I’m scheduled to appear again on Court TV’s Catherine Crier Live this afternoon (5-6 p.m. EDT, check listings for time of broadcast in other time zones), discussing more stories from this website (including stories sent in by readers on our letters page).
Archive for April, 2004
More Veeps ATLA could love
Among those much mentioned as a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry is second-term Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (Adam Nagourney, “Kerry seeks running mate in 8 weeks”, New York Times/Contra Costa Times, Apr. 4; a Vilsack fan site; David Hogberg, “Vilsack for Veep?”, National Review Online, Feb. 10). Back home in Iowa, liability reform has been a contentious issue in the legislature this year, and although caps on pain and suffering in medical malpractice suits have passed both houses of the legislature, they are considered nearly certain to face a veto when they reach Vilsack’s desk. This does not come as the most total surprise in the world since Gov. Vilsack is a former president of the state’s trial lawyers association. (Tanya Albert, “Iowa governor might not sign tort reform bill”, American Medical News (AMA), May 3)(via MedRants). Another Midwestern Democratic Governor who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Kerry is Kansas’s Kathleen Sebelius (Mark Z. Barabak, “Edwards Isn’t a Cinch for the No. 2 Slot”, Los Angeles Times, Mar. 3). In one of those coincidences that one encounters so seldom in novels and so often in real life, Sebelius also headed her state’s trial lawyer association, in this case as executive director (see May 5, 2003). See also “Veeps ATLA could love”, Jul. 7-9, 2000.
Indiana non-getaway leads to suit
Latest motorcyclist to try to outrun police cars in a high-speed pursuit: Brandon S. Hilbert, in Portland, Ind., who was driving on a suspended license with no motorcycle endorsement. He failed to make it around a curve after a chase that reached 130 mph, and his survivors are suing the city and two police officers alleging civil rights and tort causes of action. (“Family Sues Over Fatal Police-Chase Crash”, TheIndyChannel, Apr. 21).
Unanimity by way of professional solidarity?
Encountering the winds of adverse opinion at a Texas law school: “Previously, I had nearly been lynched at a happy hour by the editors of my former [law] journal for expressing support for Proposition 12, permitting limits on civil damages. ‘Even if you want to do defense work, you should be against it because fewer lawsuits means fewer hours billed defending them!’ My suggestion that one might support a law based on the public good rather than naked self interest was met with blank stares.” — law student blogger SlitheryD, Apr. 12.
D.C. police won’t estimate crowds
“There are no hard numbers on the march size since police stopped actually counting crowds (via overhead photos) a few years ago after they were threatened with a suit. The [L.A. Times] spoke to ‘police sources’ who guessed that there were somewhere between 500,000 and 800,000 protestors, which would make the march [supporting legal abortion] among the biggest in years.” (Eric Umansky, “Today’s Papers: Demonstrating Your Point”, Slate, Apr. 26). “After the 1995 Million Man March, organizers maintained that at least 1 million men took part. That was more than double what the U.S. Park Police estimated. The organizers threatened to sue. Ultimately, researchers from Boston University, working from photographic images, judged the crowd size at more than 800,000. … After the dispute over the size of the crowd at the Million Man March, the Park Police decided in 1997 that the department no longer would make official estimates.” (“March One Of Largest Mall Events”, Washington Post, Apr. 26).
The sewers and the sued
Various towns and small cities in Eastern Washington have spent small fortunes upgrading their sewage systems as required by law, and the state Department of Ecology says it’s satisfied with their progress toward compliance. But a private Seattle-based group that calls itself Waste Action Project is suing the towns anyway, holding large potential financial penalties over their heads. For example, citing the remedy provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, it’s demanding $27,500 a day in fines, going back over 16 years, against the Lincoln County town of Wilbur, population 880, which has already spent millions on improvements in an attempt to bring itself into compliance with the Act. “The law also allows Waste Action to collect attorney fees if it proves violations that were reported by the defendants. The cities are required to report violations to the Department of Ecology and the lawsuits are based on the defendants’ own admissions.” Wilbur Mayor Don Reid is less than charitable about the motives of the environmental group, which has filed at least 40 enforcement actions around the state: “The purpose of their action is to put some money in their pocket, but they’re trying to hide that,” he charged. Seattle attorney and Waste Action co-founder Richard Smith calls that accusation “ridiculous”: “I am a competent lawyer,” he said. “I can make a hell of a lot of money doing other things than this.” (John Craig, “Sewage suits rile East Side towns”, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Apr. 5)(Mar. 3 council meeting minutes, town of Wilbur)(PDF). See also Jul. 23, 2001 (first item).
“Patients Die as Doctors Fear Malpractice”
Neurosurgeons are reducing their litigation risk by refusing to see emergency patients, and the results can be fatal. (FoxNews.com, Apr. 25).
Update: Gotham’s car-leasing calamity
The New York Times weighs in on the disaster for consumers that has resulted from the state’s “vicarious liability” law. Porsche and Hyundai are the latest automakers to suspend leasing in the Empire State. “In 2002, 224,000 New Yorkers leased cars, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Last year, that number dropped to 142,656.” (Marc Santora, “Many Carmakers Stop Leasing in New York, Citing Accident Liability Law”, Apr. 24). For our earlier coverage of the issue, see Apr. 2 and links from there.
Update: trial lawyers’ war against Allstate
Plaintiff’s lawyers have for years pursued a grudge match against the Allstate insurance company because of its “Do You Need An Attorney?” campaign, launched in the mid-1990s, by which the company suggests to persons with possible claims against its policyholders that it may not be absolutely necessary for them to sign up with a lawyer (see Apr. 18, 2000; Dec. 22, 1999). In the state of Connecticut, scene of some of the fiercest skirmishing, the attorneys’ fondest hopes have not been realized: in January a federal judge ruled in Allstate’s favor “on claims it breached an implied contract of good faith and fair dealing, and was engaging in unfair trade practice, unfair insurance practice, recklessness and fraud.” However, it’s not as if the insurer, which is based in Northbrook, Ill., is now free to say whatever it pleases in post-car-crash situations in the Nutmeg State: “In 1996, as president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Reardon [New London plaintiffs’ attorney Robert I. Reardon] successfully lobbied for a new law that forbids insurers from discouraging their adversaries from hiring a lawyer.” (Thomas B. Scheffey, “Allstate Victorious in Anti-Lawyer Campaign”, Connecticut Law Tribune, Feb. 2).
Find this man a dictionary
“‘I don’t think censorship is a bad word, but it has become a bad word because everybody associates it with some kind of restriction on liberty,’ said Mr. [Pat] Boone, who is in Washington making the rounds as the national spokesman for the 60-Plus Association, a conservative senior citizen lobby.” (Steve Miller, “Censorship in arts ‘healthy,’ Boone says”, Washington Times, Apr. 21)(via TMFTML).