California’s s. 17200, while handy in kneecapping private businesses which try to defend themselves in public controversies, can’t be used to silence speech by government: “An animal rights group’s challenge to a ‘Happy Cows’ advertising campaign by a state advisory board was rejected by a California appeals court in San Francisco today. The Court of Appeal said that a government entity can’t be sued for false advertising under the state’s Unfair Business Practices Act.” (“Animal rights group loses lawsuit against ‘Happy Cows’ commercial”, San Mateo County Times, Jan. 12; Mike McKee, “PETA Loses Suit Over California Cow Ads”, The Recorder, Jan. 13)(see Nov. 30). Update Apr. 23: California Supreme Court denies review.
Posts Tagged ‘animal rights’
PETA wields s. 17200
One of the most justly unpopular of animal-rights groups is hoping to exploit the speech-suppressing potential of the California law invoked in Nike v. Kasky: “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Inc. accused the California Milk Advisory Board of violating the state’s unfair competition law by portraying an idyllic lifestyle for California dairy cows while knowing they endure a “harsh, uncomfortable and often painful existence.” The group is appealing a San Francisco judge’s ruling that the law’s false-advertising provisions cannot be invoked against a governmental entity such as the milk board. (Mike McKee, “PETA Cries Over Cow-Filled Milk Board Ads”, The Recorder, Nov. 18). For more on Nike v. Kasky, see Jul. 1, Jul. 9, Sept. 14, 2003. (Update Jan. 16, 2005: appeals court rules against PETA.)
The horn is now silent
Cultural vandalism dept.: the Blair government has pushed through the House of Commons its ban on fox hunting. (“Hunt ban forced through Commons”, BBC, Nov. 19) (via Englishman’s Castle)(more on the hounds of John Peel).
Ninth Circuit: marine mammals don’t have standing…yet
There’ll always be a Ninth Circuit: “The world’s whales, porpoises and dolphins have no standing to sue President Bush over the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar equipment that harms marine mammals, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, widely considered one of the most liberal and activist in the country, said it saw no reason why animals should not be allowed to sue [emphasis added] but said they had not yet been granted that right.” (“Court Says Whales, Dolphins Cannot Sue Bush”, Reuters/PlanetArk, Oct. 21). For more on giving animals standing to sue (= giving human lawyers standing to sue on their claimed behalf) see our animal rights archives and specifically May 14-15 and Apr. 29-30, 2002. More: Legal Reader has a link to the opinion (PDF), and Martin Grace also comments. More: Jeff Chorney, “Call Me Ishmael — and Call My Lawyer!”, The Recorder, Nov. 1.
Suing Atkins for publicity
An animal-rights group that calls itself the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is assisting a disappointed dieter in suing the Atkins people over allegedly failing to warn that levels of bad cholesterol can rise on a meat-rich diet. A torts professor quoted by the Times says the complaint “reads as if it were done by someone who is doing it for reasons of publicity rather than private gain”, and even the named plaintiff pretty much admits that it’s more about headline-seeking than anything else. (Marian Burros, “Dieter Sues Atkins Estate and Company”, New York Times, May 27). Does the self-proclaimed Physicians Committee want publicity, then? Here’s some: National Council Against Health Fraud, Brian Carnell, Center for Consumer Freedom commentary and press release, ActivistCash.com . Together these links tell you all you probably need to know about the PCRM, which has also been extensively quoted in the press as a cheerleader for lawsuits against McDonald’s and other burger chains. Plus: yet more from CCF.
Update: zoo elephant’s social life
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Wu “is giving the Knoxville Zoo six months to report back on the social life of an African elephant named Ruby.” The Humane Society of the U.S. sued challenging Ruby’s transfer from the Los Angeles Zoo, saying she would be made unhappy at separation from her friend Gita, a fellow pachyderm (see May 16-18 and Jun. 2, 2003). “‘As far as I’m concerned, it’s the first time in America that we’ve had a Superior Court judge bend over backwards to see if an elephant is happy,’ said Gretchen Wyler, vice president of the U.S. Humane Society’s Hollywood office.” (AP/WATE-TV Knoxville, Apr. 28) (via Brian Noggle).
