Jacob Sullum on the FDA’s threat to ban caffeinated alcoholic drinks [Reason “Hit and Run”. Earlier here, here, here, etc.
Archive for November, 2009
Milwaukee law firms in Google keywords dustup
When you search Google on the name of the prominent Milwaukee personal injury firm of Habush, Habush & Rottier, you get a paid ad link from one of its competitors, the Brookfield, Wisc. firm of Cannon & Dunphy. So now Habush is suing its rival. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
November 23 roundup
- “Ten Ways Lawyers Rip Off Clients” [Lawrence Delevingne and Gus Lubin, Business Insider]
- White House visitor logs contain more entries for trial lawyer lobbyist Linda Lipsen (5x) than for Hillary Clinton (3x) (h/t ShopFloor)
- Time magazine has a cover story on child overprotectiveness [Free-Range Kids]
- “Why so many talented people give up on moving to the US”: one immigrant’s 7 year journey through the legal paperwork [Pete Warden]
- Speaking for the whole New York profession? “New York Bar Association president decries tort reform proposals” [Rizo, Legal NewsLine]
- Chamber of Commerce “needs to develop thicker skin” in response to Yes Men parody [LA Times]
- New York: “Judges collect pension and regular pay, and it’s perfectly legal” [Jonathan Bandler, Journal News]
- Cook County “out $14K for toilet paper injury” [Chicago Sun-Times]
“Insurer Must Defend ‘Douche’ Defamation Suit, Judge Says”
“Calling someone a ‘douche’ may be bad manners but it does not give an insurance company grounds to disavow a policy protecting against defamation claims, a state judge has ruled.” The owner of a public relations firm was sued by a rival after he purchased a domain containing the rival’s name and posted as content on the resulting page a picture of the sanitary product “Summer’s Eve”. [Daniel Wise, NYLJ]
Gamer appeals Sony dismissal, sues Nintendo and Microsoft
Updating our earlier item: a San Jose man has appealed a federal court’s dismissal of his suit against Sony for kicking him off the PlayStation network. He’s also suing Nintendo over its Wii update locking out certain unauthorized third-party software, and Microsoft over a “red ring of death” failure on his XBox. [Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot; & welcome Above the Law readers]
“Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Miley Cyrus’ pic discriminated against Asians”
“The novel legal claim was filed by Lucie J. Kim in a class action suit against the singer earlier this year that sought $4,000 in damages for each Asian and Pacific Islander living in Los Angeles County.” Kim complained that Cyrus was photographed with an Asian friend and other friends pulling back their eyelids; Cyrus apologized when the photo became public in February. Cyrus sought tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees for what she felt was a frivolous claim; the request was denied. “Henry M. Lee, Kim’s attorney, said his client is considering appealing the case.”
“Will secret copyright treaty restrict your digital rights?”
Concerns about the pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [Jeff Porten, MacWorld/MacUser] A contrary view: Ben Sheffner (via Ron Coleman).
House health care reform would discourage many state reforms
I’m quoted on the subject in Grant Bosse’s article in New Hampshire Watchdog. Earlier here and here. More at Point of Law here (Senate bill) and here (more advantages for trial lawyers).
“Testimony: Federal Judge Owed $150K on Credit Cards, Got $20K from 2 Lawyers”
Allegations of $2,000 in an envelope, constant requests for cash, false financial filings, and much else besides, figure in the House impeachment proceedings against a Louisiana jurist. [ABA Journal]
November 20 roundup
- Judge finds Army Corps of Engineers negligent in Katrina levees suit [WSJ Law Blog, Krauss/PoL]
- Feds raid the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville on an exotic-woods rap [The Tennessean] Eric Scheie has a few things to say about what turns out to be a remarkably comprehensive federal regulatory scheme on trade in wood enacted with little public discussion as part of the 2008 farm bill [Classical Values]
- In the mail: Amy Bach’s new book Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court, very favorably reviewed by Scott Greenfield not long ago (AmLaw Daily interview with author);
- Pension tension: link roundup on CALPERS mess [Reynolds]
- Maine passes very sweeping law banning marketers from collecting or using wide array of information about minors, but state acknowledges that much of the law probably wouldn’t pass constitutional muster and won’t be enforced [Valetk/Law.com, Qualters/NLJ]
- StationStops, which provides a mobile app for NYC commuter schedules, seems to have survived its legal tussle with New York’s MTA and thanks those who helped call attention to the story, with generous words for a certain “great blog”;
- Lawsuits cost Chicago taxpayers $136 million last year [Fran Spielman, Sun-Times]
- Blawg Review #238 is from Joel Rosenberg and bears the title, “Celebrating the International Day of Tolerance … and the NRA’s Birthday” [WindyPundit]