“The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma filed a claim Wednesday for 27 million acres given to the tribes in a 19th century treaty but said they would settle for 500 acres to build a casino in a symbolic return to Colorado. The petition, filed with the Department of Interior, covers northeastern Colorado and about 40 percent of the state.” And just like many Eastern tribes or would-be tribes, they’ve got an investor: “Steve Hillard, a Longmont venture capitalist who pulled together investors for the plan, dubbed the ‘Homecoming Project,’ said the unresolved settlement claims could tie up land and water sales in northeastern Colorado until an agreement is reached. Hillard said similar claims in Hawaii, New York, South Carolina and Texas have slowed real estate sales.” (Deborah Frazier, “Indians file huge land claim”, Rocky Mountain News, Apr. 15). For more on Indian land claim blackmail, see Feb. 9 and Nov. 2-4, 2001, among many others.
Author Archive
U.K.: “Legal system is failing fathers, says judge”
Britain: “One of the country’s most senior family judges launched a blistering attack on the legal system yesterday for failing divorced and separated fathers. Mr Justice Munby said he felt ‘ashamed’ after dealing with a man who had fought unsuccessfully for five years to see his daughter,” the mother having ignored contact arrangements and groundlessly accused him of abuse and domestic violence. (Sarah Womack and Yolanda Copes-Stepney, Daily Telegraph, Apr. 2).
Catherine Crier show today
I’m scheduled to be a guest on Court TV’s Catherine Crier Live this afternoon, discussing this website. On Monday morning in Australia (Sunday afternoon in the States) I’m slated to join the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on its Radio National Breakfast show, for a discussion of personal responsibility and obesity lawsuits. And on Monday morning, 8:30 Central, I’ll be a guest on the “Dan, Doc and Dave” show on Peoria, Ill.’s WMBD.
School-potluck menace averted
Since last year the Board of Health of the town of Andover, Mass., has required school parent-teacher organizations “to have a specially trained ‘certified food protection manager’ if they plan to serve food at a school fund-raiser or class party.” The training sessions needed to become a certified manager cost $145. Potluck suppers are entirely forbidden since it is impossible to monitor the cooking of food in homes. “The rules were even stricter when the policy was first implemented. PTOs and parents were required to have a trained food safety expert at every event involving food, including classroom birthday parties where cupcakes would be served.” Now the town is drawing up a list of foods that it does not consider to pose a big safety problem, a list that surprisingly turns out to include coffee and doughnuts (hasn’t anyone warned them about hot-coffee spills and obesity-as-tort?) “Even though we have a long history of no problems, society is getting more litigious, and many of the PTOs are looking at getting insurance,” said Mary Jo Gustus, who heads the parent-teacher organization at South Elementary School. (Meredith Warren, “Parents train as food police for school spaghetti suppers”, Lawrence Eagle Tribune, Mar. 17). For another food menace averted, see Dec. 13, 1999. More: Feb. 17, 2005 (Indiana).
Anniston lawyers’ fees
Plaintiff’s lawyers cut a $300 million deal with Monsanto spinoff Solutia to resolve a long-running toxic-tort case in Anniston, Alabama. Under the agreement approved by the court, 27 lawyers are going to split $120 million, with $29 million going to Johnnie Cochran’s firm (Aug. 29 and links from there; much more) and $34 million to Jere Beasley’s Montgomery-based law firm (Dec. 1, 2003; Nov. 16, 1999). “Once the lawyers and other expenses are paid, the awards for each of the Anniston plaintiffs will average $7,725, though some will receive more if their health damages are shown to be greater.” Locals are furious. (“PCB Case Payouts Roil Alabama City”, AP/Washington Post, Mar. 24; Jessica Centers, “PCBs plaintiffs demand answers”, Anniston Star/MSNBC, Mar. 24; Ellen Barry, “Lawyers’ fees eat up much of settlement over toxic chemicals”, Los Angeles Times/Seattle Times, Apr. 14). More: Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health is dubious about the science underlying the Anniston claims (“The case of the mute scientists”, Washington Times, Feb. 27, 2003, reprinted at ACSH site). Update Dec. 6: Forbes covers aftermath; overall settlement reported at $600 million with lawyers taking $234 million.
