Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Posts Tagged ‘United Kingdom’

New column — Times Online

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve begun a new periodic gig as a columnist on American law for the online Times (the London-based one). My first effort examines the possibility, discussed in this space recently, that fans of Barbra Streisand might file a class-action lawsuit against the singing legend because she is again doing a concert tour years after a tour that was supposed to be her farewell. (Walter Olson, “The long, long, long goodbye”, The Times Online, Jun. 27).

Incidentally, British readers visiting this site for the first time will find an archive of UK-related material here.

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It’s only fair, the GOP had Enron

“The embattled securities class-action law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman received some political backing last week with the release of a statement signed by four Democrats from the House of Representatives condemning last month’s indictment in Los Angeles of the firm on criminal charges. … The statement was signed by three representatives from New York — Charles Rangel, Carolyn McCarthy and Gary Ackerman — and Robert Wexler from Florida. One of the founders of the law firm, Melvyn Weiss, is a high-profile fund-raiser for the Democratic Party.” (Julie Creswell, New York Times/Wilmington (N.C.) Star-News, Jun. 12).

TheLawyer.com, based in the United Kingdom, fumbles the story badly by reporting that Milberg “has picked up a powerful ally in the shape of the US Congress”. (Joanne Harris, “US Congress slams Milberg Weiss indictment”, Jun. 13, note the equally erroneous headline). In fact, the four representatives who signed the letter are hardly typical members even of the Democratic caucus in the House, let alone of the Congress as a whole (which, someone should tell TheLawyer.com, is controlled by Republicans). See, for example, Jeremy Pelofsky, “Democrats returning money to two Milberg lawyers”, Reuters, Jun. 9 (Democratic National Committee, perhaps wiser than Reps. Rangel, McCarthy et al., seek to distance themselves from firm by returning some of its donations, a step already taken by New York’s Eliot Spitzer). More: Prof. Bainbridge, Jun. 12.

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UK: Danger! Palm trees ahead!

“Palm trees along the seafront at Torbay have been emblematic of the English Riviera for decades. Now they have become emblematic of the modern obsession with health and safety. Council officials have written to the chamber of trade saying the trees are a potential hazard because their sharp leaves could cause injuries to eyes or faces.” (Richard Savill, “Palm tree ahead danger”, The Telegraph, Jun. 10; Steven Morris, “Keep dangerous palms off the street, Torbay told”, The Guardian, Jun. 10)(& Sense Is Not Common).

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UK: What, no specific performance?

Too bizarre to let pass: in Kent, England, 53-year-old Christine Ryder filed a breach of contract complaint against Kevin Reeves, 40, for accepting £20,000 from her in exchange for his promise to engage a hitman to murder her, or do it himself. Instead Reeves skipped out without doing the deed, and a judge ordered him to pay Ryder £2,000 in compensation. (Alan Hamilton, “A contract is still a contract – even if it is a contract to kill”, The Times (U.K.), Jan. 17; Longhorn Law, Jan. 17).

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“£2.8m award for prisoner who tried to kill himself”

More woes in British crime and punishment: “Compensation payments to prisoners have doubled in the last year to more than £4 million, while the total legal bill to the Prison Service has reached £20 million a year, The Times has learnt.” (Richard Ford, The Times (London), May 19). A couple of recent prisoner-suicide suits in the U.S.: Apr. 17, Apr. 28.

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UK: Police “wanted” posters could infringe privacy

“Detectives across the country are refusing to issue ‘wanted’ posters for [foreign ex-criminals in flight from police] because they do not want to breach human rights laws. Forces said that the offenders had a right to privacy and might sue for defamation if their names and photographs were released.” (Ben Leapman, “Human rights fears mean police refuse to issue wanted posters of foreign criminals”, Daily Telegraph (UK), May 14) (fixed broken link).

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UK: Great moments in human rights law

Nine Afghan asylum seekers who hijacked a plane at gunpoint to get to Britain should have been admitted to the country as genuine refugees and allowed to live and work here freely, the High Court ruled yesterday.

In a decision that astonished and dismayed MPs, the Home Office was accused of abusing its powers by failing to give the nine formal permission to enter Britain, in breach of their human rights.

(Philip Johnston, “Hijackers have a right to live in Britain”, Daily Telegraph, May 11; “Give us back our rights” (editorial), May 14).

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UK: menace of ice-cream vans

Campaigners for compulsory health in Great Britain are pressing for new laws that could largely spell an end to old-fashioned roving ice-cream vans (which in that country, rather charmingly, are said to play “Greensleeves” or “O Sole Mio” as their jingles). (Rajeev Syal and David Sanderson, “Why ice-cream vans face total meltdown”, The Times (UK), May 8)(via A&LDaily).

Nor are grown-ups to be trusted with their own dietary choices any more than kids, at least not in Scotland:

Bar owners have warned they could be forced to stop serving chips and traditional pub meals under proposals by the Scottish Executive.

Under regulations being considered by the Executive, landlords – many of whom are still unhappy at the smoking ban – would be required to have policies to promote “sensible eating” as a condition of their licenses.

(Russell Jackson, “Publicans fear Executive wants ‘unhealthy’ bar meals banned”, The Scotsman, May 5)(via Stuttaford)(& welcome Andrew Sullivan, Stephen Bainbridge readers). Our UK page is here, and our page on food and beverage nannyism, regulation and litigation is here.

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UK animal cruelty prosecution

Another animal rights story from Britain: “A policeman who put an injured cat out of its misery after it had been run over was dragged through the courts by the RSPCA in a case that has cost £50,000.” The High Court finally threw out the case against Jonathan Bell, who had been the target of a two-year campaign of prosecution by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (Ben Leapman and Matthew Chapman, “Two years and £50,000 later, ordeal of policeman who put dying cat out of its misery is finally over”, Daily Telegraph, Apr. 9).

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Mohammed Aqueel Hussain

Mohammed Aqueel Hussain, 26, of Burnley, Lancashire, was on parole from a 2001 conviction for wounding, when, while driving a stolen VW Golf with a provisional license (he hadn’t had a lesson in ten years) and no insurance, he killed a three-year-old girl, Levi Bleasdale, in a hit-and-run accident that he never reported. Hussain pled guilty to careless driving and handling stolen goods, and was sentenced to twelve weeks, leading Tony Blair, among others, to call for stricter sentencing. (BBC, Feb. 22; Mirror, Feb. 24; TimesOnline Law Blog, Feb. 22).

Overlawyered is pleased to be the only American blog on the TimesOnline’s blogroll; one can find our UK coverage here.

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