Despite a federal judge’s recent dismissal of one slavery-era suit (see Jan. 30), reparations advocates are hoping to score a comeback with a lawsuit demanding damages 82 years after the fact for a lethal rampage by white rioters against black residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921. They’ll have to overcome both sovereign immunity and the statute of limitations, though. (Scott Gold, “Reparations Sought Decades After Race Riot”, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 13). And New York Life has agreed to hand over $20 million to settle claims arising under policies sold to ethnic Armenians in the former Ottoman Empire, many of whom were murdered during the rise of modern Turkey in “a deliberate, systematic and government-controlled genocide that began in April 1915,” according to a statement by California insurance commissioner John Garamendi, who announced the settlement (Armenian-Americans are a potent ethnic lobby in California.) Of the $20 million, $11 million will be set aside for heirs and $3 million for Armenian civic organizations, leaving somewhere around $6 million for lawyers who include Mark Geragos, William Shernoff and Brian Kabateck. According to the last-named of these, the settlement “is the result of a very personal campaign to bring attention to the history of the Armenian Genocide.” The news accounts do not reveal what if any role the court system and insurance law of present-day Turkey — the government of which rejects the genocide charge — might have been allowed to play in the disposition of the claims (“Calif. Commissioner Announces Settlement on Behalf of Survivors of Victims of Armenian Holocaust”, Insurance Journal, Jan. 28; AP/CBS News, Jan. 29; CNN, Feb. 17)(via Law.com)
Man serving life sentence for theft of TV in 1970
How much punishment is enough? More than thirty years ago a jury convicted Junior Allen, a day laborer, of second-degree burglary “for stealing a $140 television set from a home in Johnston County. Judge James Pou Bailey sent Allen to prison for life.” He’s still serving that sentence, after a disciplinary record in prison that officials describe as about average for a maximum security inmate. Earlier this month, for the 26th year in a row, a parole board denied him parole. (“Justice Served? Man Serving Life Sentence For Stealing TV”, WRAL.com, Nov. 25; “Man Serving Life Sentence For Theft Of TV Seeks Freedom”, Nov. 28; “Junior Allen Denied Parole For 26th Straight Year”, Feb. 6) See TalkLeft, Feb. 16; Rooftop Report, Feb. 16.
“Firebug demands insurance proceeds”
Manitoba, Canada: “A man convicted of torching his farm near Ste. Anne two years ago is taking his insurance company to court for its ‘high-handed’ treatment of him. Former municipal counsellor Raymond Michaud was convicted of arson last March …. When asked how a man convicted of burning down his own farm can expect his insurance company to honour his policy, [attorney Anthony] Dalmyn said: ‘That depends on whether the conviction stands on appeal.'” (David Schmeichel, “Flaming chutzpah”, Winnipeg Sun, Feb. 17).
Doctors on hook for $5M
On December 4, 1998, 11-month old Jack Sprague, while with his babysitter, suffered a subdural hematoma that has left him disabled. A Maryland jury just awarded $5 million against three doctors who saw Jack a couple of weeks earlier–the theory being that if they had performed a CT scan on the infant, the parents would have discovered the babysitter’s alleged abuse earlier, preventing the injury. (The babysitter, Nancy Brookbank, was convicted of child abuse and acquitted of assault; the conviction was overturned because defense lawyers were forbidden from questioning the infant’s mother about the civil lawsuit; a retrial has yet to be scheduled.) Never mind that all three doctors diagnosed the asymptomatic infant as healthy: “What harm could it have done to do a CAT scan?” a juror asked. Well, even aside from the cost, and the risk of an anesthetic on an infant, doctors warn against unnecessary CAT scans to children because of the radiation exposure. How many healthy children will end up with cancer because of defensive medicine in response to this verdict? (Michael Amon, “$5 Million Awarded in Medical Malpractice Suit”, Washington Post, Feb. 15; Michael Amon, “Medical Malpractice Suit Goes to Jury”, Washington Post, Feb. 12; Michael Amon, “Pediatricians’ Testimony Backs Doctors”, Washington Post, Feb. 8; Michael Amon, “Court Orders New Trial For Waldorf Babysitter”, Washington Post, Dec. 21). Update: American Medical News provides more info. (Tanya Albert, “Physicians found negligent for not performing CT scan”, Apr. 12).
