Updating our Apr. 12, 2005 post: Does it violate the rights of Major League Baseball when the rest of us conduct “fantasy baseball” leagues employing the names and statistics of actual players? A lawsuit making such contentions is now heading, notes Ron Coleman (May 17), “into the bottom of the ninth”. (Alan Schwarz, “Baseball Is a Game of Numbers, but Whose Numbers Are They?”, New York Times, May 16; Legal Fixation (IP blog); Infamy or Praise) (via Blawg Review #58 at Kevin Heller’s Tech Law Advisor).
Author Archive
Update: trial lawyers in GOP primaries
In the Pennsylvania contest discussed in this space Apr. 4, their efforts fizzled, with candidate Jim Haggerty placing third in the field. (Michael P. Buffer, “Baker cuts a wide swath”, Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, May 18). And Texas Shark Watch, devoted to this subject (see Jan. 17), reports that trial lawyers were largely unsuccessful this year in Lone Star State GOP primary contests despite pumping in a good bit of money: four plaintiff’s lawyers slated as candidates went down to defeat. Two lawyer-backed incumbents held on, but would probably have won in any case (Apr. 5, Apr. 12).
Update: Agoraphobic employee’s promotion
Regarding the jury award to the Sonoma County, Calif. employee sued over failing to win a job promotion losing his position in a job redesign because his agoraphobia prevented him from working except at home (Mar. 17), Michael Fox at Jottings By an Employer’s Lawyer has an update (May 15):
The trial judge has shaved $4 million from the jury verdict, reducing the award to a still sizeable $2.5. Plaintiff has until this Friday to accept the lowered award or face a new trial on damages. The Court also conditionally granted a new trial finding juror misconduct on the damages. Affidavits indicated jurors inappropriately increased the award 40% for attorneys fees and 35% for taxes. The Court still has to award statutory attorneys fees.
More: see addendum to our Mar. 17 post.
Dept. of ill-timed announcements
The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (“DMI”) is proud to announce the selection of Cyrus Dugger as the first Milberg Weiss Legal Fellow at DMI. The newly created Milberg Weiss Legal Fellowship will focus on developing a new generation of lawyers who are committed to working in a legal and public policy capacity to preserve access to the courts and our civil justice system….As a Milberg Weiss Senior Fellow, Mr. Dugger will focus his efforts on preserving access to the courts at a time in which persons with limited financial means are finding it difficult to pursue remedy through the legal system.
— from the Milberg Weiss website, May 9.
Update: Milberg Weiss indicted
Following a six-year investigation, the nation’s best-known plaintiff’s law firm is the subject of a 102-page federal indictment charging it paid millions in illegal kickbacks to a stable of docile “named plaintiffs” in its suits, and engaged in elaborate concealment and deception to keep the details of the scheme from coming to the attention of courts, class members and others. (“Top Law Firm Indicted in Alleged Scheme to Pay Plaintiffs for Class-Action Suits”, AP/FoxNews.com, May 19; Julie Creswell, “Milberg Weiss Is Charged With Bribery and Fraud”, New York Times, May 18; Josh Gerstein, “Criminal Charges Levied Against Big Tort Law Firm”, New York Sun, May 19).
Blog reaction: Stephen Bainbridge; Tom Kirkendall; Evan Schaeffer; Greg Mitchell; Jonathan B. Wilson.
Our extensive earlier coverage: Apr. 7, Nov. 18 and links from there.
UK: Police “wanted” posters could infringe privacy
“Detectives across the country are refusing to issue ‘wanted’ posters for [foreign ex-criminals in flight from police] because they do not want to breach human rights laws. Forces said that the offenders had a right to privacy and might sue for defamation if their names and photographs were released.” (Ben Leapman, “Human rights fears mean police refuse to issue wanted posters of foreign criminals”, Daily Telegraph (UK), May 14) (fixed broken link).
“Doctor loses malpractice case, kills self”
Yes, it does happen: “A Florida urologist killed himself a few hours after a jury awarded a former patient $1 million in a malpractice claim.” And this part is especially charming: “Timothy Moran, a Jacksonville lawyer who represented the plaintiff, blamed [Dr. Lawrence] Grey’s insurance company for not settling the case.” (UPI/M&C, May 5)(via KevinMD).
Suing an Islamic moderate
In its many lawsuits against critics of its activities (see Jan. 5) the Islamic Society of Boston has added as a defendant Muslim reformist Ahmed Mansour, a former visiting fellow at Harvard Law School. (Jeff Jacoby, “Muslim reformer still a target”, May 17; Dean Barnett, “Mosque meltdown”, Weekly Standard, Mar. 24; Miss Kelly, Mar. 24).
New Tabarrok/Agan med-mal study
Today the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy (with which I’m affiliated) released a major new paper by Alexander Tabarrok and Amanda Agan of George Mason University’s Department of Economics. It’s titled “Medical Malpractice Awards, Insurance, and Negligence: Which Are Related?” As summarized by my colleague Jim Copland this morning at Point of Law, Tabarrok and Agan reach the following conclusions:
1. They show that medical malpractice premiums are closely related to medical malpractice tort awards. …
2. They show that medical malpractice premiums are not explained by insurance industry price gouging. …
3. They show that medical malpractice tort awards are related to some factors not rationally related to injuries. …
4. They show that malpractice tort awards and thus insurance premiums can vary dramatically for reasons having little or nothing to do with negligence.
When is a plane more like a boat?
The crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in a quiet residential neighborhood nearly five years ago is subject to general maritime laws, a judge ruled Tuesday, allowing potentially higher damages for dozens of people who sued.
If the result was piquant, the rationale was priceless:
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet said it did not matter that the plane crashed on land in Queens, killing 260 people on the plane and five on the ground. He noted that the plane was on a 1,500-mile transoceanic flight to the Dominican Republic.
“There can be no question that, but for the development of air travel, this trip or some portion thereof would have been conducted by a waterborne vessel and that it therefore bears a significant relationship to traditional maritime activity,” the judge wrote in a 78-page opinion analyzing the issue.
Besides, a piece of the aircraft, though not one containing passengers, did land in Jamaica Bay. So that would seem to settle it. (Larry Neumeister, “Plane that struck Queens neighborhood subject to maritime laws”, AP/WINS, May 9) (via Taranto).