Possum party poopers
The Appalachian town of Brasstown, North Carolina, had a tongue-in-cheek tradition of celebrating the new year by lowering, instead of a ball, a captured and fattened possum in a plexiglass cage, followed by a release of the animal. This New Year’s Eve, however, the hundreds of attendees were disappointed when, hours before the event, a PETA member threatened legal action against the organizer, who was sufficiently frightened off by the possibility of needing to hire lawyers to back off the annual event. (Jeffrey Gettleman, “A New Year’s Tradition Lives, but the 4-Legged Star Doesn’t”, New York Times, Jan. 2; Jeffrey Gettleman, “Keep Your Ball. We’ve Got the Possum.”, New York Times, Dec. 31). I suppose PETA wasn’t deterred by the anti-tort-reform propaganda going around the blogosphere that falsely implies that volunteers are protected from lawsuit (Dec. 12).
Archived technology law items, pre-July 2003
[intellectual property, patent, copyright and trademark cases]
Web liability issues, 2002: “‘Google sued over search ratings’“, Nov. 6; “AVweb capitulates to defamation suit“, Sept. 16-17 (& Sept. 18-19); “Defying the link-banners“, Aug. 22; “PetsWarehouse.com defamation suit, cont’d” (linking, metatags), May 22-23 (& May 27, 2002, Aug. 6, 2001); “A DMCA run-in” (linking to copyright violation), Apr. 16-17; “Web speech roundup“, Mar. 25-26; “Columnist-fest” (N.Y. Times v. Tasini), Feb. 11-12; “Web defamation roundup“, Jan. 18-20. 2001: “KPMG” (company thinks it can prohibit linking to its site), Dec. 11; “Words as property: ‘entrepreneur’” (domain name dispute), Nov. 1; “University official vs. web anonymity“, Oct. 30; “Domain-name disputes are busting out all over“, June 29-July 1; “Anonymity takes a D.C. hit” (Italy licenses web publishers), May 21; “Scientologists vs. Slashdot“, March 19-20. 2000: “Yahoo pulls message board“, Oct. 18; “‘Regulating Privacy: At What Cost?’” (Swedish privacy laws), Sept. 20; “Web-copyright update: ‘Dialectizer’ back up, ‘MS-Monopoly’ down“, Aug. 16-17; “Dangers of linking“, June 7; “Illegal to talk about drugs?“, May 30; “‘Dialectizer shut down’“, May 18-21; “eBay yanks e-meter auctions” (copyright claim), May 3; “Terminix vs. consumer critic’s website” (metatags), Mar. 31-Apr. 2; “More assertions of link liability” (DVD hack), Dec. 31-Jan. 2. 1999: “Link your way to liability?” (professor sues over “course critique” website), Nov. 15 (& update Oct. 10, 2000); “We ourselves use ‘sue’” (competitors’ names used as metatags), Sept. 25-26; “‘Don’t link or I’ll sue’” (“deep linking” suits), Aug. 13 (& update April 5, 2000: court rules deep linking not violation). Plus: our 404 message; & see data collection, disabled access issues.
Website accessibility: “‘Judge: Disabilities act doesn’t cover Web“, Oct. 22, 2002; “Website accessibility law hits the U.K.” (Scotland), May 7, 2001; “Olympics website’s accessibility complaint“, Aug. 16-17, 2000; “Disabled accessibility for campaign websites: the gotcha game“, July 19-20; “Welcome readers” (Intellectual Capital), June 19; “ADA & the web: sounding the alarm“, May 24; “Access excess“, May 2; “ADA & freedom of expression on the Web“, Feb. 10-11; editor’s testimony before House Judiciary Committee, Feb. 9, 2000; “Accessible websites no snap“, Dec. 21, 1999; “AOL sued for failure to accommodate blind users“, Nov. 5, 1999.
