“The nonprofit library cooperative that owns the Dewey Decimal system has filed suit against a library-themed luxury hotel in Manhattan for trademark infringement. The Library Hotel, which overlooks the New York Public Library, is divided according to the classification system, with each floor dedicated to one of Dewey’s 10 categories. Room 700.003 includes books on the performing arts, for example, while room 800.001 has a collection of erotic literature.” A lawyer for the library group, Joseph Dreitler, claims a “person who came to (the hotel’s) Web site … would think they were passing themselves off as connected with the owner of the Dewey Decimal Classification system.” Eugene Volokh (Sept. 21) makes short work of this argument and classifies the action as a cousin to Fox v. Franken in trademark law abuse. The suit demands triple the hotel’s profits since its opening. (AP/Wired News, Sept. 20; Kevin Drum; Perfidy.org; Hill-Kleerup.org). Update Nov. 29: case settled.
Author Archive
Diagnosis: asbestos
Commenting on the recent legal action (see Sept. 21) charging a cardiologist with having run a diagnosis mill providing dubious certification of heart damage for thousands of fen-phen claimants, Sydney Smith (Medpundit) is reminded of a problem from her own practice (Sept. 19, scroll down): “Making dubious diagnoses for class action suits is becoming a bit of a cottage industry in medicine. Asbestos is the [worst]. Several of my patients have come in saying that they’ve been diagnosed with asbestosis by ‘the union’s lawyer’s doctor.’ Needless to say, neither the union, nor the lawyer, nor the doctor ever share their findings with me, even when asked. And not one case has been confirmed by our local pulmonologist when I’ve referred them on. That is if they’ll let me. Some of them don’t want to have a second opinion — don’t want to miss that payout. (That’s not to say I haven’t had cases of asbestosis. But curiously, all of my asbestosis cases were not diagnosed by lawyers.)”.
“Next: No Cigs in Your Car”
“Smoking even in the privacy of your own car could be banned under one of at least five state bills introduced in the past year to limit where a person can light up.” The car smoking ban would apply whenever children — including the smoker’s own children — were present in a car. For earlier proposals along these lines, see Jun. 3-4, 2002 and Oct. 5, 2001. (Kenneth Lovett, New York Post, Sept. 22).
“Trial Lawyers Inc.”
In an editorial yesterday, the Wall Street Journal hailed the new study by the Manhattan Institute (with which I’m affiliated) dissecting the finances and operating methods of what might be “America’s only recession-proof industry: the plaintiffs’ bar. … [The] estimated $40 billion in revenues our tort warriors took in for 2001 was 50% more than Microsoft or Intel and double that of Coca-Cola.” (Sept. 23, online subscribers only). More coverage: Marguerite Higgins, “Lawsuit industry generates billions”, Washington Times, Sept. 24; UPI/Washington Times, Sept. 24. The study itself, along with updates and lots of other related information, can be found at the eponymous site TrialLawyersInc.com.
Legal Reform Summit
As mentioned, I spent Monday attending the fourth annual Legal Reform Summit in Washington, D.C., an event co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, the American Tort Reform Association, the Business Roundtable, the Doctors Company of Napa, Calif., and law firms Jenner & Block and Mayer Brown, Rowe & Maw. I gave a short talk on the subject of “who’s next as a target of mass litigation?”, which correspondent Mark Hofmann of Business Insurance magazine wrote up on the magazine’s web journal (“Employers face new wave of lawsuits”, Sept. 22).
I was also surprised and gratified, at the Summit’s awards luncheon, to be named the recipient of its annual “Individual Achievement Award”. The engraved glass award is now sitting on my desk even as I type. Many thanks to all concerned!
