An Oregon hearing officer recommends $135,000 in damages against Melissa and Aaron Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, Ore., who had declined to cater a gay wedding on grounds of religious scruples [Oregonian, earlier]
Archive for April, 2015
John Oliver on patent trolls
Here (language). “You cannot let trial lawyers decide whether there should be more baseless lawsuits. That’s the equivalent of trusting raccoons to make laws about garbage can placements. ‘They should be easy to reach and left slightly open.'” (9:40)
Children and schools roundup
- Story of free-range Meitiv kids goes national, cont’d: “Bystanders are forced [sic] to step in and enforce discipline because the parents aren’t around.” [Slate via @bibliographing] Yes, the cited “National Association to Protect Children” is a real group, I looked it up [Washington Jewish Week] “Epidemic of moms getting arrested for leaving children in car 5 mins to run into store.” [Kim Brooks, Salon via @Lorettamalakie]
- What got buried in a WaPo column arguing that standardized tests for schoolkids are “a civil right.” [Ann Althouse] Testing issue allows teachers’ unions to make friends on the conservative side [NYT via same]
- Legal costs exceed $100 per student at some Chicago-area public schools; $23 billed for one lawyer’s phone message [Tribune via ABA Journal]
- Maintenance of Effort laws, meant to insulate school budgets against local voter control, might backfire [Free State Notes post by me, channeling my letter to the editor]
- A dissent on liberalizing school discipline policies [Paul Sperry, New York Post]
- Colorado school shootings: why is GOP leading push for emotion-driven, public-fisc-endangering lawsuits? [John Frank, Denver Post]
- Expensive new playground mandates [Paul Best and Lenore Skenazy, more from Skenazy, Tim Gill via Common Good]
A Wisconsin John Doe question
“Mila Kunis being sued for allegedly ‘stealing’ a chicken as a child”
If you dream of being a celebrity, consider whether you really want to turn yourself into a lawsuit magnet: a woman who says she grew up in Ukraine with actress Mila Kunis claims that when they were about five years old Kunis took a beloved chicken away from her; “she could not get over the loss and became an ’emotional wreck,’ who required therapy.” [Fox]
Update: jury acquits man charged with sex with demented wife
Updating our earlier report: “A jury found a longtime Iowa state lawmaker not guilty of sexually abusing his wife who suffered from dementia, in an unusual case that centered on when a person is no longer mentally capable of consenting to sex.” [KWWL] More: NYT Room for Debate.
New podcast: “Why Jail Parents Who Can’t Afford Child Support?”
Caleb Brown interviews me in this new podcast for Cato about child support collection policies that might be seen as backfiring even if one accepts revenue maximization as their sole purpose (earlier from me at Cato and here). Some other views: NYT “Room for Debate”
Regulatory crime blotter: Wisconsin-only beer found for sale in Minnesota
Felony charges possible: “undercover police traveled to Maple Tavern where they were served the Wisconsin-only beer.” [KMSP, Minneapolis Star Tribune]
“Inmates file claims for $18 million after Seahawks TV privilege revoked”
A sudden wave of claims by inmates of the Yakima County, Wash., jail demanded a cumulative $18 million in damages over a variety of alleged problems from clogged sinks to “denial of outside yard time. The claims, 15 in all, were filed by inmates housed in the same unit of the jail’s annex. … The claims began a day after the entire unit lost its television privileges for misbehavior, preventing inmates from watching the Jan. 10 Seattle Seahawks playoff game against the Carolina Panthers, which the Seahawks won 31-17. Despite the unusual nature and impractical monetary demands of the claims, they still had to be addressed by county legal staff and jail officials, [county paralegal Cindy] Erwin said.” [Yakima Herald-Republic]
Banking and finance roundup
- Critics say by naming payment processors in massive enforcement action over debt collection practices, CFPB is implementing its own version of Operation Choke Point [Kent Hoover/Business Journals; Barbara Mishkin, Ballard Spahr; Iain Murray, CEI]
- Green sprout in Amish country: “Bank of Bird-in-Hand is the only new bank to open in the U.S. since 2010, when the Dodd-Frank law was passed” [WSJ via Tyler Cowen; Kevin Funnell on smothering of new (de novo) bank formation; Ira Stoll (auto-plays ad) on growth of non-bank lenders]
- “Quicken Loans Sues DOJ; Claims ‘Political Agenda’ Driving Pressure to Settle” [W$J; J.C. Reindl, Detroit Free Press]
- Shocker: after years of Sen. Warren’s tongue-lashings, some banks consider not giving to Democrats. Is that even legal? [Reuters] “Elizabeth Warren’s Extraordinarily Bad Idea For A Financial Transactions Tax” [Tim Worstall]
- Still raging on: Delaware debate about fee-shifting corporate bylaws as deterrent to low-value shareholder litigation [Prof. Bainbridge first, second, third posts]
- “How a Business Owner Becomes Criminally Liable for How Customers Spend ATM Withdrawals” [Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason]
- New York financial regulator pushes to install government monitors at firms where no misconduct has been legally established [Robert Anello, Forbes]