Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

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Behind a pageant, busy lawyers

Representatives of the Hollywood, Fla.-based law firm of Schwartz Zweben & Associates have played a substantial role behind the scenes in helping organize, promote and support the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant and some of its state affiliates. And lawyers with the firm have filed more than 200 lawsuits in at least seven states and the District of Columbia on behalf of at least 13 pageant participants, “including state and national titleholders, state coordinators and pageant judges”. Among them: more than two dozen filed in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley since December on behalf of local coordinator Gina Hackel. In March, Janeal Lee of Appleton was stripped by pageant authorities of her title as Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin; she believes it is because she was critical of the pageant’s role in lawsuit-promotion, although pageant coordinators deny that and say she broke a rule against being photographed out of her wheelchair.

Schwartz Zweben “also conducts seminars instructing contestants on pursuing their legal rights under the disabilities act. Lee remembered a lawyer flying in to give the Wisconsin contestants such a talk at the January pageant in Green Bay.” “The people that are the lawyers, I really like them. We got along,” said Lisa Wartchow, Lee’s 2003 predecessor as Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin. “But I got the feeling they were there specifically to see if any of us … could bring them to our town and find cases for them.”

To verify Hackel’s claims of ADA violations in the Fox Valley, the law firm retained Ms. Wheelchair Florida 2002 Colleen Macort as a consultant, and she visited the businesses last fall, Zweben said.

Macort, who was named as a plaintiff in 63 ADA accessibility lawsuits filed in Florida by the firm over the past three years, also helped prepare the Wisconsin pageant won by Lee.

The Appleton paper (which is kind enough to quote me as part of its coverage) promises a four-part investigation, of which this is Part 1. (Ed Lowe and J.E. Espino, “Pageant, law firm closely linked”, Appleton Post-Crescent, Jul. 17). For more on mass filings of suits under the Americans with Disabilities Act and parallel state and local statutes, see Mar. 18, May 31 and many other entries on our disabled-rights page.

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More broadcast appearances

I was a guest on WABC radio’s John Gambling show this morning, discussing the Roberts nomination. At 3:30 Central I’ll be talking on the Carl Wigglesworth show in San Antonio. And circa 5:30 Eastern this afternoon I’ll make another appearance on WCBS-TV in New York.
(cross-posted at Point of Law)

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On the air

I was interviewed this afternoon for New York’s WCBS Channel 2 evening news on the Supreme Court vacancy, then joined host Chris Core of Washington, D.C.’s WMAL this evening for a discussion after it had become clear that the President’s Supreme Court pick would be Judge John Roberts. Tomorrow, I’ll be on KPCC, public radio in Southern California.

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ABC News Now today

I’ll be on ABC News Now, ABC’s webcast service, at 5:35 PM Eastern, talking about the Supreme Court nomination. There will be a rebroadcast at 9:05 PM, but I’ll be watching the president’s speech instead of my wild guess of the gender of his nominee. Needless to say, the “Guilt or Innocence” show did not discuss the London bombings.

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Speechless in Seattle

You can expect the press to close ranks around its own when freedom of speech is threatened, right? Well, maybe not, when the speakers in question are Fox radio hosts and the heavy hand of government is acting under the aegis of campaign regulation. (Ryan Sager, “Seattle, Post Intelligence”, TechCentralStation, Jul. 19). Sager’s blog has further details, here and here. For more on the controversy over a judge’s order that comments by KVI hosts John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur be counted as campaign contributions, see Jul. 11.

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Banking while intoxicated

Maggie Rizer earned millions as a successful model, but lost it in defalcations by her stepfather John Breen, who held power of attorney over her bank accounts back in her hometown of Watertown, N.Y. Now she’s suing HSBC, the bank; among her claims is that Breen’s demeanor should have constituted adequate warning that his withdrawals were improper and not in her best interest. The bank’s attorneys, in their motion for dismissal of the claim, argue (among numerous other defenses) that: “HSBC has no duty to screen its customers for use (of) alcohol or any other substance. There is no law prohibiting banking while intoxicated or while using medication. To hold that such a duty exists would place an unreasonable, and illogical duty upon banks.” (“Banking While Intoxicated: No Such Law, Says HSBC In Response To Rizer Lawsuit”, WWTI (Watertown, N.Y.), Jul. 18). In other news of intoxication, Eric Laverriere has sued the Waltham, Mass. police department, which collared him while breaking up a New Year’s Eve party at a friend’s house, then took him into “protective custody” and a nine-hour lockup. His suit contends that he had not caused any public disturbance and that drinking in private falls constitutionally short of adequate grounds for arrest. (Shelley Murphy, “Lawsuit asserts right to get drunk on private property”, Boston Globe, Jul. 8). Wave Maker (Jul. 8) has more details.

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“Tokyo governor sued for insulting French”

Japan, a country known for its extremely low rate of litigation, has furnished very little fodder for this site over the years, but here’s one that was worth the wait: “A group of teachers and translators in Japan on Wednesday sued Tokyo’s outspoken nationalist governor for allegedly calling French a ‘failed international language,’ a news report said. Twenty-one people filed the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court, demanding that Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara pay a total of 10.5 million yen ($94,600) compensation for insulting the French language in remarks last October, national broadcaster NHK said.” (AP/CentreDaily, Jul. 13). More: LanguageLog weighs in (Jul. 19).

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