And more May 17 updates

  • Google beats Perfect 10 in Ninth Circuit appeal over copyright suit over thumbnail images. (Earlier: Feb. 06, Jul. 05, Nov. 04.) [LA Times; WaPo; Bashman; Perfect 10 v. Amazon (9th Cir. 2007)]
  • Judge thinks better over Brent Coon’s attempt to intimidate local press through subpoenas. Earlier: Apr. 24. [WSJ Law Blog]
  • US Supreme Court throws out punitive damages ruling in Buell-Wilson case, lets rest of decision stand. Earlier: Jan. 4 and links therein. Beck and Herrmann also discussed the case in March in the context of a larger discussion of the appropriateness of issuing punitive damages against a company that relied on government safety standards in good faith. [LA Times; AP].
  • Big LA Times piece on the still-pending Extreme Makeover suit, where a family seeks to hold ABC responsible for an intra-household dispute over the spoils of a reality show. Earlier: Mar. 4, Aug. 12, 2005. [LA Times]
  • KFC may have won on trans-fats litigation, as David reported May 3, but they capitulate to Jerry Brown’s pursuit of Lockyer’s equally bogus acrylamide suit over the naturally-occurring chemical in potatoes (Oct. 05, Aug. 05, Aug. 05, May 05, Apr. 04, etc.). KFC will pay a nuisance settlement of $341,000 and will add a meaningless warning in California stores. (Tim Reiterman, “KFC to tell customers of chemical in potatoes”, LA Times Apr. 25).
  • McDonald’s sued over hot coffee. Again. One of the allegations is that McDonald’s failed to secure the lid, which is a legitimate negligence suit, but there’s also a bogus “failure to warn me that coffee is hot” count. [Southeast Texas Record; and a Southeast Texas Record op-ed that plainly read Overlawyered on the subject]

3 Comments

  • Ahh, another lawsuit over the hot coffee mod.

  • “Dear Customer,

    You may have heard about the recent action by the CA AG Office to raise the cost of your meal and pocket a tidy sum for themselves. As part of the settlement we reached, besides giving cash equal to several years of your own earnings, we are required to provide you with the following information:

    1> Cooked Potatoes contain acrylamide as do almost half the foods we eat.
    2> IN high doses, acrylamide may increase the risk of cancer in humans. It also may not depending on who you talk to.

    3> Based on the ill-defined conclusions of the contridictory scientific studies, BK recommends that you do not consume more than 150 Pounds of cooked potatoes EACH AND EVERY DAY ON A CONTINUING BASIS.

    On a side note, we also recommend that you vote in some new AGs.”

  • OBQuiet: ROFL! Perfect!