Toshiba settlement, bug and glitch liability, 2002: “7,000 missing colors, many of them crisply green“, Aug. 29. 2001: “Update: Compaq beats glitch suit“, May 11-13; “‘Lawyers to Get $4.7 Million in Suit Against Iomega’” (zip drive defect allegations), May 8. 2000: “‘Laptop lawsuit: Toshiba, feds settle’“, Oct. 25; “In praise of bugs“, May 1; “Silicon siege” (CNet report), April 7-9. 1999: “Toshiba and Ford, in the same boat“, Dec. 2; “Don’t redeem that coupon!“, Nov. 24-25; “Class actions vs. high-tech“, Nov. 23; “How I hit the class action jackpot” (Stuart Taylor, Jr.), Nov. 17; “More details on Toshiba“, Nov. 5-7; “Toshiba flops over“, Nov. 3.
Email and liability: “Employers liable for not filtering raunchy spam?“, Apr. 10-13, 2003; “Big fish devour the little?” (listserv defamation, aquatic plants case), Aug. 6, 2001; “E-privacy invasion made simple“, Feb. 14-15, 2001; “Watch those fwds” (subpoenas of bulletin board postings; Dow Chemical fires employees for email use), Aug. 21-22, 2000; “Hold your e-tongue” (emails “can kill you in a courtroom”), Nov. 9, 1999; “Please — there are terminals present” (Bloomberg email system censors bad words), Jul. 30; “‘Destroy privacy expectations’: lawyer” (tell workers their email and hard drives are open to company inspection), Jul. 26, 1999.
Data collection, privacy issues, 2001: “Vast new surveillance powers for state AGs?” (Carnivore), Sept. 25-26, 2001; “Brace for data-disaster suits“, May 29; “Anonymity takes a D.C. hit“, May 21; “Update: cookie lawsuit crumbles“, May 9. 2000: “‘Internet Usage Records Accessible Under FOI Laws’“, Nov. 14; “‘Regulating Privacy: At What Cost?’“, Sept. 20; “Feds’ own cookie-pushing“, July 5; “Insurers fret over online privacy suits“, May 26-29; “Thomas the Tank Engine, derailed” (COPPA children’s privacy law), May 25; “Web-advertisers’ apocalypse?“, April 20; “Chat into the microphone, please” (SEC plans automated trawling of bulletin boards for stock-hyping comments), April 11; “Silicon siege” (Yahoo), April 7-9; “Another S&W thing” (state AGs vs. DoubleClick), March 27; “Yahoo stalked me!” (privacy suits), March 2; “Cookies, dunked” (DoubleClick), Feb. 2.
Home office regulation?: “OSHA & telecommuters: the long view“, April 7-9, 2000; “Update: OSHA in full retreat on home office issue“, Jan. 29-30; “OSHA at-home worker directive“, Jan. 8-9; “OSHA backs off on home-office regulation“, Jan. 6; “Beyond parody: ‘OSHA Covers At-Home Workers’“, Jan. 5, 2000.
Y2K: “Y2K roundup: poor things!” (much less litigation than expected), Jan. 21-23, 2000; “Litigation Bug Bites Into Democracy“, Jan. 13-14, 2000; “Y, oh Y2K?” (“sue and labor” insurance claims), Sept. 16, 1999 (& see updates Dec. 26-28, 2000 and Nov. 2-4, 2001: courts tend to rule against such claims).
