- Vice President Biden raises at least hundreds of thousands of dollars at AAJ annual convention in Chicago [PoL] Romney’s law and legal policy team [Brian Baxter, AmLaw Daily]
- Law star Ted Cruz advances toward Senate [David Lat, AtL]
- Can Republicans make hay out of Democrats’ platform endorsement of same-sex marriage? New Pew poll, as well as May polling round, offers reasons to doubt that [my new post at Maryland for All Families]
- “Why Citizens United Has Nothing to Do with What Ails American Politics” [Ilya Shapiro, The American, more]
- Bridgeport mayor Joseph Ganim, of gun-suit fame, a step closer to getting law license back after serving 7-year prison term for corruption [Courant] Eight more indictments as the Connecticut corruption scandals roll on [Conn Post]
- Rob McKenna’s star on rise in Washington; he’s pursued public-liability reform as the state’s attorney general [Daily Caller, earlier]
- Bypassing public financing, West Virginia judicial candidates pour their own injury-law fortunes into races [Richie Heath, Charleston Daily Mail]
- “How hot is it in DC today? Congressman Paul is using a paper money substitute because his actual money melted.” [Tim Carney]
Archive for August, 2012
Mississippi: “$75M suit blames casino for death”
“A lawsuit alleges a Mississippi casino served so much alcohol to a man taking powerful prescription painkillers that he died on the floor of his hotel bathroom.” Additional dimension of pathos: he was at the casino spending the proceeds of a lawsuit settlement. [AP/Jackson Clarion Ledger]
“Consumer Action,” chez Sturdevant
A San Francisco nonprofit named Consumer Action is in the habit of pocketing cy pres moneys — leftover funds that are supposed to go “as nearly as possible” to class relief — from class actions against credit card companies and other mass marketers. Does Consumer Action have any connections to lawyers who file class action suits, and if so, are those connections significant? [Ted Frank, Point of Law] (Bad link fixed now; text edited August 5 per discussion below.)
[A Consumer Action executive has been in touch to take issue with this post, pointing out, among other things, that the two personages mentioned in the Point of Law post are no longer married to each other, and arguing that the group’s work is independent of class action lawyers. I have reworded the post to reflect these concerns.]
August 6 update: Letter from Consumer Action’s Linda Sherry follows, continued after jump:
Dear Mr. Olson,
I am writing to you to clarify certain points made in your recent blog post, “Consumer Action, chez Sturdevant” (http://overlawyered.com/2012/08/consumer-action-chez-sturdevant/) based on a post by PointofLaw.com (http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2012/07/damned-if-you-do-files-chase-bank-credit-card-class-action.php).
Patricia Sturdevant, currently the president of Consumer Action’s Board of Directors, is employed as Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Planning at California Department of Insurance. She has been divorced from attorney James Sturdevant since 1996. Mr. Sturdevant’s firm has no formal connection to Consumer Action, however we admire of Mr. Sturdevant’s track record as a consumer attorney and consider him one of many valued supporters. These supporters also include corporations, foundations, public interest groups and individuals.
New York: “Lawsuits extract $1B from localities a year”
“Localities in the state spend at least $1 billion a year on judgments and other costs of lawsuits, according to preliminary data from Rockefeller College.” [Albany Times-Union]
August 1 roundup
- “Animal activists’ terror tactics drive staff out of laboratories” [Guardian, U.K.]
- Labor Dept. had already shelved unpopular measure: “House acts to stop rules for child labor on farms” [CBS]
- Dole Food, at first a victim of litigation system in banana pesticide fraud, became an aggressor and now pays an image price [NYT]
- “The economics and history of cronyism” [David Henderson, Mercatus]
- Must discard blood-draw tourniquet! It touched your skin! Now go play with the communal waiting-room toys [White Coat]
- New York courts reinstate disbarred attorney Joseph P. Napoli, convicted in 1991 as part of the notorious Morris Eisen injury-faking ring [opinion; NYT coverage of trial and sentencing; from the appeals back then]
- “Your Foot Doctor (and Others) Are Mandated Reporters on Elder Abuse” [Daniel Schwartz, Connecticut Employment Law Blog]