Lawsuit: chemical suppliers, banks should pay Gulf War vets

Houston attorney Gary Pitts has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn on behalf of veterans of the first U.S.-led war with Iraq “alleging that companies that exported chemicals to Iraq in the 1980s, and the banks that financed those deals, are liable for illnesses the U.S. veterans sustained from exposure to chemical weapons stockpiles that were blown up during the 1991 war.” (Phil Hirschkorn and Deborah Feyerick, “Gulf War veterans sue banks, firms over chemicals”, CNN, Aug. 20; Hartford Courant; Newsday)(& letter to the editor, Sept. 18).

Update: Ness Motley to fight misconduct verdict

Not unexpectedly, the billionaire tobacco/ asbestos plaintiff’s law firm says it will contest a jury’s $36 million verdict, including $28 million in punitive damages, for having allegedly placed its own financial interests ahead of those of its clients in a class action settlement over a Canadian telemarketing swindle (see Jul. 7). The verdict is said to be the second-largest against a law firm in the past ten years: “‘Anytime you see an award of that magnitude, you can expect the jury senses lawyer greed, and that angers them,’ said Joe McMonigle, a San Francisco attorney and former chairman of the American Bar Association’s committee on lawyers’ professional liability.” (Frank Norton, “Reputations hinge on Ness Motley appeal”, Charleston Post & Courier, Aug. 3; “Lowcountry law firm contesting verdict in legal ethics case”, AP/The State (Columbia, S.C.), Aug. 4).

Meanwhile, two lawsuits by former Ness Motley attorneys are painting an unattractive picture of life inside the giant firm, which is now known as Motley Rice (more than two dozen attorneys and employees quit and formed a second firm, Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook and Brickman.) In one case, dissident attorneys have asked a judge to ground a $13 million Dassault Falcon used by star lawyers Ron Motley and Joe Rice; in another, a female attorney charges a pattern of sexual harassment and misconduct at the firm, which it strenuously denies (Tony Barthelme, “Court filings shed light on Ness Motley schism”, Charleston Post & Courier, Aug. 22).

Update: a wide-aisle mandate?

Trial is now underway in Oakland in Disability Rights Advocates’ suit against the Mervyn’s discount clothing chain, charging that it is unlawful for racks and displays of merchandise to be placed so close together in the stores that persons in wheelchairs cannot navigate without assistance (see Aug. 12; also Jun. 29-Jul. 2, 2001). The chain has estimated that it would face losses of $40 million a year if it had to uncrowd its merchandise displays by providing a minimum of 32 inches between aisles as is being demanded, with losses particularly severe at peak shopping times such as the Christmas season. Macy’s and Robinson’s-May’s, which operate generally higher-priced retail stores in California, have already capitulated to DRA lawsuits demanding 32-inch aisles. (“Mervyn’s defends aisle size”. San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 22). Update Dec. 13: store wins.

Update: Fox gets skinned

Federal judge Denny Chin in Manhattan rebuffed Fox News’s request for an injunction to prevent the Penguin Group from releasing humorist Al Franken’s new book with a title mocking the network’s “Fair and Balanced” slogan (see Aug. 12). “There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case,” said Judge Chin. “This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally.” “During arguments held before his ruling, Chin asked Fox lawyer Dorie Hansworth if she really believed that the [book’s] cover was confusing. ‘To me, it’s quite ambiguous as to what the message is,’ she said. ‘It’s a deadly serious cover … This is much too subtle to be considered a parody.” The book’s cover is dominated by its title, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right”. (Gail Appleson, “Fox Loses Bid to Stop Sale of Franken Book”, Reuters/Yahoo, Aug. 22). Ernest Svenson (Ernie the Attorney) chides Fox not only for the weakness of its substantive trademark position but also for using its complaint as a vehicle for personal attacks on Franken: “the courts aren’t there for litigants who want retribution.” (“A lawyer’s take on Al Franken’s First Round Legal Victory”, Blogcritics, Aug. 22). Eugene Volokh also comments.

