Anne Haight is photoblogging the scene of the finger incident (Apr. 25)(via Instapundit)(see Apr. 22, etc.)
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Go Cathy go
If you oppose one or another agenda item of the organized religious right these days, you’re apt to get accused of “anti-religious bigotry”. Gordon Smith (Apr. 26) provides a handy summary with links of the current flap over judicial nominations. Longtime readers will find it little surprise that I think Cathy Young (“An ugly new chapter in the religious wars”, Boston Globe, Apr. 25) has the better of the argument (also check out Mark Kleiman, Apr. 26) while Prof. Bainbridge is barking up a desperately wrong tree (Apr. 25) when he declares that Senate Democrats’ actions have a disparate impact on nominees “of faith”; the disparate-impact concept has done enough damage already in the realm of employment discrimination law without encouraging it to debilitate the rest of American discourse.
P.S. Were I a Senator I would no doubt happily vote to confirm most of the disputed nominees. But between the Schiavo case and the collaboration of Hill Republicans in demagogic events like “Justice Sunday”, is it any wonder GOP popularity is plummeting?
Scotland: “Mother sues NHS for £250,000 after failed abortion”
“In the first legal action of its kind in Britain, Stacy Dow is claiming her local NHS trust should pay to help her raise the daughter she never expected to have.” (Michael Blackley, The Scotsman, Apr. 25).
Trauma from seeing bottled fly: C$340,000
Neither Waddah (Martin) Mustapha, of Windsor, Ontario nor his wife Lynn consumed the dead fly they found in a bottle of Culligan bottled water, nor did they drink any of the water that had come in contact with it, since they discovered the fly before opening the bottle. They were so traumatized, however, that a court has just applied the calamine of cash to their psychic wounds to the extent of a third of a million dollars (Canadian). Mr. Mustapha, a hairstylist, said he had nightmares and lost sleep after the fly incident; he “also testified that he lost his sense of humour and became argumentative and edgy,” among other ill consequences. Let’s hope the couple never goes on a picnic. (Chris Thompson, “Man wins $340,000 in bottled fly lawsuit”, Windsor Star, Apr. 23). Update Feb. 17, 2007: appeals court reverses judgment and awards $30K in costs to defendant Culligan; May 23, 2008: Supreme Court upholds Culligan win.
Louisiana 30% responsible for drunk driver’s head-on collision
It was foggy on the morning of January 31, 1997, when James Bowman decided to pass a truck on a two-lane bridge in Morganza, Louisiana. Unfortunately, this resulted in a head-on collision with a car driven by 22-year-old Deependra Charan, and Charan was paralyzed. A jury found $21 million in damages, and attributed 30% of the accident to the Louisiana Department of Transportation for not building a second bridge. Because, after all, head-on collisions in foggy weather never happen on two-lane roads that aren’t bridges. Because Louisiana adopted the tort reform of abolishing joint and several liability, taxpayers are stuck with only a bit over $6 million, rather than the entire bill. (Roy Pitchford, “$21 million awarded in La. 1 crash”, The Advocate, Apr. 23).
Though the press coverage isn’t clear, I’ve confirmed that the case involves the Morganza Spillway, which is a narrow four-mile long flood-control structure that would not be feasible to duplicate. The plaintiffs’ alternative suggestion, a barrier between the two lanes, may or may not be possible, but would certainly make crossing the bridge behind slow traffic (the Spillway seems to be a popular bicycle touring spot) unbearable.
Not included in the press coverage: the jury did not get to hear that James Bowman had a blood-alcohol level of .10, nor that the accident was his third DWI.
New post category: “Eat, Drink and Be Merry”
It’s been a while since we’ve added any new topical categories, so we’ve just created one that’s been overdue: Eat Drink and Be Merry, covering lawsuits over bacon cheeseburgers and obesity, booze sales, foreign objects that turn up in the chili or bottled water, calorie-labeling goofs, and, of course, hot coffee spills. We might throw in a few related stories about claims of “addictive” entertainment, too. Several of these topics are obviously closely related to the themes of our ever-popular personal responsibility subpage, which will remain unchanged.
A word about our topical pages (which are a great way to use the site for research, or just browse what we’ve published on a topic you find of interest): our subpage on product liability is a catch-all for cases in that category that don’t fit into the more specific pages covering guns, tobacco, cars, aircraft, microchips, and so forth (and now food and drink). If you’re interested in product liability as a general subject, you should consider visiting these other pages too. And our subpage on environmental law ranges somewhat afield to take in topics that include zoning, landmark preservation, mold claims and (always a favorite) animal rights. The full list of topics can be found along the right column of Overlawyered’s front page, just below the list of archives arranged by month.
Cow-pie bingo scratched
Among the latest recreational activities to fall afoul of liability fears: the cow-pie bingo event at Westby, Wisconsin’s Syttende Mai Festival, an annual celebration of Norwegian folk heritage (pictures). Last year, it seems, a Holstein named Baby managed to escape the designated containment, and although nobody was hurt some kids were scared, causing the organizers to reconsider the whole venture. “In cow pie bingo, a large area is marked as a grid with up to 500 squares, and gamblers bet $2 a square (six for $10) on where Baby will deposit a fresh meadow muffin.” (George Hesselberg, “Hopping Holstein shuts down cow pie bingo”, Wisconsin State Journal, Apr. 24).
Update: PETA vs. “Happy Cows” ads
Animal-rights extremist group PETA has failed in its effort to invoke California’s s. 17200 unfair-practices act to suppress a state advertising campaign characterizing California dairy products as coming from “happy cows”. Without comment, the state Supreme Court has denied review of an appeals court decision throwing out the lawsuit, which had held that official government activity (in this case that of the state’s farmer-funded milk advisory board) is not covered by the statute (see Nov. 30, 2004 and Jan. 16, 2005). (Bob Egelko, “State justices refuse PETA a hearing on the life of cows”, San Francisco Chronicle, Apr. 21).
Breaking news: Finger-pointing III
Anna Ayala was arrested late last night, and San Jose police will hold a press conference at 1 this afternoon to announce charges–bad timing for Wendy’s, since this means that the exoneration from a month of bad publicity from a finger supposedly found in its chili that has substantially hurt its sales in California and Las Vegas will take place in the Friday evening news cycle. Previous entries: Apr. 9 and Apr. 20.
Today’s unbelievable attorney advertising
Evan Schaeffer points us to the site of a Seattle attorney, J. Michael Gallagher, who uses prom-dressed legal assistants called “Gallagher’s Gals” to attract clients. One would imagine that the family lawyer isn’t worried about alienating half of his potential clientele since he’s also the author of “She’s Not Your Friend – A Man’s Guide To Understanding Women.” Two Seattle law school bloggers comment here and here.