of defendants’ access to juries. Right?
Mississippi passes tort reform
Following hard-fought political battles, the Mississippi legislature has passed and sent to Gov. Haley Barbour for his signature a wide-ranging bill limiting liability lawsuits. It includes a $500,000 limit on pain-and-suffering awards in medical malpractice cases, and $1 million in other cases; punitive damage caps; venue reform; joint and several liability limitation; relief of premises owners from liability to contractors’ employees for hazards known to the contractor; and product liability relief for “innocent sellers”. In recent years Mississippi has sometimes been charged with having a legal system more tilted against civil defendants than that of any other state; the new law is likely to help ameliorate that image. (Julie Finley, “Doctors praise tort bill passage”, Natchez Democrat, Jun. 3; overview of H.B. 13 at Mississippi Economic Council site; “Barbour touts tort reforms in D.C., N.Y.”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Jun. 10; American Tort Reform Association press release, Jun. 4). For a few highlights from our coverage of the Magnolia State, see May 15, Apr. 30, Dec. 12, Nov. 16, Nov. 12, Oct. 3, Aug. 19, Jul. 1, and Jun. 29, among many others.
New oil refineries? Forget it
No new oil refineries have been built in the United States since 1976 — not even in California, where capacity shortages have especially pinched. The reason is not the lack of demand, but the legal/regulatory environment. (Mike Angell, “Rules, Small Returns Block New Refineries”, Investor’s Business Daily, Jun. 10; Dale Kasler, “No new California refineries despite soaring gas prices”, AP/Oakland Tribune, Jun. 10).
“Endangered activities list”
Common Good, the legal reform organization founded by author Philip K. Howard, has compiled a list of activities that have become less common because of liability fears. Among those deemed “rare”: “Sell Girl Scout Cookies at the local gas station” and “Stop and assist a person at the scene of an accident.” “Endangered”: “Play on a seesaw that requires two children to cooperate” and “Lend your car to a person in need.” Deemed “extinct,” perhaps with poetic exaggeration: “Fire a poorly performing teacher or government official” and “Keep a public lake open for swimming.” (“Save these activities … before it?s too late!”, Common Good, undated, announced Jun. 3)
N.J. bans bars’ “Ladies’ Nights”, supposed beneficiaries glum
“Why, after all, would a bar offer discounts to women? Not because the owner harbors a deep-seated hostility toward men, perpetuating centuries of oppression. People who run such establishments understand that a lot of men patronize taverns partly to meet women, and that they will come more often and stay longer if women are abundant than if they are scarce….[I]n New Jersey, unreasonableness rules.” (Steve Chapman, “Putting the brakes on ladies’ nights”, Chicago Tribune, Jun. 6). See also Aug. 4, 2003 (Calif.)
Indiana court: cell-phone companies not responsible for auto accident
Terry Williams collided with Kellie Meagher, who was allegedly talking on a Cingular phone at the time — so Williams sued Cingular. Neither the trial court nor the Court of Appeals was impressed, even after Williams submitted a Blondie comic strip in support of the cause. The court noted that it wouldn’t impose liability on a mapmaker for a driver who causes an accident while looking at a map. (Kevin Corcoran, “Court: Don’t blame cell-phone maker for crash”, Indianapolis Star, Jun. 5). However, plaintiffs have successfully sued employers in other cases where employees were using cell phones while driving. (Matt Sundeen, “Cell Phones and Highway Safety: 2003 State Legislative Update”, NCSL, Jan. 2004).
Nutritious, fattening or both?
Also via the Colorado Civil Justice League May 21 newsletter: class members will receive $240,000 and a law firm representing the class will get $350,000 in fees following the settlement of an action against Chemins Company Inc. of Colorado Springs over mislabeled powdered protein supplements. The supplements allegedly contained twice as many carbohydrates and half as much protein as specified on their label. The settlement was billed as being worth $3 million but only 117 certified claimants stepped forward instead of the projected 10,000. Hill & Robbins had originally requested $600,000 in fees but the judge said $825 an hour was too much so he cut it to $481 an hour, which still leaves the lawyers with a bigger share of the booty than their clients. (Rocky Mountain News coverage: John Accola, “Class-action morass”, May 7; “Two lead plaintiffs won’t get bonuses”, May 7; “The class-action game and how to slow it”, (editorial), May 14; letter to the editor from attorney Ronald L. Wilcox of Hill & Robbins, May 14).