A flamboyant lawyer we’ve been writing about for a long time, best known for international reparations suits, seems to have reached the end of his professional road. (Noeleen G. Walder, “Lawyer Disbarred for Failing to Pay Sanctions, Fees in Holocaust Case”, New York Law Journal, Dec. 12). Earlier coverage: Feb. 1, 2008, Nov. 26, 2005, etc., etc.
Author Archive
“The Weirdest Legal Cases of 2008”
Gary Slapper does an annual roundup for the Times Online (U.K.). This one includes the case of a bodybuilder whose loud grunts while working out became intolerable to his neighbors, and a man in Macedonia who sued a bear for stealing honey. (Dec. 5).
Update: Chuck Colson and Miller-Jenkins case
For the fifth time, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Lisa Miller, the Virginia woman who is defying a court order requiring her to allow child visitation by her former lesbian partner. I’ve tracked the case for years as an example of the tendency of some organized Religious Right legal groups — in this case the misnamed Liberty Counsel — to pursue meritless legal positions at length. (Drew Houff, “Justices won’t hear Miller’s visitation request”, Winchester (Va.) Star, Dec. 12) (via Box Turtle Bulletin). One of the Miller camp’s most vocal and misleading public advocates has been evangelist Chuck Colson, who just was awarded a Presidential Citizenship Medal; I discuss that development (and Colson’s career) in a lengthy post this morning over at Secular Right.
EPA not going to RFK Jr.
Marc Dreier stole $380 million?
That’s what federal prosecutors claim. And he didn’t even do it legally, like a tobacco lawyer. More: NYLJ, Forbes.
Patrick @ Popehat provides a suitable point of comparison: earlier this month the biggest jewel theft in French history, described as a landmark in the history of crime, resulted in a loss of $108 million. “One Lawyer With His Briefcase Can Steal More Than A Hundred Men With Guns”.
Answer to Mickey Kaus
A. Because protecting the UAW’s contract, and the entrenchment of auto dealers under horrible state laws, and the executives’ perks, and the CAFE-law irrationalities, and the various goodies a half-dozen other constituencies want to hold on to, is the whole point of structuring the bailout the way Congress is structuring it. You’re welcome. (Dec. 11).
P.S. At Forbes, Dan Gerstein wonders why Chrysler’s rich parent Cerberus deserves bailing out.
Snapping goose causes slip-fall, the sequel
Last year we covered the unsuccessful suit against Contemporary Watercrafters, a Rockville, Md.-based pool maintenance business. It’s getting some more attention now as one of the entries in the U.S. Chamber’s Faces of Lawsuit Abuse campaign (careful, it auto-plays video with sound). Angle we didn’t mention in our earlier post: the owner was annoyed at the mess made by the geese and approached the Humane Society about removal but was told “it was a no-go — the Migratory Species Act forbade him from moving or disturbing the geese. All he could do was wait for their goslings to hatch and hope they then moved on of their own free will. The store put up tape around the area and signs warning passersby of the terrible geese threat.” (On the Record (Md. Daily Record blog), Dec. 9).
Members of client class filed $6.1 million in claims…
…and the judge hearing an attorneys’-fee petition in the TJX credit-card data-breach case reasoned that the lawyers didn’t really deserve $6.5 million in fees for achieving that result. The lawyers proposed, but the judge was unimpressed with, a theory that their suit had “made available” $200 million to the class, even if few class members stopped by to pick it up. Such sticklers, these judges can be. (Beck and Herrmann, Nov. 11). Related: Dec. 4, 2007.
Seems somehow appropriate
Now-disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed Illinois into risky mortgage lending and did his best to politicize housing finance (Carney, Dec. 9).
December 11 roundup
- Nastygrams fly at Christmas time over display and festival use of “Jingle Bells”, Grinch, etc. [Elefant]
- Claims that smoking ban led to instantaneous plunge in cardiac deaths in Scotland turns out to be as fishy as similar claims elsewhere [Siegel on tobacco via Sullum, Reason “Hit and Run”]
- Myths about the costs and consequences of an automaker Chapter 11 filing [Andrew Grossman, Heritage; Boudreaux, WSJ] Drowning in mandates and Congress throws them an anchor [Jenkins, WSJ]
- Mikal Watts may be the most generous of the trial lawyers bankrolling the Texas Democratic Party’s recent comeback [Texas Watchdog via Pero]
- Disney settles ADA suit demanding Segway access at Florida theme parks “by agreeing to provide disabled guests with at least 15 newly-designed four-wheeled vehicles.” [OnPoint News, earlier]
- Update on Scientology efforts to prevent resale of its “e-meter” devices on eBay [Coleman]
- Scary: business-bashing lawprof Frank Pasquale wants the federal government to regulate Google’s search algorithm [Concurring Opinions, SSRN]
- Kind of an endowment all by itself: “Princeton is providing $40 million to pay the legal fees of the Robertson family” (after charges of endowment misuse) [MindingTheCampus]