“A New Jersey woman who was struck in the face with a baseball at a Little League game is suing the young catcher who threw it. … Catcher Matthew Migliaccio was 11 years old at the time and was warming up a pitcher” when his wild throw hit Elizabeth Lloyd, who was seated at a nearby picnic table. [AP] More Little League suits here.
June 25 roundup
- OSHA cracks down on a shooting range with punitive fines. A coming trend? [Kopel, earlier on David Michaels here, here, here, etc.] Gun control lobbying on the public dime, courtesy Mike Bloomberg & Co. [Ron Arnold, Examiner]
- Scheme to use eminent domain to seize underwater home mortgages advances [Future of Capitalism, Felix Salmon]
- One lawyer for every 257 Americans [Funnell]
- Posner knows it: court appointment of experts can head off hired-gun arms race [Josh Wright, Truth on the Market]
- New Canaan, Ct.: “Mom Arrested for Letting Her 13-year-old Babysit Siblings” [Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids]
- John Stossel show on lawsuit abuse, warning labels and related topics;
- Phillies Phanatic: “The most-sued mascot in baseball is heading back to court” [Time, earlier]
“Kids Severely Sunburned at School Because They Didn’t Have ‘Prescription’ for Sunscreen”
According to the parent’s account, the principal of the Tacoma, Washington school cited liability reasons for the prevailing policy; on a happier note, a school official says a newly enacted law will allow that policy to be changed. [Jesse Michener via Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range-Kids]
“Art scholars fear lawsuits in declaring works real or fake”
The New York Times explores an issue we’ve covered several times in this space.
“Woman chasing ex-husband loses slip-and-fall lawsuit”
Jonesboro, Ga.: the defense lawyer called it “a fun fact pattern” involving “quite a cast of characters,” while the plaintiff’s lawyer acknowledged taking the case to trial even while knowing “that there was a less than 10 percent chance of winning on liability. … I never turn down the chance to take a case to trial when there is a real injury involved, no matter how tough the liability picture.” Does that imply that he represents other clients whose injury isn’t as “real”? [Fulton County Daily Report]
The taxi medallion system
As policy, it’s truly atrocious. So why is it so hard to reform? [Jeff Horwitz and Chris Cumming, Slate]
“Heavy Hitter” lawyer ads
Above are versions for the lawyer who uses the ads in Louisville/Lexington, and YouTube makes it easy to check out the versions done for other lawyers in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Rochester/Syracuse, and Erie, Pa. Talking dogs and cheesy car replicas abound.
Also, from Martindale-Hubbell: a selection of 7 “awesomely bad” and “funniest” lawyer ad videos.
Suit blames smartphone app maker for bicyclist’s death
Kashmir Hill explains at Forbes:
Strava ‘player’ William “Kim” Flint got so competitive that when he lost his first place rank as “King of the Mountain” for a steep route in Berkeley, California, he raced down the road on his bike at 40 mph to try to reclaim his title. The 41-year-old electrical engineer had to brake suddenly; he flipped over a car and died on the 2010 ride, reports ABC News. Now his family is suing Strava for negligence, alleging that the start-up is responsible for Flint’s death.
More: BerkeleySide.
California Bar: illegal immigrant should be admitted to practice
Among the trip-ups are that lawyers are sworn by oath to uphold the laws of the land; that federal law bars the granting of state professional licenses to illegals; that federal law makes it unlawful to offer employment to them; and that clients might find themselves in a pickle were their attorneys whisked away on zero notice to face deporation. Nonetheless, the California Bar is pressing ahead with its recommendation of Sergio C. Garcia, 35, of Chico. [ABA Journal, Howard Bashman roundup, Bookworm Room]
Knox v. SEIU
My colleague Ilya Shapiro hails as “a major victory for individual liberties” today’s Supreme Court decision in Knox v. SEIU, in which a five-member majority, reversing the Ninth Circuit, upheld the right of union members not to be assessed political contributions without their consent; Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor concurred in the result but not the majority opinion, while Justices Breyer and Kagan dissented. More: Damon Root, Reason; Daniel Fisher, Forbes; Trevor Burrus, Cato (quoting Justice Alito’s majority opinion: “the effect of the SEIU’s procedure was to force many nonmembers to subsidize a political effort designed to restrict their own rights.”).