Throckmorton is taken aback by the impressive list of symptoms and preconditions brought in by a patient who, it seems, is being prepped for a disability filing or some other sort of legal claim. The result: one of my favorite blog post titles ever. (Sept. 21)
Author Archive
RIAA setback in Thomas trial
A judge threw out (PDF) the record industry’s $222,000 verdict against a Minnesota woman in her file-sharing trial, “saying it was based on the faulty ‘making available’ theory of distribution. [Jammie or Jammy] Thomas will face a new trial, in which the RIAA will have to prove actual distribution.” (Richard Koman, “RIAA loses $222K verdict against Jammy Thomas”, ZDNet, Sept. 25; earlier here and here). More: another part of the judge’s ruling, however, may be much more helpful to the record labels: distribution to the labels’ hired investigator can constitute infringement (Ambrogi/Legal Blog Watch).
Microblog 2008-09-25
- Steve Chapman: Congress will go with the bailout so it can say it did something [Chicago Tribune] #
- AEI’s Peter Wallison had prescient warnings on Fannie-Freddie debacle [Cernovich] #
- As I was going to St Ives: Nigerian on trial for having 86 wives wants 86 lawyers, thx @lilyhill [Lowering the Bar] #
- Greta van Susteren gave almost everyone "A"s as a Georgetown lawprof [TaxProf Blog] #
Tattoos and piercings in the workplace
For the moment, at least, employers are still mostly free to decide whether or not to employ persons with body modifications not in line with their desired corporate image. At least, kind of free:
“There is a lot of employee activism,” said Laurel A. Van Buskirk, a New Hampshire lawyer who has written extensively about body modification and the law. “And because the cost of defending these cases is quite big, it makes employers a little uncomfortable when they start delving into that sphere.”
(Guy Trebay, “Tattoos Gain Even More Visibility”, New York Times, Sept. 25). Earlier here, here, here, etc.
L.A.: Hospitals can’t discharge homeless patients
Thanks to a new city ordinance, they get to provide some of the world’s most expensive free hotel service to patients who are well enough to leave but refuse. (WSJ health blog, Aug. 4).
More: Numerous interesting comments from readers including this from Throckmorton:
This is not just in L.A. but happens all around the country as well. Our area saw this increase with the rise in nursing home suits. Nursing homes are now very reluctant to accept patients who are at risk for decubitus ulcers, etc. This combined with the declining revenue has led to the situation where there are no places that will accept transfers from the hospital. As more and more patients fill the wards awaiting placement, the hospital has no choice but to divert those that need urgent care.
You may not be able to get a nursing home patient out of the hospital, but at least you will not have a problem finding them an attorney.
Cannon explosion kills youngster, rescue crew blamed
In Thurston County (Olympia), Washington, a cannon explosion during a backyard party fatally injured 8-year-old Devan Vyborny. “Now, more than 14 months later, the boy’s family is taking legal action, but not with anyone having to do with that cannon. Instead, the boy’s parents are blaming rescue crews and 911 dispatchers. … Despite the scathing allegations, the rescue crew’s actions had not been called into question until the claim was filed.” (Ray Lane, “Family of boy hit by shrapnel seeks $47 million”, KOMO, Sept. 23).
Farther shores of copyright litigation
“45 years ago, Professor George Wilberforce Kakoma composed what became the Ugandan national anthem. Now, he’s suing the Ugandan government for damages, claiming that it’s breached his copyright by using the song for all these years without paying him any royalties”. (The Stumblng Tumblr, Sept. 25; Frank Walusimbi, “Government sued over National Anthem use”, Sunday Monitor, Sept. 21).
Microblog 2008-09-24
- Both McC and Palin seem cold-blooded about firing people, might be seen as feature rather than bug [McLaughlin/Baseball Crank] #
- Legal obstacles to four day work week [Point of Law via @lilyhill] #
- Yep, that’s Joe: Biden said he’s “done more than any other senator combined” for trial lawyers [Point of Law] #
- Day of protest against software patents [OUT-LAW via @lawtweets] #
- Related? “EPO staff strike over patent quality” [OUT-LAW] #
- What a curious Nigerian scam email, do you think it could be genuine? [Cernovich] #
Spore DRM
Electronic Arts/Maxis, which makes the new evolution simulation game Spore, gave it more aggressive digital rights management than many users wish it had, so it’s off to court with a lawsuit filed by class action firm KamberEdelson and named plaintiff Melissa Thomas. (Chris Faylor, “Spore DRM Prompts $5M Class Action Lawsuit”, ShackNews, Sept. 24; Courthouse News, Sept. 23).
Cavorter’s remorse, cont’d: topless mermaid suit case
Spot the antecedent of “her” in this lead paragraph from SixShot.com:
A New York judge yesterday (September 22) dismissed a lawsuit filed against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Vibe Magazine over a picture that showed her topless at a party hosted by the Bad Boy mogul.
It reads as if “her” would have to refer to “judge”, but not so: it was hedge fund manager Maria Kristina Dominguez who sued the magazine and music celebrity. The judge threw out her suit, ruling that the “photo was related to newsworthy issues of public interest and Dominguez had no right of privacy while cavorting topless”. More on flasher’s remorse here, etc.