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Other Overlawyered.com commentaries: “Intel sued in notorious county“, Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2002. “Sic ’em on Segway“, Aug. 1, 2002; “Segway, the super-wheelchair and the FDA“, Dec. 12, 2001. “‘Every Man a Cyber Crook’“, Feb. 6-7, 2002. “Draconian hacker penalties?“, Sept. 28-30, 2001. “‘Lawsuit demands AOL stop anti-Islamic chat’“, Sept. 3, 2001; “EEOC: unfiltered computers ‘harass’ librarians“, June 4, 2001. “Dotcom wreckage: sue ’em all“, Aug. 7-8, 2001. “Brace for data-disaster suits” (hacker attacks, viruses), May 29, 2001; “Suing Nike for getting hacked“, July 12, 2000; “Deep pockets blameable for denial-of-service attacks?“, Feb. 26-27; “Antitrust obstacles to hacker defense“, Feb. 10-11, 2000. “Anonymity takes a D.C. hit“, May 21, 2001. “Techies fear Calif. anti-confidentiality bill“, May 15, 2001. “Internet service disclaimers“, Dec. 13-14, 2000. “‘Stock Options: A Gold Mine for Racial-Discrimination Suits?’“, Dec. 11-12, 2000; “Feds’ mission: target Silicon Valley for race complaints“, Feb. 29, 2000. Labor law: “Digital serfs?“, Jan. 26-28, 2001; “Goodbye to gaming volunteers?“, Sept. 12, 2000 (& update Oct. 3); “Why rush that software project, anyway?” (California overtime law), March 29; “Microsoft temps can sue for stock options“, Jan. 11, 2000 (& see Feb. 17; letters, Dec. 20); “‘Click here to sue!’” (AOL volunteer suit), Sept. 7, 1999; “Click here to sue!” (employee misclassification suits), Aug. 19, 1999. “Tax software verdict: pick a number” (Mississippi verdict; government contracting), Sept. 5, 2000. “Class-action assault on eBay“, July 13, 2000 (update Nov. 22-23; class action certified). “‘Parody of animal rights site told to close’“, July 3-4, 2000 (& Aug. 29-30, 2001). “A Harvard call for selective rain” (some Internet regulation, not too much), July 3-4, 2000. “AOL ‘pop-up’ class action” (ads said to be unfair), June 27, 2000. “Harassment-law roundup” (Internet startups vulnerable), May 4, 2000; “Dot-coms as perfect defendants” (sex harassment suits), Jan. 17; “Harassment-law roundup” (Juno cases), Feb. 19-21, 2000.. “Silicon siege” (Ebay antitrust investigation, other cases; T.J. Rodgers warns against rapprochement with Washington), April 7-9, 2000. “Terminix vs. consumer critic’s website“, March 31-April 2, 2000. “Music stores sue Sony” (objecting to company-store hyperlinks included with CDs), Feb. 25, 2000. “Silicon siege” (AOL 5.0 upgrade), April 7-9, 2000; “AOL upgrade’s sharp elbows“, Feb. 12-13, 2000. “Green cards gather moss” (immigration delays), Feb. 4, 2000. “Santa came late” (Toys-R-Us e-tailing shortfalls), Jan. 19, 2000; “Beware of market crashes” (online brokerages “probably” liable for computer outages), Nov. 26-28, 1999. “Your fortune awaits in Internet law” (cybersquatting), Jan. 13-14, 2000; “Time to rent a clue” (domain name disputes), July 28, 1999. “Rolling the dice, cont’d” (suits over online gambling), Dec. 7, 1999 (earlier report, Aug. 26). “Mounties vs. your dish” (Canadian satellite law), Nov. 1, 1999. “Founders’ view of encryption“, Oct. 29, 1999. “In Houston, expensive menus” (junk faxes class action), Oct. 22, 1999 (update April 3, 2000: claims thrown out). “Foam-rubber cow recall” (Gateway Corp. premium), Oct. 22, 1999. “Feds: dissent on smoking = racketeering” (suit deems website advocacy unlawful), Sept. 23, 1999. “Effects of shareholder-suit reform“, Sept. 22, 1999. “Our award-winning errors” (this site’s 404 message), Aug. 14-15, 1999. “Weekend reading” (word counts on litigators’ briefs), Aug. 7-8, 1999. “Censorship via (novel) lawsuits” (lawyers blame school shootings on video games, Internet sites), July 22, 1999. “Thought for the day” (Cravath’s Robert Joffe on foreign companies’ unwillingness to let American law govern contracts), July 11, 1999. Archived environment items, pre-July 2003See separate entries for archived entries on animal rights and mold.