$550 million? We’re worth it

Or was it the miles? “Lawyers who represented millions of retailers in their suit against Visa and MasterCard on debit card processing costs said on Tuesday they are seeking among the highest class action legal fees ever for nailing down $3 billion in combined settlements.” Plaintiffs’ lawyers led by New York’s Constantine & Partners want $550 million plus expenses, per Reuters (“Retailers’ Lawyers Want $550 Mln in Fees”, Reuters, Aug. 19); $609 million plus expenses, per the New York Times (Jennifer Bayot, “Lawyers Seek Big Fee for Negotiating Credit Card Deal”, New York Times, Aug. 19). The lawyers have hired well-known Columbia law professor John Coffee to review(/defend) their fee. According to a press release from the lawyers, the deadline for class members to object is Sept. 5, and the fairness hearing in federal court in Brooklyn is scheduled for Sept. 25. (settlement website)

Read On…

Menace of church incense

Just when you thought it was safe to approach the altar: “An Irish Government minister has warned that burning incense in churches could be harmful to the altar boys and girls who help Roman Catholic priests celebrate mass. Jim McDade, who is a former family doctor, said the children were at risk because they inhaled the carcinogenic smoke produced when incense is burnt close by.” (James Helm, “Irish minister links incense to cancer”, BBC, Aug. 22).

Midwives disappearing in NYC

New York City may soon be left with only a single independent center for natural childbirth: “The Brooklyn Birthing Center says its insurance company has stopped covering midwives, and a costlier new policy could push them out of the baby-birthing business as well. The news comes less than a week after the highly regarded Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center, which delivers more than 400 babies a year, announced it will shut down its West 14th Street [Manhattan] birthing rooms on Sept. 1 because of malpractice insurance costs it says have quadrupled.” All three independent midwifery centers in New Jersey closed in recent years; one remains in the Bronx which receives federal funding and insurance. (Susan Edelman, “Midwife Strife Hits Moms in Brooklyn”, New York Post, Aug. 17; Dan Mangan, “Midwife Crisis”, New York Post, Aug. 12). And in Tallahassee, Fla., a doubling of insurance rates has contributed to the closing of Full Circle Women’s Health, a nonprofit midwifery agency whose efforts have been credited with helping reduce the county’s high rate of neonatal mortality. (Jeff Burlew, “Area midwifery agency closing after 20 years”, Tallahassee Democrat, Aug. 13)(more on obstetric liability)(& update Sept. 3, letter to the editor Sept. 18)

Welcome Phila., Denver, Okla., Jacksonville readers

We’re named among the weekly “Web Winners” picks of Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Reid Kanaley, who recommends us for “such class-action gems as the one in California demanding discounts for men on ‘ladies night.'” (Aug. 14). Vincent Carroll, writing in Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, predicts that the forthcoming Kobe Bryant trial is unlikely to resemble the atrocious O.J. Simpson trial, and quotes our editor on the question of jury selection and its abuse (“Spectacle of O.J. trial won’t repeat itself here”, Aug. 16).

Read On…

“Senioritis” victim sues for college admission

Hillsborough, N.C.: “A Guilford County high school graduate who recorded a perfect SAT score is suing UNC Chapel Hill, alleging the school refused to admit him after his grade point average dropped. Mark Edmonson, a National Merit Scholarship finalist, scored a perfect 1,600 on his SAT last year, but his grade point average fell from 3.8 to 3.5 in his senior year at Northwest Guilford High School. … ‘His senior year grades are C’s, D’s and F’s,’ Ziko said [Thomas Ziko, a lawyer for the state].” (“Student who aced SAT sues UNC for denying entry”, Charlotte Observer, Aug. 20). An earlier acceptance letter from UNC had said, “We expect you to continue to achieve at the same level that enabled us to provide this offer of admission”. Edmonson’s family is beginning to talk about how the university didn’t sufficiently take into account the consequences of his having a disability, attention-deficit disorder (Eric Ferreri, “UNC admission rescission sparks suit”, Durham Herald-Sun, Aug. 19) (via “Begging to Differ”, Aug. 21; Kimberly Swygert at No. 2 Pencil also comments (Aug. 21)).

Meanwhile, as Joanne Jacobs notes, “Blair Hornstine, who sued her school district for $2.7 million for trying to name a co-valedictorian, has settled for $60,000, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. She’ll get $15,000; the rest will go to her lawyers.” (see Jul. 12 and links from there). Kimberly Swygert has more as does the Weekly Standard’s Jonathan Last (Aug. 20)(& letter to the editor, Sept. 18).

Doctor slang? Think twice

“The inventive language created by doctors the world over to insult their patients – or each other – is in danger of becoming extinct,” according to one expert. “The increasing rate of litigation means that there is a far higher chance that doctors will be asked in court to explain the exact meaning of NFN (Normal for Norfolk), FLK (Funny looking kid)”, CTD (Circling the Drain, expected to die soon) or GPO (Good for Parts Only). (“Doctor slang is a dying art”, BBC, Aug. 18; Roger Dobson, “Doctors issue warning over misuse of slang”, British Medical Journal, Aug. 16). MedPundit (Aug. 18) also weighs in, and an Iain Murray commenter has compiled EMS acronym slang. (& welcome Law.com readers)