“A golfer whose arm was torn off by an alligator during a round of golf in South Carolina has sued the course’s owner under the novel theory that the design of the course created an alligator hazard.” [OnPoint News]
Posts Tagged ‘animals’
No more class pets?
Safety trumps other things dept.: in recent years “school districts have begun adopting policies that in many cases limit or even ban animals in the classroom unless they’re part of science projects.” Among reasons cited: “potential liability concerns.” [Everett, Wash. Herald via Free-Range Kids (“What is the least dangerous, cutest thing we can outlaw next?”]
Taiwan: man sues over trained-bird insults
Law school hypotheticals come to life: “Wang Han-chin, an electrician in central Taiwan, accused five neighbours of teaching their mynah, a parrot-like bird, to curse at him” with the epithet “clueless big-mouthed idiot” after he called the police on their noise. He claimed that the insults caused him emotional distress and distraction at work with resulting injury, but prosecutors found that he had not shown an adequate link between the bird and his injuries. [NineMSN via Lowering the Bar]
Canada: Lawsuit blames province for car-moose collisions
$100K battle over pet in condo
A Queens, N.Y. condo owner won her battle to keep her teacup terrier on the premises after a judge found that the condo board had not, as required, obtained the votes of 80 percent of unit owners before adopting a no-pet rule. “The board spent $100,000 on lawyers and the cost is now being passed on to the condo owners — roughly $4,200 apiece. ‘Nobody in the [building] is too happy with me right now because it’s costing everybody a lot of money and it’s not fair to the homeowners, I feel terrible,’ [the winner] said.” [CBS New York]
Takes date horseback riding, gets sued after fall
“I guess you know your date didn’t go very well when you get sued afterward.” [Lowering the Bar; Stanislav v. Papp] Per the New York appellate court’s statement of facts:
Plaintiff was injured when she fell off a horse while on a date with defendant. She alleges that defendant was negligent in failing to properly warn her and appreciate her limited level of skill as a rider, and in failing to pay proper attention to her request that the horses proceed at a slow pace in a careful manner.
The judges, however, upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case (citations omitted):
Plaintiff has provided no evidence or authority which supports her contention that defendant owed her a duty to insure that the horseback riding experience was safe. As a person with experience riding horses, plaintiff was aware that the risks of falling from a horse or a horse acting in an unintended manner are inherent in the sport. Defendant’s conduct was not so unique or reckless as to create an additional unanticipated risk for plaintiff.
November 5 roundup
- HUD “defers to Constitutional considerations” and dismisses complaint against woman who’d posted note at church seeking Christian roommate [Fox News, earlier; Oct. 28 statement from Michigan Department of Civil Rights]
- Judge denies class action status in Pelman obesity suit against McDonald’s [Bloomberg, earlier]
- “Campers mauled by bear at Lake Louise lose lawsuit against Parks Canada” [Calgary Herald]
- Supreme Court hears oral argument in Schwarzenegger violent-videogame case [Ilya Shapiro, Cato at Liberty]
- Oh, that liberal media: “Consumers’ right to file class actions is in danger” [David Lazarus, L.A. Times, on AT&T v. Concepcion arbitration case]
- NLRB files first complaint challenging employer’s social networking policy [Schwartz, Hyman]
- Publisher’s threats against 800Notes.com gripe site bolster case for libel-tourism law [Paul Alan Levy, CL&P; earlier on Julia Forte case]
- Nevada Supreme Court finds homeowner not liable for motorist’s crash into garden wall [seven years ago on Overlawyered]
Canada: “lawyer considering class action suit for moose-car crash victims”
A lawyer in St. John’s, Newfoundland, “says government could be held accountable for introducing moose to the province in 1912.” The giant herbivores sometimes cause serious car crashes. [Canadian Press via Karlsgodt]
September 28 roundup
- Senators and their Constitutional duties: Christine O’Donnell 1, Dahlia Lithwick 0 [Bernstein/Volokh, Shapiro/Cato, Garnett/Prawfs] More: Ted at PoL.
- 15-year-old sentenced to 20 years for killing dog, family says that isn’t long enough [USA Today]
- “Fla. man settles McDonald’s suit over hot sandwich” [AP, earlier]
- “Blasphemy laws by the back door” [Stuttaford, Secular Right, on UK Koran prosecution] “A Defense of Free Speech by American and Canadian Muslims” [The American Muslim]
- “15 new legal blogs prove the blawgosphere is alive and kicking” [Ambrogi, Law Technology News; reactions, Greenfield and Balasubramani]
- A video on your right to videotape cops [David Rittgers, Cato; Greenfield, Balko]
- “My Lie: Why I Falsely Accused My Father” [Meredith Maran interview, Salon]
- “Judge-Mandated Racial Quotas For Plaintiffs’ Law Firms” [Krauss, PoL]
Plague-squirrel panic!
Coyote offers a behind-the-scenes look at the safety-related closure of a California federal park to camping over the vacationer-heavy July 4 holiday.