Coming up, if a controversy in Alexandria, Va. is any indication: historic preservation mandates for chain-link fences [Matt Welch, Reason].
Archive for August, 2011
Collective asbestos guilt in Illinois
Illinois courts may finally be tiring of liberal applications of “civil conspiracy” doctrine under which “Asbestos companies bear a sort of collective guilt and thus plaintiffs can sue companies they never actually had any contact with. Jurors in Bloomington have ordered up more than $120 million in damages against companies including Honeywell and Owens-Illinois, even though those companies never sold products to the plaintiffs, or employed them in their factories.” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes]
Dodd-Frank “conflicts minerals” provision devastates Congolese
David Aronson, New York Times:
The “Loi Obama” or Obama Law — as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform act of 2010 has become known in the [central African] region — includes an obscure provision that requires public companies to indicate what measures they are taking to ensure that minerals in their supply chain don’t benefit warlords in conflict-ravaged Congo. The provision came about in no small part because of the work of high-profile advocacy groups like the Enough Project and Global Witness, which have been working for an end to what they call “conflict minerals.”
Unfortunately, the Dodd-Frank law has had unintended and devastating consequences, as I saw firsthand on a trip to eastern Congo this summer. …
Demand for sign language translator at nudist camp
When it needs to be said with hands: a Rochester man has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department alleging that Empire Haven Nudist Park of Moravia, N.Y., as well as a festival held there, denied his right under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to a sign language interpreter. Tom Willard “offered to pay for his own interpreter if the nudist camp would discount or waive his park entry and workshop registration fees,” a better deal than in many ADA cases in which complainants demand that the business or service provider alone shoulder the full cost of an interpreter. [Syracuse Post-Standard]
Only unsophisticates fear international law. Right?
Well, no, actually, wrong, as I explain in a new Cato post taking issue with left-of-center commentator Garrett Epps.
Update: Pierce O’Donnell cops a plea
The prominent Los Angeles lawyer accepts a misdemeanor rap for laundering John Edwards contributions. [L.A. Times, earlier]
Breathe into the steering wheel now
Alcohol interlocks and our dystopian driving future [Rick Berman, Daily Caller; earlier here, here, etc.]
Philadelphia: “Injured fan sues Eagles”
While a player “was having a catch with fans in the stands,” one of the fans had an inaccurate throw and injured a bystander. Clearly time to crack down on — if not ban entirely? — such playful throwing sessions. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
“Foreclosure relief” and its temptations
The St. Petersburg Times explores the ethical issues raised by the practice of a Florida lawyer who “flies his six-seat Piper Malibu around Florida championing the cause of the little guy. His target: the big, bad banks.” The plan: charging upfront fees of up to $5,000, plus a contingency, for the privilege of enrolling in “mass joinder” suits demanding foreclosure relief.
Message board liability threats, cont’d
Paul Alan Levy reports on the doings of one Florida lawyer who “touts his past presidency of the ‘First Amendment Lawyers Association'” but “is apparently not so keen on the free speech rights of others.” And, also via Levy, a court has vacated the troubling order discussed earlier adopting a weak standard for subpoenas identifying anonymous comments, in a case involving the Façonnable clothing concern.