The injured man “took the [legal] action after health and safety inspectors concluded the hotel failed to carry out a risk assessment on the dangers of pruning. They also said that his employer should have given him training on where to place the ladder.” [Telegraph, Daily Mail]
“The Plumpy’nut Dustup”
The nutritional paste seems to be a really useful invention in getting international food assistance to the poor. Does that mean it’s okay to break its patent? [Alanna Sheikh, AidWatch]
Presidential decrees and hospital visitation rights
Beldar offers one dissenting view. More: David Link, Independent Gay Forum.
Client, lawyer charged with extortion over settlement talks
The lawyer is a prominent figure in Orange County, Calif. politics. As usual, the tricky part comes in distinguishing between actual extortion and the way lawyers are often known to behave in ordinary, garden-variety settlement talks [Newport Beach Daily Pilot via ABA Journal]
Do as we say dept.: EPA and lead
The Environmental Protection Agency — currently rolling out new regulations expected to substantially boost the cost of home renovation projects and drive many smaller, less formal repair providers from the market, all in the name of lead reduction — turns out to have lead exposures at its own headquarters exceeding the relevant federal standards in one case by 92,500 percent [Daily Caller] Can it fine itself?
Money, tenure, and the future of legal education
Elie Mystal at Above the Law reports from a panel discussion on nontraditional models of law schooling:
… The educators had great things to say about their programs, but not one of them were focused on the cost to students. …
When the panel opened up for questions, I thought the audience would slam the panel for their incremental changes and full price demands. I totally misread the room on that one. There was only one thing an audience of professors cared about when assessing new educational models.
Tenure.
Can you get tenure doing this? Will you be up for tenure more quickly doing that? Will tenure requirements be softened for professors that teach over the summer? How do I get tenure?
Complaint: inmate might be allergic to execution drug
A lawyer for a condemned Ohio prisoner says it could be illegal to execute him because he may be allergic to the anesthesia used in the lethal injection procedure. [AP/Columbus Dispatch via James Taranto, who has additional background]
Did cops push him off a roof?
A Brooklyn jury found his story believable enough to award him $1 million, but an appellate court wasn’t having it. [John Hochfelder, New York Injury Cases Blog]
Probate poser in Arizona
Marie Long, now 88, was “worth $1.3 million when she [suffered a stroke and] came under the protection of Maricopa County’s probate court in 2005. Today, she’s destitute and depends on taxpayers for support.” Where’d the money go? [Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic and more via ABA Journal] But see: A different view of the affair [Phoenix New Times via ABA Journal]
U.K.: “Lawyers quit litigation against alleged file-sharers”
From Computing (UK):
Law firm Tilly Bailey & Irvine (TBI) has stopped the bulk mailing of legal threats on behalf of rights holders to people accused of illegal file-sharing.
The move follows a campaign by consumer charity Which?, claiming the practice is unfair. It effectively reduces the number of UK law firms involved in bulk litigation against alleged file-sharers to one: London-based ACS Law Solicitors.
It makes a contrast with the situation in the U.S., where there seems to be no shortage of law firms eager to represent RIAA and other rights holders in mass litigation campaigns against consumers. Which? dubbed the mass demand letters “speculative invoices” and called them to bar regulators’ attention as a potential ethical violation.