Cosmetics settlement challenged
“A proposal to settle a nationwide class-action lawsuit by giving $175 million worth of high-end department-store cosmetics away for free may be in jeopardy following a move by the attorneys general of 11 states to challenge the deal. Critics warn the settlement would enrich class-action lawyers with up to $24 million in fees but could leave individual department-store customers with either nothing or little more than a tube of lipstick — maybe even in an unpopular color.” (Josh Gerstein, “11 States Seeking To Scupper Deal In Cosmetics Case”, New York Sun, Apr. 5). For our earlier coverage, see Jul. 21, 2003 (“A Lipstick-Up”). More: Monica Yant Kinney, “Cost of primping is a tad less dear”, Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 3 (reg). Update: see May 19, Dec. 3; Mar. 14, 2005: judge approves settlement).
“Database tech helps lawyers scoop up clients”
Lawyers as paladins of privacy, cont’d: After her son was erroneously arrested, Julie Danielson checked her mail and was “shocked to see at least 12 envelopes — postmarked only hours after her son’s arrest — from defense attorneys offering their services. The lawyers had been eager recipients of a jailhouse e-mail list supplied daily by the county sheriff. … The couple was astonished that Riverside County [California] deputies failed to call them when their son was arrested — though contact and medical information was in the young man’s wallet — yet managed to inform people who wanted his business.” One envelope was emblazoned “Experts in Drug Charges”. “In New Jersey, which sends information companies who have registered with the state daily updates of who’s been arrested, a Supreme Court committee recently tightened its rules on the content of direct-mail solicitations after hearing complaints ‘in a volume too great to ignore.’ One man had received 22 letters from lawyers.” (AP/CNN, Mar. 29). More on direct-mail: Jul. 15, 1999. And: Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Grogan explores how police accident reports serve as grist for lawyer solicitation of injury suits (“Lawyers Sow the Seeds of Lawsuits”, Apr. 5)(reg).
“Soldier sues city for damages for stress in Iraq”
In Cherokee, Iowa, Vernon Fick, who was dismissed as a police sergeant last year, wants his job back and is suing the city on age-bias and other charges. In addition to seeking reinstatement, Fick “claims he couldn’t get a job anywhere else and was forced to join the military, which sent him to Iraq”, so he “is seeking damages for emotional stress and strain from serving in a war zone. … The lawsuit said the Army became his only ’employment alternative’ because the city falsely told other potential employers in the area that he had committed misconduct.” His attorney is Stephen Avery of Spencer. (AP/Creston News Advertiser, Apr. 9)
“The Erin Brockovich Effect”
Parachuting in without actually touching toe? This time it’s a toxic-tort case in central Florida: “She has never set foot in Hillsborough County’s rural Plant City, but her name alone is influencing news coverage, attracting clients and conferring credibility to illness reports.” The suit alleges that Coronet Industries’ phosphate plant is responsible for a wide range of ills, including those of the lead claimant’s 3-year-old son, who suffers from autism and language disorders. (Ron Matus, “The Erin Brockovich effect: influence, inference”, St. Petersburg Times, Apr. 11). For much more on Brockovich, see Mar. 16, Jan. 3 and links from there, and our Oct. 2000 treatment.
Wal-Mart: target
“Encouraged by the press criticism, entrepreneurial trial lawyers, eyeing Wal-Mart’s deep pockets with glee, have made it perhaps the biggest private-sector target of the nation?s plaintiffs’ bar. In just ten years, the number of pending lawsuits against Wal-Mart has increased fourfold, to 8,000, and the company has tripled the size of its litigation department. … Wal-Mart faces a growing number of potentially costly class action lawsuits, exemplified by a sex-discrimination suit brought by the Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll firm, notorious for getting Texaco to pay $176 million to black employees in a discrimination suit.” (Steven Malanga (Manhattan Institute), “What Does the War on Wal-Mart Mean?”, City Journal, Spring). See Jul. 7-9, 2000 and more links: Feb. 1, 2004; Dec. 4, 2003; Jan. 11, Jun. 14, and Aug. 29-30, 2001; Sept. 6-7, Sept. 25-26, Nov. 15, and Dec. 13-14, 2000; and Dec. 2, 1999. More: we are linked by Always Low Prices — Always, a blog whose mission is to chronicle “The Best and the Worst about Wal-Mart” and which is put out in part by Kevin Brancato of George Mason U. and the economics blog Truck and Barter. (More: Apr. 19, 2005).