- Dontdatehimgirl.com lawsuit suffers another setback. A court ruled today that the Pittsburgh-based lawyer-plaintiff can’t sue the Florida-based website in Pennsylvania. (Howard Bashman). The suit against the website is frivolous in any case; it is well-established that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes the website. (The suit against the posters, on the other hand, is a legitimate defamation claim.) Previously covered on Overlawyered: Jul. 2006, Jan. 2007.
- In Easton, Pennsylvania, a police officer accidentally shoots and kills another police officer after cleaning his gun; now the widow is filing a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city, the mayor, city administrator, the police chief, the shooter, the head of the SWAT team of which the players were both members, a fellow officer who was standing nearby, and the retired former head of the SWAT team. I’m sure one of them has the money.
- Philadelphia city councilwoman — and some tourism officials — wants to require licensing of city tour guides, including history tests, so that they don’t provide inaccurate history to tourists.
- In 1999, a 19-year old college student named Richard Beers was killed while working construction over the summer. He had stopped the backhoe he was using on a hill, left the motor running, and walked behind it. It rolled down and ran him over. So his family blamed… Caterpillar, which had manufactured the backhoe, and sued for $25 million plus punitive damages. Last week, an Ohio jury found Caterpillar not liable — and it only took eight years (six years after the suit was filed) to resolve the matter.
Posts Tagged ‘libel slander and defamation’
April 2 roundup
- Illinois Justice Robert R. Thomas libel ruling award reduced to $4 million, but otherwise upheld by trial judge. “Essentially, the chief justice is still taking advantage of the system he dominates by trying to grab a personal windfall just because an opinion column in a newspaper speculated about politics on the bench.” (earlier) [Chicago Tribune; update from Lattman with opinion]
- Alabama woman claims Starbucks coffee caused burns when she spilled on herself, sues. But I thought only Albuquerque McDonald’s coffee could cause burns? [Birmingham News (h/t P.E.)]
- Update: Amway claims jurors in Utah case based $19.25 million award (Mar. 21) on number of P&G lawyers sitting at the table and engaged in improper averaging to reach nonunanimous result. [Salt Lake Tribune]
- Copyright claimed in hedge-fund advertising brochure posted by blog [DealBreaker; Reuters]
- N.D. Cal. federal judge: National Environmental Policy Act can be used to make speculative global-warming arguments against overseas government investment. [AP/Forbes]
- Honor among thieves? Law firms turn on Milberg Weiss [press release]
- Lawyer-to-the-stars Marty Singer (Dec. 9, Jan. 27, 2006) was also paid $25k from Senator Harry Reid’s campaign fund in failed attempt to squash AP coverage of fishy land deal. [WaPo]
- Consumer World head has an idea that is so good, it must be mandated. [Kazman @ CEI Open Market]
- This date in Overlawyered. 2001: NY legislature refuses to act on accident fraud. 2002: Roger Parloff on 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. 2004: Reparations claims against the British over 19th century actions. 2006: $1M for the first fifteen minutes of unlawful detention, $1M/year thereafter.
Keep the public informed, get sued
Back in November and December of 2006, there was an E. Coli outbreak involving Taco Bell restaurants; dozens of customers were sickened. (It goes without saying that this led to lawsuits against the restaurant chain by those who got sick.) By early December, health officials had linked the outbreak to the chain; Taco Bell immediately went into action to locate the source of the problem.
Initial testing indicated that green onions used by Taco Bell were contaminated; moreover, in previous outbreaks, green onions had been the problem. So Taco Bell, in an effort to reassure the public, announced its findings and assured the public, via a series of press releases over the next few days, that “in an abundance of caution” it was removing green onions from its restaurants and would no longer sell them.
A few days later, Taco Bell announced that in fact green onions were not the culprit, but that to be extra-cautious, it would switch produce suppliers. (As we know, it turned out that lettuce was probably the source of the problem, and this was announced.) Everything that Taco Bell said was accurate; moreover, it correctly informed the public that green onions were not to blame once the CDC had confirmed this. Additionally, Taco Bell never mentioned the identity of its green onion supplier. Nonetheless, that supplier, Boskovich Farms, filed a lawsuit against the chain this past Friday, accusing Taco Bell of defamation and a series of related claims.