Sparing parents the temptation?
In Ireland, an official health board has objected to the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant in the County Clare town of Ennis, saying its products might make children fat. “Community dietitians” on the board have insisted that before the restaurant chain has its permit application approved it should “prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to determine what effect the restaurant will have on the health of children in the Ennis area.” (“Board opposes a McDonald’s for Ennis over health factors”, Irish Times, Feb. 3). Further reading on the slimness-through-legal-compulsion crusade: David Gratzer (Manhattan Institute), “Cadbury Replaces Cholera”, National Review Online, Feb. 12; Todd G. Buchholz, “Burgers, Fries, and Lawyers”, Policy Review, Feb.; Kelly Jane Torrence, “Food Fight”, Reason, Dec. 23.
“Gulf war syndrome: the legal case collapses”
United Kingdom: “An eight-year, multimillion pound legal battle by more than 2,000 veterans for compensation for Gulf war syndrome has collapsed because there is not enough scientific evidence to prove their case in court.” Although the government-aided Legal Services Commission is estimated to have spent around ?4m on the case, “a trawl by scientists through 10 years of research worldwide, overseen by the veterans’ lawyers and funded by the LSC, has found no evidence which establishes any specific cause for the range of health problems they suffer. … The collapse of the case comes only months after litigation by parents who blame the MMR vaccine for their children’s autism suffered a similar fate, also for lack of scientific evidence to back up their claims.” (see Dec. 29) (Clare Dyer, The Guardian, Feb. 5). Last year a lawsuit was filed in this country against chemical companies on behalf of Gulf War Syndrome sufferers: see Aug. 25. For more on the weakness of the scientific evidence ascribing GWS to chemicals in the environment during the first Iraq war, see Michael Fumento’s work.
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Update: another alcohol suit
Piling on in search of a Next Tobacco: “A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles [earlier this month] against the world’s two biggest brewers accuses the beer makers of advertising to minors and seeks $4 billion in disgorgement of profit.” The suit, filed by Seattle’s Hagens Berman, whose doings are oft chronicled in this space (see Sept. 9-10, 2002 and links from there, Nov. 24) targets Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller. It invokes California’s distinctively abuse-prone s. 17200 law (see Dec. 8), as well as a California law which bans alcohol advertising intended to encourage underage drinking. (Ira Teinowitz, “$4 Billion Lawsuit Filed Against Beer Giants”, Advertising Age, Feb. 4) (lawsuit website/complaint in PDF format). Two months ago, lawyers led by David Boies filed a would-be class action against a number of alcohol companies over alleged youth marketing (see Dec. 1)
Update: Mormon actress can sue over script profanity
Updating our story of Jan. 24, 2000: “University of Utah theater professors may have violated the constitutional rights of a former student when they refused to allow her to omit profanity from an in-class performance, a federal appeals court ruled [Feb. 3].” Overturning a district court decision, the unanimous Tenth Circuit panel said Christina Axson-Flynn was entitled to a jury trial on her claim that the university theater program violated her rights when it refused to let her avoid reciting profane lines assigned to her characters, and that its claim to be standing on pedagogical principle was a pretext for religious discrimination. (Angie Welling, “Ex-U. actress to get jury trial in bias lawsuit”, Deseret News, Feb. 4). More: David Bernstein comments. Update Jul. 17: case settles.
Update: Ford settles Romo case
Bringing to an apparent close a legal saga often chronicled in this space (see Nov. 26 and links from there, Nov. 27), the Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay $23.7 million plus $10.8 million in interest for a total of $34.5 million to settle the Romo family’s lawsuit concerning a fatal rollover of a 1978 Ford Bronco. The original jury verdict of $290 million in 1999 came after a trial noteworthy both for demagogic argumentation and bizarre jury deliberations, and was slashed by an appeals court in November. (Susan Herendeen, “Ford agrees to $34.5M judgment”, Modesto Bee, Feb. 4).