- Protecting Access to Care Act: “House passes medical malpractice bill” [Kimberly Leonard/Washington Examiner, GovTrack, Todd Shryock/Medical Economics, my earlier]
- “FDA’s Gottlieb Hints at a Huge Overhaul of Health Tech Regulations” [Mike Riggs, Reason]
- “Law Review Article on Off-label is On Target” [Stephen McConnell, Drug & Device Law on Conners, “Illuminating the Off-label Fable: How Off-label Promotion May Actually Help Patients”]
- There’s a British website called Stop Suing the NHS, here is a sample post, and here is more about the writer, Susanne Cameron-Blackie;
- Another survey ranks New York worst state for doctors, trial lawyer supremacy in legislature a major reason [Thomas Stebbins, Gotham Gazette]
- Iowa law requires Certificate of Need for freestanding surgical centers. Sweet deal for exempt hospital competitors [Eric Boehm/Reason, Mike Rappaport/Law and Liberty]
Posts Tagged ‘New York’
“New York does not have a chronic celebrity shortage that warrants rushed and careless legislation”
“The right of publicity is an offshoot of state privacy law that gives a person the right to limit the public use of her name, likeness, or identity for commercial purposes….Since the right of publicity can impact a huge range of speech, any changes to the law should be considered carefully.” But an Assembly bill in New York is being moved forward without much discussion that “would dramatically expand New York’s right of publicity, making it a property right that can be passed on to your heirs – even if you aren’t a New York resident.” [Daniel Nazer, EFF] Compare another piece of legislation intended to protect celebrities’ interests yet not well thought out, California’s recently enacted restrictions on the sale of signed memorabilia.
Disorder in the Gotham courts
With so many judges owing their tenure on the New York bench to political connections and opaque methods of appointment, it’s a wonder there aren’t more subpar performers [New York Post]
Still trying to reform New York knife law
Over opposition from some powerful elected officials, efforts continue in New York City to reform knife laws “that effectively criminalize tools that vast numbers of Americans carry with them to work as electricians, stagehands and other tradesmen – a fact that helps explain why the reforms usually enjoy union support.” [James Varney, Real Clear Investigations; Jon Campbell, Village Voice] I wrote about this crazy law for Cato in 2014, and see these related posts.
Crime and punishment roundup
- Citation nation: abuse of fees and fines erodes legitimacy and accountability in local government [C. Jarrett Dieterle, City Journal]
- If concept of obstruction of justice is not to do injustice itself, it must be confined to a limited number of well-defined offenses [Tim Lynch, Cato]
- “Drug recognition experts” deployed at traffic stops have a reliability problem, and that can put innocent people behind bars [11Alive Atlanta, Ed Krayewski] Zero-tolerance THC: Unimpaired driver gets six months for fatal crash she did not cause [Jacob Sullum]
- New York Senate approves bill to make police protected group for purposes of hate crime law; similar proposals have become law in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi [Tim Cushing/TechDirt, earlier here and here]
- Now renamed “trafficking”: “Why Governments Always Exaggerate the Prostitution Threat” [Camilo Gómez, FEE, related Libertarianism.org podcast with Elizabeth Nolan Brown]
- Some problems with requiring “racial impact statements” for new bills on criminal justice [Roger Clegg and Hans von Spakovsky, NRO, James Scanlan, Federalist Society blog]
“Cellino Sues Barnes. Who Gets the Jingle?”
“Ross M. Cellino Jr. and Stephen E. Barnes — known by many in New York and elsewhere simply as Cellino and Barnes, thanks to the infectious jingle that has made the two personal injury lawyers a single, household name — have been in practice together for decades.” Now they appear to be headed to court, but against each other. [Jonah Engel Bromwich, New York Times] Earlier coverage of the Buffalo-based firm, including some ethical scrapes of its principals, here, here, here, here, and generally here.
Liability roundup
- “A handful of plaintiffs’ lawyers dominates MDL (multi-district) litigation. Is that a problem?” [Alison Frankel, Reuters]
- “A. 5918: Unconstitutional, Unwise and Futile Effort to Expand N.Y. Courts’ Jurisdiction” [Marc Gottridge and Lisa Fried, New York Law Journal, earlier on would-be end-run around Daimler limits on state court jurisdiction]
- “Hawaii counties threaten to pull lifeguards off state beaches if liability bill dies” [Nathan Eagle, Honolulu Civil Beat]
- No good reason why New York municipalities should be required to pay interest rate as high as 9 percent a year on lawsuit outlays [Adam Morey, Auburn Citizen letter to editor]
- “Ohio Supreme Court orders halt in liquidation of defunct Chesley law firm” [James McNair, City Beat (Cincinnati)]
- “What Should Tort Law Do When Autonomous Vehicles Crash?” [Michael Krauss; Jones Day]
Social media “right to be forgotten”
A First-Amendment-hostile concept pioneered in Europe, the “right to be forgotten,” rears its head in the New York assembly, though it looks unlikely to go anywhere soon [Eugene Volokh, Scott Shackford/Reason, earlier]
Jim Copland: Congress should override NY’s Martin Act
Especially given the role of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, federalism provides no good reason why successive holders of the office of New York attorney general, through the state’s ultra-broad Martin Act, should regulate national business practices in ways at odds with federal regulation and the wishes of the other 49 states:
national financial markets have been overseen since the Depression by the SEC under federal law. In 1996 Congress enacted the National Securities Improvement Act to exempt nationally traded securities from state registration and review requirements. Congress should go further and pre-empt state securities laws that seek to require disclosures exceeding federal standards or that have looser proof requirements on questions like intent.
[Jim Copland, WSJ ($) via Manhattan Institute; earlier on Martin Act]
Liability roundup
- Mikal Watts trial begins over claims of fraud in BP gulf spill claims [AP, Miriam Rozen/Texas Lawyer, Alison Frankel/Reuters, earlier]
- If someone spilled hot coffee on you, would it take you two years to react? [Southeast Texas Record on filing just before runout of statute of limitations]
- “Woman Sues Construction Company For Allowing Man To Kill Himself By Jumping From Hi-Rise And Landing On Her Car” [CBS Los Angeles]
- “Families: Hamas on Facebook, so firm must pay $1B after terror deaths” [Cyrus Farivar, ArsTechnica]
- Cloud of blame: “W.V. Firm Blames Almost 300 Companies In Each Asbestos Lawsuit” [Jessica Karmasek, Forbes]
- Singer Collette McLafferty, sued over $75 cover-band gig, is poster person for New York bill to curb meritless lawsuits [Michaela Kilgallen, Albany Times-Union]