“Bounty-hunting in New Jersey“, Jun. 10-11, 2003. “‘State is suing ex-dry cleaners’” (Calif., Superfund), May 27, 2003. “Suing ’til the cows come home“, May 20, 2003. “U.K. roundup” (global warming suits), Jun. 12-15, 2003; “Tort suits over global warming“, Feb. 6-9, 2003; “Global warming suit?“, Jul. 31, 2001 (& Aug. 10-12); “Plus extra damages for having argued with us“, Aug. 19, 1999. “California’s hazardous holiday” (fireplaces), Dec. 27-29, 2002; “Chestnuts-roasting menace averted“, Dec. 24-27, 2001; “Put out that match” (agricultural burning, residential wood burning), Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2001. “How much did you say that Indian legend was worth?“, Sept. 25-26, 2002; “Final innings for Kennewick Man“, Sept. 27-28, 2000; “Free Kennewick Man!” (pre-Columbian remains), Oct. 11, 1999. Low exposures, 2002: “A breast-cancer myth“, Sept. 3-4; “‘Unharmed woman awarded $104,000’” (Canada), May 6. 2001: “There’ll always be a California” (chocolate and Prop 65), Dec. 4; “‘Incense link to cancer’“, Aug. 27-28; “‘Candles might be polluting your home, EPA says’“, Jun. 19; “While you were out: the carbonless paper crusade“, Apr. 25 (& letter to the editor, May 18); “Hunter sues store over camouflage mask“, Jan. 12-14. 2000: “‘Airbag chemical on trial’“, Aug. 14; “Multiple chemical sensitivity from school construction“, Jul. 3-4; “Feelings of nausea? Get in line” (Baton Rouge chemical spill), Jan. 26-27. 1999: “Lockyer vs. keys” (California attorney general declares brass a toxic hazard), Nov. 2. “Mercury in dental fillings“, Jul. 16-17, 2002 (& Nov. 4-5, 2002). “Going to blazes” (logging and Western fires), Jul. 1-2, 2002; “Credibility up in smoke?” (same), Jul. 12-14, 2002; letter to the editor, Oct. 23. “‘San Francisco Verdict Bodes Ill for Oil Industry’“, Jun. 11-12, 2002. “‘Legal fight over chemical spill ends with whimper’” (W.V.), Jun. 7-9, 2002. “Flowers, perfume in airline cabins not OK?” (Canada), May 17-19, 2002; “Scented hair gel, deodorant could mean jail time for Canadian youth“, Apr. 24, 2000. “The mystery of the transgenic corn“, May 14-15, 2002. “‘Former clients sue attorney O’Quinn’” (Kennedy Heights case), Apr. 8-9, 2002. “Arsenic: one last dose?“, Mar. 22-24, 2002; “The view from Arsenictown“, Sept. 11, 2001; “‘The arithmetic of arsenic’“, Aug. 17-19; “Bush’s environmental centrism“, April 24; “Tempest in an arsenic-laced teacup?“, Apr. 18; “‘Bogus’ assault on Norton“, Jan. 18; “The Times vs. Gale Norton“, Jan. 15; “Ecology and economy“, Jan. 5-7, 2001. “Liability concerns fell giant sequoia“, Mar. 12, 2002. “Environmental lawsuits vs. military readiness“, Jan. 2-3, 2002. “Overlawyered schools roundup” (environmental impact statement for teacher layoffs?), Dec. 7-9, 2001. “Infectious disease conquered, CDC now chases sprawl“, Nov. 9-11, 2001. “States lag in curbing junk science“, May 29, 2001. “‘Family awarded $1 billion in lawsuit’” (Louisiana land contamination), May 24, 2001. “Prospect of $3 gas“, May 10, 2001. “Seventh Circuit rebukes EPA” (Superfund search and seizure), Apr. 23, 2001. Attorneys’ fees: “Stories that got away” (Endangered Species Act suits), Jul. 23, 2001; “Losers should pay” (columnist Thomas Sowell; injunctions, bonding requirements), Aug. 4-7, 2000; “Marbled Murrelet v. Babbitt: heads I win, tails let’s call it even” (“one-way” fee shifts), Sept. 8, 1999 (& see National Law Journal, Dec. 14, 1999). “Enviro litigator: debate belongs in Congress, not courts“, Dec. 29, 2000-Jan. 2, 2001. “Federal power over mud puddles?” (wetlands case), Nov. 28, 2000. “From the evergreen file: cancer alley a myth?