In short, Taco Bell is being blamed for being too open with the public in revealing information as the investigation developed. Of course, to the extent that Taco Bell failed to provide this information, the lawyers for the people who were sickened would be screaming “cover up.”
By the way, you may wonder why Boskovich Farms is claiming it was defamed even though Taco Bell never mentioned its name. Well, the company claims that those in the produce industry knew its identity as Taco Bell’s green onion supplier, so even though Taco Bell never mentioned it by name, its reputation was harmed. A reasonable claim, in the abstract. Presumably, though, those knowledgeable and sophisticated enough to possess this information are probably sophisticated enough not to be swayed by a Jay Leno monologue (!) almost three months after the incident — one of the two pieces of evidence cited by Boskovich in its complaint.
Worst new idea of the day
Title says it all: “Let presidential candidates sue one another for libel”. Oh, great, then White House races will start depending on who’s more skilled at manipulating the judicial process (although now that you mention it Bush v. Gore has already gone far to advance that proposition). (Joseph H. Cooper, Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 16).
Lawsuits against restaurant critics
New York Times legal correspondent Adam Liptak has a good article summing up the state of play on legal actions arising from unkind reviews of eateries, including several cases familiar to our readers (Feb. 27, Philadelphia; Feb. 10, Belfast; Jan. 3, 2006, Dallas)(“Serving You Tonight Will Be Our Lawyer”, Mar. 7). More: PhilaFoodie.
March 6 roundup
- NY trial lawyers furious over state medical society’s plan to put informational posters and postcards in docs’ waiting rooms re: Topic A [Kingston Daily Freeman]
- But can you sue Spider-Man? “Superheroes” linked to multiple pediatric injuries [BlogMD]
- By reader acclaim: German farmer’s suit claims teenagers’ fireworks scared his ostrich Gustav right out of the breeding mood [AP/Jake Young]
- Doug Weinstein is a fan of Edwards, but many of his commenters aren’t [InstaLawyer first, second posts]
- Former Georgia legislator, author of bill that resulted in Genarlow Wilson’s 10-year sentence (see Feb. 8), says he’s sorry [Towery @ TownHall]
- A lesson for grabby New Orleans Mayor Nagin? “In the massive floods of 1993, levees broke up and down the Mississippi — and no one sued. They rebuilt.” [Surber]
- “Defamation of religion” soon to be regarded as contrary to int’l law? [Brayton channeling Volokh](more: Stuttaford)
- Wouldn’t you just know: Bertolt Brecht’s sly legal dodges, at expense of Kurt Weill and other collaborators, still keep litigators busy long after his death [National Post]
- U.K.: “Rectorial liability is a time bomb under every enticing glebe” [Guardian]
- NYC subway system didn’t own or control access stairs, but can be sued over slip-fall anyway [Point of Law]
- Grocery worker with Down’s Syndrome couldn’t follow basic sanitary rule, but that didn’t mean supermarket could fire him [three years ago on Overlawyered]
Remember, “Judges are like umpires”
Last October, New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle’s plane crashed into an apartment building in Manhattan, killing Lidle and the flight instructor who was on board. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, but has not yet determined the cause of the crash or issued its final report (nor has it even been able to say definitively who was flying the plane). But New York dentist Larry Rosenthal knows who is at fault: he’s suing the estate of Lidle for $7 million, claiming that to be the value of his apartment and belongings destroyed when the plane hit his building. He has nowhere to live and is a “refugee,” although Rosenthal’s attorney allows that “It’s not as bad as someone in Katrina.”
There are probably no precedent-setting issues in the case, but we do get this amusing bit of legal analysis from his lawyer (New York Post):
“There’s no excuse for smacking a plane into an apartment building in the middle of Manhattan,” said the Rosenthals’ lawyer, David Jaroslawicz.
