I review David Bernstein’s “You Can’t Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties From Antidiscrimination Laws” in today’s New York Post (see Nov. 7). The book can be purchased here.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Enron examiner: $100 million plus immunity, please
“The $100 million man of Enron’s bankruptcy, court-appointed examiner Neal Batson, is seeking to cut his ties with the case after 18 months. Having produced 4,000 pages of reports outlining the tangled financial partnerships Enron used to mask its dwindling fiscal health, Batson has asked a bankruptcy judge for immunity from any and all subpoenas, permission to shred the documents he has collected and complete protection from any liability.” (Eric Berger, “Examiner has had enough of Enron”, Houston Chronicle, Dec. 4; Anthony Lin, “Enron Examiner Billed Estate for $100 Million”, New York Law Journal, Dec. 5)(see Nov. 26, Jun. 29; more)(& see Jul. 23, 2004).
Update: Ohio high court reverses Scott-Pontzer
The Ohio Supreme Court, following a shift in its balance through the election of two new members (see Nov. 7, 2002), has reversed its widely derided 1999 decision in Scott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mutual, which had allowed employees and their families injured on their own time in their own cars to collect from their employers’ auto insurance policies (Oct. 30, 2000; letter, Aug. 1, 2001). Some editorial reactions: Cincinnati Enquirer, Findlay Courier, Dayton Daily News.
“‘Trampled’ Wal-Mart Shopper Has History Of Injury Claims”
“A woman reported ‘trampled’ last Friday by Wal-Mart shoppers desperate for $29.87 DVD players has a long history of claiming injuries from Wal-Marts and other businesses where she worked or shopped.” Patricia Vanlester, 46, has pressed numerous claims over the years of having slipped and fallen in stores or having objects fall on her “under some of her various legal last names: Rastellini, Findley, Crabtree, Platt and Vanlester”. Ten of the earlier claims have been against Wal-Mart itself. Her recent report of having been “trampled by a herd of elephants” near the electronics display has been widely picked up by news agencies and commentators around the world as emblematic of American commercial excess. (Tony Pipitone, WKMG (Central Florida) Channel 6 News, Dec. 4).
Streisand loses lawsuit
On grounds that it was an abuse of the judicial process, a California judge has tossed the lawsuit Barbra Streisand brought against an environmental group who took an aerial photograph of her home off of a Malibu beach as part of a larger project documenting coastal erosion. The Smoking Gun has both the decision and the photo, as well as the May complaint. According to a press release of the defendants, the photo of Streisand’s home had only been downloaded six times before the lawsuit–twice by her own attorneys. The lawsuit just guaranteed thousands of additional people would see the photos. (Kenneth R. Weiss, “Judge Rejects Streisand Privacy Suit”, LA Times, Dec. 4).
Update: Texaco $33.8 M punitive damages award tossed
A jury had found that the plaintiffs had not suffered compensable damages, but went ahead and awarded $33.8 million in punitives against ChevronTexaco for the actions of a fired salesperson (Jul. 3). The Miami trial judge threw out the award November 12. (Laurie Cunningham, “$33.8M Jury Verdict Against ChevronTexaco Thrown Out”, Miami Daily Business Review, Dec. 1).
“Lawsuit alleges alcohol marketed to teens”
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed by the Armonk, N.Y. firm of Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP and by “David Boies III, of the Fairfax, Va., law firm Straus & Boies,” who is the son of Boies Schiller’s David Boies (Nov. 6, earlier cites). Although it claims not to be (yet) a broad-scale assault on the liquor industry a la tobacco, the suit seeks to recover “unlawful profits” made by Coors, Heineken, Brown-Forman, Diageo, and others for such supposed atrocities as employing the Captain Morgan character to sell rum and advertising in rock music magazines. Also being sued is the trade association The Beer Institute. (AP/Salon, Nov. 26). As we noted in July, liquor companies “have been curiously absent from the list of targets of mass litigation campaigns in the U.S.A. in recent years; but see Mar. 22, 2000.”
Juan Non-Volokh notes (Nov. 28) that Miller Brewing Co., which has been a client of Boies, Schiller & Flexner in the past, “is not among the named defendants in the suit. … Boies claims this is because Miller is not one of the ‘more egregious’ actors in the industry”. Julian Sanchez (Reason “Hit and Run”, Nov. 28) discerns the ripple effects of anti-alcohol agitation by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other Safety Dry forces. Jim Leitzel (Nov. 19) takes note of a study suggesting that alcohol advertising probably does raise the rate of underage drinking. Professor Bainbridge (Nov. 28) has some thoughts on the regulation-through-litigation angle. Further: for more on the Neo-Drys, see Radley Balko, “Back Door To Prohibition”, Cato Policy Analysis #501, Dec. 5. (Update Feb. 16: second suit targets brewers).
“Lawsuits battering local governments”
Arizona: “Taxpayers have shelled out more than $140 million since 1998 to cover the cost of claims against Valley and state governments, and experts expect the losses to mount as the public sector’s deep pockets become an ever more attractive target.” Arizona Republic does a heavily reported feature on the state of public liability in the surprisingly litigious Phoenix area, including the case of the Scottsdale parkgoer who got $10,000 for being attacked by a goose. A bunch of sidebar stories too, and more is promised on Wednesday (Pat Flannery, Arizona Republic, Nov. 30)
Update: ABA Journal settles “fixer” libel case
The American Bar Association Journal will publish a half-page apology, as well as pay an undisclosed sum, to settle attorney Richard A. Sprague’s claim that he was defamed when the magazine described him as “perhaps the most powerful lawyer-cum-fixer” in the state of Pennsylvania. (Dec. 5-6, 2001) Although the word “fixer” is widely employed to describe political wheeler-dealing of a lawful sort, a judge had ruled that it might also convey the impression that Sprague improperly “fixed” court cases. “In its answer to the suit, the ABA attached a list of more than 100 examples of prominent lawyers described as ‘fixers’ in such publications as The New York Times and the Washington Post.” (Shannon P. Duffy, “ABA, Sprague Agree to Settlement”, The Legal Intelligencer, Nov. 21).
Holiday posting
Posting will continue sparse through the weekend as we enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and catch up on non-site obligations. See you in a few days.