“, Nov. 8, 2000. “‘A Civil Action’ and Hollywood views of lawyers“, Jun. 20, 2000. “Don’t cooperate” (lawyers’ advice re local health survey), Jun. 9-11, 2000. “EPA’s high courtroom loss rate“, May 26-29, 2000; “When agencies like getting sued“, Dec. 6, 1999. “After the great power-line panic“, May 24, 2000; “Another scare starts to fizzle” (endocrine disrupters), Aug. 19, 1999. “This side of parodies” (“dihydrogen monoxide” parody), May 10, 2000. “Diapered wildlife?” (animal emissions as environmental problem), Apr. 10, 2000; “Backyard trash burning” (suspected as major dioxin source), Jan. 6, 2000. “Emerging campaign issue: ‘brownfields’ vs. Superfund lawyers“, Apr. 4, 2000; “Mayors: liability fears stalling ‘brownfields’ development“, Feb. 26-27, 2000. “Lawyers for famine and wilderness-busting?” (anti-biotech), Jan. 3, 1999. “Weekend reading: evergreens” (Race car great Bobby Unser’s snowmobiling rap), Dec. 3-5, 1999. “Leave that mildew alone” (EPA considers mildew-proof paint to be pesticide), Nov. 30, 1999. “Flag-burning protest requires environmental permits” (one for smoke, one for fire), Nov. 3, 1999. “A mile wide and an inch deep” (EPA considers Platte River impaired because sun heats it up), Oct. 15, 1999. “Careful what you tell your lawyer” (feds demand waiver of lawyer-client confidentiality in environmental cases), Sept. 14, 1999; “Overlawyered skies not always safer” (environmental audits and other “self-critical analysis”), Jul. 19, 1999. “Tainted cycle” (class action over infectious bacterium in Milwaukee water supply), Sept. 2, 1999. Articles by Overlawyered.com editor Walter Olson: “Hollywood vs. the Truth” (“Civil Action” movie), Wall Street Journal, December 23, 1998. “Don’t Steal This Book“, review of Property Matters by James DeLong, Wall Street Journal, April 2, 1997 (property rights). “Lawyers with Stethoscopes: Clients Beware“, Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo # 26, June 1996. Archived animal rights items, 1999-June 2003Archived entries before July 2003 can also be found here. 2002: “Suit: schoolkids shouldn’t attend rodeo“, Oct. 24; “Officious intermeddlers, pet division” (chimps; lawyers intervene in divorces on behalf of couple’s cats and dogs), May 14-15; “Zoo asserts animals’ ‘medical privacy’“, May 8; “Lawyers for chimps?“, Apr. 29-30; “‘PETA Says It Will Sue New Jersey Over Deer/Car Accident’“, Feb. 25-26; “All things sentimental and recoverable“, Jan. 30-31. 2001: “‘North America’s most dangerous mammal’” (deer), Nov. 29; “Fight over dog’s disposition said to cost taxpayers $200K“, Nov. 21-22; “Harvard Law’s new Bob Barker program in animal rights“, Jul. 5. 2000: “Lab mice paperwork“, Oct. 26; “European roundup” (Swiss animal-rights initiative), Oct. 16-17; “‘Parody of animal rights site told to close’“, Jul. 3-4; “Compare and contrast: puppy’s life and human’s“, Jun. 22-25; “Suits by household pets?“, May 26-29; “From the dog’s point of view“, Feb. 8-9; “Down, attorney! Down!“, Feb. 1; “Weekend reading: columnist-fest” (Laura Pulfer on animal rights), Feb. 5-6. 1999: “Got milk? Get sued” (veggie lawsuit against milk in schools), Dec. 16; “Wide world of federal law enforcement” (“crush video” ban), Oct. 16-17; “Not just our imagination” (class action against “Big Meat”?), Sept. 25-26; “Polly in Margaritaville” (felony defendant charged with getting parrot tipsy), Aug. 2. |