Update: Erin Brockovich vs. Beverly Hills High School

After the glamourpuss tort-chaser’s campaign over environmental contamination at the high school met with one reverse after another in court, ending in a judicial ruling of no merit, plaintiff’s lawyers have now agreed to reimburse the city and school district of Beverly Hills for a not insignificant chunk of their legal expenses in defending the claims, in the sum of $450,000. As readers of this site know, prevailing defendants very seldom recover fees from losing plaintiffs or their lawyers in American litigation. The Civil Justice Association of California has details (Oct. 9).

This summer Viking published a book by journalist Joy Horowitz entitled Parts Per Million: The Poisoning of Beverly Hills High School which, as its subtitle implies, would appear to place much credence in the lawsuits’ claims of disease causation from oil wells on the high school campus (undated L.A. Times review by Robin Abcarian). For the side of the story that proved more convincing to the courts, see the work of Norma Zager and Eric Umansky here and here as well as this article in Time. Brockovich herself, incidentally, now has a blog of her own.

Filed under: environment, Erin Brockovich, Los Angeles, loser pays

“The tackiest lawyer advertisements of all time”

Norm Pattis makes a couple of nominations from the local crop he sees in Connecticut (Nov. 14). To me, at least, “Lady DUI” doesn’t sound as bad as Pattis’s choice for a “close second”, which

goes to a firm boasting that it can get every dime possible for you if you are injured. The lawyer intoning this commitment stands slapping baseball bat into an open hand. What does he do, beat the adjuster to death for an extra dollar or two?

Filed under: baseball, chasing clients, Connecticut

Roy Pearson no longer a D.C. judge

National Journal’s The Gate has the story on the latest setback for the pants judge (Nov. 14). A committee concluded that he did not demonstrate “appropriate judgment and judicial temperament,” but apparently did not specifically invoke the Breeches of Doom affair. Our coverage is here.

Filed under: Roy Pearson

Must have been a typo

That’s what San Francisco lawyer Waukeen McCoy says of a revelation that his firm billed Federal Express for 23.5 hours of one of its attorneys’ time over a single day. The fees were requested, and disputed, after McCoy’s firm and others beat FedEx in an employment discrimination case. (Dan Levine, “Former Co-Counsel Turn on Each Other in FedEx Fee Fight”, The Recorder, Oct. 26). P.S. Australian lawyer Stumblng Tumblr writes, “of course it was; it was supposed to be 24.5 hours”.

Filed under: Australia, ethics

Party like it’s a Vioxx settlement

Actually, attorney Mark Lanier’s massive bash, for thousands of attendees “including, seemingly, every judge and politician in Texas”, would have gone forward whether or not Merck had plunked down billions, and with Lanier saying he expects only $30 million in fees plus $10 million in expenses in the affair, which was once expected to yield a much bigger payday, the atmosphere might even be subdued. (Lattman, Nov. 13). Earlier coverage of Lanier Christmas parties here and here; the only parties we’ve heard of to compare are Willie Gary’s.

Filed under: Mark Lanier, product liability, Willie Gary

“‘Hannah Montana’ fan club sued over tickets”

Class action lawyers say the club led fans to buy memberships on the assumption that they’d get an inside track to tickets for performances by the teen phenomenon. Instead, the concerts have proved to be the year’s hottest ticket and fans have been left to buy from scalpers or go without. “The Web site does not guarantee ticket availability, but represents that members who log on shortly after tickets become available will have a good opportunity to get them, according to the lawsuit.” (AP/CNN, Nov. 13). More: Lattman.

Filed under: class actions, music and musicians

“Disney sued for Segway ban”

“Three disabled people have sued Walt Disney World for not allowing them to use their Segways to move around its theme parks. … Disney says it fears Segways could endanger other guests because they can go faster than 12 mph.” (AP/Centre Daily Times (Pa.), Nov. 11). More: Washington Post, MagicalMountain.net. in Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas (“Note to Disney: Don’t give up on Segway suit”, Nov. 13) writes:

If a disabled person can get around just as well in a wheelchair as on a Segway, does Disney have the right to pick the wheelchair in the interest of guest safety?

One of the people suing Disney says she did not want her children seeing her rely on a wheelchair.