That’s not necessarily the case, though; last week, Lidle’s widow figured out an excuse: she filed a lawsuit of her own against the plane manufacturer and associated companies, claiming that some unknown design flaw in the plane caused the crash.
The plaintiff is no stranger to litigation; he is currently suing a former patient who he claims has defamed him on the internet. That defamation suit is based on claims on one of the two gripe sites set up by former patients: Baddentist.com and Lyingdentist.com, which contain many curious and colorful allegations. Smile!
February 26 roundup
- High-school basketball player gets TRO over enforcement of technical foul after pushing referee. [Huntington News; Chad @ WaPo]
- Madison County court rejects Vioxx litigation tourism. [Point of Law]
- Faking disability for accommodation disqualifies bar applicant [Frisch]
- DOJ antitrust enforcement doesn’t seem to be consistent with U.S. trade policy position. [Cafe Hayek]
- Professor falsely accused of sexual harassment wins defamation lawsuit against former plaintiff, but too late to save his job. [Kirkendall]
- Watch what you say dept.: Disbarred attorney and ex-felon sues newspaper, letter-to-editor writer, Illinois Civil Justice League. (His brother won the judicial election anyway.) [Madison County Record; Belleville News Democrat; US v. Amiel Cueto]
Rex Carr med-mal case fails
In 1999, Maria Storm had a mole on her right shoulder that was rubbing against her bra strap; Dr. Patrick Zimmerman removed it at her request. The mole did not have an irregular shape or color. Four years later, she was diagnosed with a fatal melanoma on a different part of her body (“Louis Dehner, M.D., a pathologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, testified that the mole Zimmermann removed was not the primary spot of the melanoma”), and her family sought to blame her death on Zimmerman, seeking $10.9 million. (Zimmerman biopsies 30% of the moles he sees, and less than 1% of the ones he orders for testing are malignant, suggesting he’s already practicing heavily defensively.) A Madison County jury rejected attorney Rex Carr’s pleas; Carr (Feb. 6; Dec. 6, 2005; Nov. 6, 2005; Dec. 23, 2004; May 4, 2004; POL Dec. 28, 2004) says he’ll appeal. (Steve Horrell, “No award in med-mal case”, Edwardsville Intelligencer, Jan. 31; Leah Thorsen, “Doctor sued over cancer death defends his prognosis of mole”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 30; Steve Gonzalez, “Collinsville physician cleared in Madison County med mal trial”, Madison County Record, Jan. 31).
February 12 roundup
- Divorcing Brooklyn couple has put up sheetrock wall dividing house into his and hers [L.A. Times, AP/Newsday]
- Boston Herald appeals $2 million libel award to Judge Ernest Murphy, whom the paper had portrayed as soft on criminals (earlier: Dec. 8 and Dec. 23, 2005) [Globe via Romenesko]
- Updating Jul. 8 story: Georgia man admits he put poison in his kids’ soup in hopes of getting money from Campbell Soup Co. [AP/AccessNorthGeorgia]
- Witness talks back to lawyer at deposition [YouTube via Bainbridge, %&*#)!* language]
- Prominent UK business figure says overprotective schools producing generation of “cotton wool kids” [Telegraph]
- State agents swoop down on Montana antique store and seize roulette wheel from 1880s among other “unlicensed gambling equipment” [AP/The Missoulian]
- “You, gentlemen, are no barristers. You are just two litigators. On Long Island.” [Lat and commenter]
- Some Dutch municipalities exclude dads from town-sponsored kids’ playgroups, so as not to offend devout Muslim moms [Crooked Timber]
- As mayor, Rudy Giuliani didn’t hesitate to stand up to the greens when he thought they were wrong [Berlau @ CEI]
- Australia: funeral homes, fearing back injury claims, now discouraging the tradition of family members and friends being pallbearers [Sydney Morning Herald]
- Asserting 200-year-old defect in title, Philly’s Cozen & O’Connor represents Indian tribe in failed lawsuit laying claim to land under Binney & Smith Crayola factory [three years ago on Overlawyered]