“A criminal who escapes officers by climbing on the roof of his house has been banned from every rooftop in his borough — in case he falls and sues police.” [Telegraph]
Posts Tagged ‘taxpayers’
“States fear that five words in Obama health law will open door to lawsuits”
“Tucked away on page 466” is a provision that quietly replaces states’ obligation to make sure doctors are paid to deliver services to the poor with a new obligation to make sure the services are in fact delivered. “‘With the expanded definition, it leaves every state vulnerable to a new wave of lawsuits any time someone cannot access a service, even if that service is limited by virtue of the rates we pay,’ said Alan Levine, Louisiana’s secretary of health and hospitals, in a recent memo prepared for fellow state government officials.” [Jon Ward, Daily Caller]
London borough of Islington sues itself
And then demands attorneys fees over unjustified litigation; the dispute was over a parking ticket issued to one of its own departments which it wrongly presumed to be legally independent. Another local council won a fine against itself which it then had to pay, according to British author Barrie Segal [Lowering the Bar, Times Online “Money Central”]
Headline of the day
From western Michigan: “Saugatuck Township asks voters to approve new tax to fight lawsuits seeking lower property taxes” [Grand Rapids Press]
Drunken boater crashes into pier
The miscreant skipper has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and intoxicated boating, but the family of a slain passenger is now suing the feds for not lighting the pier more brightly. [Jessica Spies, Greece (N.Y.) Post]
Airline turbulence injury blamed on weather forecasters
“Two Alaska Airlines flight attendants who were injured when a 2007 flight from Seattle to California encountered turbulent air have filed a legal claim against a national weather forecasting service and against the U.S. government.” [Seattle Times/Belleville News-Democrat]
Phoenix: taxpayers pay millions for county officials to sue each other
Coyote reports from Maricopa County, Arizona. And speaking of which, the furor over the erratic doings of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his allies keeps getting hotter: Coyote, Greenfield, Bennett, etc.
More on Maricopa-cabana: “New Turmoil in Embattled Ariz. County as Appeals Court Bans Sheriff from Searching Judge’s Computers” [ABA Journal]; “Rule of law erodes further in Maricopa County” [Clint Bolick, Goldwater Institute]
Sluggish wheels of justice
A case over Rhode Island sludge disposal is finally over after 27 years [Providence Journal]
Central Valley taxpayers shell out
Civil rights suits are causing a stir in California local government: “The downsides weigh heavily in landmark lawsuits against Modesto and Stanislaus County, which have cost taxpayers $8.3 million and counting, and have not produced more minority office holders or new sidewalks or better storm drains.” [Modesto Bee]
November 24 roundup
- “California’s Largest Cities and Counties Spent More Than $500 Million in Litigation Costs in Two Years” [CACALA]
- Violence Policy Center blames handgun carry permits for offenses that include … strangulation? [Sullum]
- New allegations in New York school district lawyers pension scandal [Newsday]
- Plush doll twade dwess dispute made Tonstant Weader fwow up [Schwimmer]
- “School Hit With a Lawsuit over Dodgeball Game Injury” [FindLaw “Injured”, Bronx]
- Too bad judges are so reluctant to sanction lawyers for filing papers that contain false assertions [Coleman]
- Hundreds of asylum clients could be deported after law firm founders are convicted of fraud [ABA Journal]
- Congratulations to superlative juryblogger Anne Reed, picked to run Wisconsin Humane Society [Deliberations; also Turkewitz]