Our editor on the road
Postings (from me, at least) will be sparser than usual this week as I will be spending a lot of time on the road. On Mon. the 22nd, I’ll be addressing the annual Legal Reform Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. The next day, Tues. the 23rd, I’ll also be in Washington to attend the unveiling of an important new study from the Manhattan Institute entitled Trial Lawyers Inc., which tries to get a handle on the scope, operations and future direction of the industry of suing people, considered as an industry; former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh will give the main presentation. And on Thurs. Sept. 25th, I’ll be a panelist at a daytime discussion of Litigation and the Economy held at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Update: not quite after our own heart
Last year it was reported (Sept. 27-29, 2002) that Kansas City Royals coach Tom Gamboa, who had been set upon and beaten by a father-son pair of spectators at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, had rebuffed lawyers who had contacted him suggesting he sue the White Sox, and said he didn’t plan legal action: “The fault is with the two people who did it,” he said. “I’m not one who looks to place blame. It’s nobody’s fault but the two idiots who did it.” Now — whoops! — AP is reporting that Gamboa has filed a suit not only against the father who attacked him but also two other defendants: Illinois SportService, a concessionaire that allegedly served the irate fan too much alcohol, and SDI Security Inc., which provides security at the ballpark. Gamboa’s suit seeks in excess of $200,000 in damages. (“Coach sues attacker, others for on-field attack “, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 19)
Update: immigration law fraud
In Miami, immigration lawyer Javier Lopera was sentenced to eight years in prison and faces deportation afterward for his role in operating a visa mill which may have provided as many as 3,500 persons with false papers qualifying them to enter the country as religious ministers or business executives. In another major fraud case, “Virginia lawyer Samuel Kooritzky was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison for crimes involving 2,700 applications submitted in 18 months.” (Catherine Wilson, “Probe of immigration lawyer balloons into massive visa fraud case”, AP/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Aug. 29). Last year Harvard Law-educated Robert Porges, who once ran the country’s largest political asylum practice, and his wife pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, conspiracy and tax fraud and were sentenced to about eight years in prison for their role in filing 6,000 or more false asylum applications as well as false affidavits (see Sept. 22, 2000; Matt Hayes, “Corrupt Lawyers Aid Immigration Woes”, Fox News, Apr. 29, 2002; “Lawyer, wife admit Chinese smuggling scheme”, AP/Court TV, 2002; Elizabeth Amon, “The Snakehead Lawyers”, National Law Journal, Jul. 17, 2002).
Update: something burning in Mississippi
The series of unfortunate occurrences continues in the Magnolia State: “An early morning fire at former Judge John Whitfield’s law office may have destroyed some documents he was preparing to use in his defense of federal fraud and bribery charges, his lawyer said. Authorities said the fire remains under investigation, but a private fire investigator hired by Whitfield concluded it was arson.” (Beth Musgrave, “Whitfield’s office burns”, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Sept. 16; Jerry Mitchell, “Lawyer says house fire an act of intimidation”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Sept. 16; WLOX, Sept. 15)(via Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy). For background on the Mississippi judicial investigation, see Jul. 27, Aug. 19 and links from there.
Last month, the same newspaper reported that “Mississippi Supreme Court officials were seen shredding documents as federal prosecutors flooded the high court with subpoenas for judges’ tax forms, records of the cases over which they presided and how cases are assigned”; but a spokeswoman for the court denied that any documents were shredded that were responsive to the subpoenas, and Chief Justice Edwin Pittman called the allegations a “deliberate and false attack being waged against the Supreme Court of Mississippi by people with intimate knowledge of the workings of the court.” Pittman also said “there has been no unusual document shredding at the court and that the court’s computer system is able to retrieve any written communication.” (Beth Musgrave, “Witnesses: documents shredded”, Aug. 21; “Chief Justice: ‘Deliberate attack waged against court'”, Aug. 22; Pittman statement; “Allegations need to be investigated” (editorial), Hattiesburg American, Aug. 23). See also Jerry Mitchell, “FBI questions law clerks on rulings in high court probe”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Aug. 29.
But there was no rule against it
“Let’s say a 13-year-old girl admits she performed oral sex on a 13-year-old boy, while returning from a field trip on the school bus. In front of classmates who she was trying to impress. What do you do, Mom? Naturally, you go to court to claim suspension is unjust for the lovebirds because the school is ‘not clear in its written policies that oral sex on a bus was unacceptable behavior.’ Where does it say: ‘No oral sex on the bus,” huh?” (Joanne Jacobs, Sept. 16) A Pennsylvania judge dismissed the mother’s lawsuit (Bob Bauder, “Pupil’s expulsion appeal denied”, Beaver County (Pa.) Times, Sept. 3). Kimberly Swygert comments: “Um, mom? Fighting your child’s expulsion on these grounds is not what you should be concentrating on right now.” (Sept. 16)