EPA gives millions to environmental groups that sue it

I’ve got a new post up at Cato at Liberty about the convenient symbiosis between the EPA and advocacy groups it funds that sue it demanding that it regulate new things. “Sweetheart” or otherwise, the resulting legal actions help deploy taxpayers’ money in service of the relentless expansion of the regulatory state. More: Bader.

A circus within a circus within a circus

Circus number one:  The NBA.

Circus number two:  A show on VH1 about the wives of NBA players called “Basketball Wives.”

The three-ring circus that encompasses all of these:  A series of law suits brought by various NBA players over their depictions, or the depictions of their loves — or in some cases, their wives — by the program, including legal claims in the suit filed by Chris Bosh claiming infringement of something called “life rights.”

The latest suit, this one by Gilbert Arenas, focuses on alleged false inferences concerning a relationship between him and someone called Govan:

A significant issue Arenas raises in this lawsuit is the fact that the show uses a mix of current and ex-wives and girlfriends. In using the title Basketball Wives, it creates an inference that they’re all wives of players. Some of the promotional material mentioned below would also indicate they are still involved in the players’ lives and can comment accordingly.

However, some of these women have been through messy breakups with their respective NBA player. If Arenas were to win his lawsuit and prevent the inclusion of Govan, one has to wonder whether other players would file suit to prevent their ex’s from taking part in the show. Arenas makes the argument that the title of the show is misleading as it applies to him. In reality it’s misleading as it applies to most of the participants. As ridiculous as this whole case may seem, it could lead to the end of this show or at least a title change to accurately reflect the participants involved.

I wouldn’t count on that.

Evidently basketball players have little to do during their extremely brief off-seasons.  The “Basketball Wives” claims, however, look like sloppy law but fine sport in themselves — the kind we big-boned types handle so much better than we do layups.

Yes, if God hadn’t invented the entertainment-sports industrial complex, we lawyers would have had to invent it.  Or did we?  Either way, what could be better summer fun?  The circus is in town!

July 8 roundup

Hot air lawsuit judge refuses to restrict hot air

Would you like to fly in my beautiful lawsuit?

A judge refused to issue a gag order on attorneys involved in a lawsuit by the owners of a Coachella [California] olive farm aimed at preventing hot-air balloon companies from flying over their property, and also rejected a bid to have the case moved out of Indio. . . .

JCM attorney Andrew Rauch had asked Superior Court Judge Randall D. White to issue a gag order to prevent attorneys from speaking with the media. . . .

Rauch said attorneys for the balloon companies are “using the media to publicly vilify us” and are attempting to “try the case in the press.”

Defense attorney Robert Gilliland said Rauch last month withdrew a separate request to seal the court records involving the case.

White rejected the gag order request, saying such an order should only be issued if there were extreme circumstances calling for it, and he did not consider such a situation to exist in this case.

Well, that’s one way to keep a case out of the press:  File a motion seeking a virtually unheard-of gag order in a routine civil case about fairly silly issues.

It’s just not a very good way.

(Younger readers may click here if they have any interest in “getting” the clever reference in the opening sentence of this post.)