But to go that route means we expand the ADA to accommodate not only people’s disabilities but also their feelings about their disabilities.

I feel for that woman, but this is a huge legal leap.

Filed under: disabled rights, Disney

November 13 roundup

Ethical questions for Vioxx lawyers [WSJ law blog] And who’s going to make what? [same; more from Ted at PoL]
American lawyers shouldn’t get all self-congratulatory about the courage shown by their Pakistani counterparts [Giacalone; more]
Just another of those harmless questionnaires from school, this time about kindergartners’ at-home computer use. Or maybe there’s more to it [Nicole Black]
Probe of personal injury “runners” bribing Gotham hospital staff to chase business nets another conviction, this one of a lawyer who stole $148,000 from clients [NYLJ; earlier]
Facebook sometimes sends text messages to obsolete cellphone numbers relinquished by its users, so let’s sue it [IndyStar]
Series on defensive medicine at docblog White Coat Rants [first, second, third]
Arm broken by bully, student wins $4 million verdict against Tampa private school; bully himself not sued [St. Petersburg Times]
Washington, D.C. reportedly doing away with right to contest a ~~traffic~~ parking ticket in person [The Newspaper, on “the politics of driving”]
“Walking headline factory” Scruggs to be arraigned November 20 [Rossmiller]
More on whether government’s refusal to alter paper currency discriminates against the blind [Waldeck, ConcurOp via Bader; earlier]
Eric Turkewitz hosts a truly marathon Blawg Review #134 [NY Pers Inj Law Blog]

Filed under: ATRA, bullying, chasing clients, defensive medicine, Dickie Scruggs, Facebook, hospitals, paper currency and the blind, roundups, third party liability for crime, Vioxx

Varieties of (medically hazardous) religious experience

In both of which cases the hospital is being targeted for blame:

About a year ago, Linda Long was attending the East London Holiness Church in London, Ky. That’s one of a handful of churches in the country that practice snake handling, which is exactly what it sounds like it is — congregation members handle venomous snakes in the belief that the faithful will not be harmed.

Long was bitten in the cheek by a rattlesnake and died — and now her family is suing the hospital where she was brought for treatment.

In a suit filed earlier this month, Long’s family alleges employees of a London, Ky. hospital ridiculed Long when she was brought there after the attack and failed to treat her in a timely manner. She later was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center, where she died.

(“Family of ‘snake handling’ victim sues hospital”, USA Today “On Deadline” blog, Nov. 9; Michelle Cottle, New Republic “The Plank”, Nov. 11).

Meanwhile, in Britain, Anthony Gough, 24, says he is considering legal action in the death of his wife, Emma, following the birth of twins at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The Goughs are members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect which opposes blood transfusions on religious grounds and Emma had refused such a transfusion; doctors had in vain urged Gough to override his wife’s wishes. Gough says a machine would have permitted self-transfusion of his wife’s blood but that hospital staff did not know how to use it. (Andrew Parker, “Jehovah hubby: I blame doctors”, The Sun (U.K.), Nov. 7)

Filed under: churches, hospitals, Kentucky, medical, United Kingdom

“US says it’s blowing whistle on lawyer’s fee”

For reporting on unlawful dumping of sludge into US waters, twelve ship workers are getting whistleblower payments of $437,500 apiece, in what one of their lawyers describes as an “amazing and unexpected windfall that the government essentially arranged for them”. Lawyers for all but two of the workers are charging them fees of $10,000 or less apiece, and one charged no fee at all. However, attorney Zachary Hawthorn of Beaumont, Texas, who represents two clients, says he’s entitled to a 33 percent contingency from their share, amounting to nearly $300,000. Federal prosecutors in Boston “suggest Hawthorn took advantage of unsophisticated ship hands who are not native English speakers and who had little familiarity with the American legal system. They also contend his work was ‘materially indistinguishable’ from that of the other lawyers, who were paid 90 percent less than his requested fee.” On the other hand, the clients have signed statements asking that the fees be approved. Prevailing law restricts lawyers from charging excessive fees and does not make client consent a defense if unreasonable fees are charged, but in practice “judges are typically reluctant to interfere with lawyer-client fee arrangements, especially when a client has not complained”. (Sacha Pfeiffer, Boston Globe, Nov. 10).

Filed under: Beaumont, ethics