chemistry sets – Overlawyered

Product liability roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:04:10 +0000

“Oklahoma Court Tosses Jury Verdict Over ‘Defective’ Louisville Slugger” [Daniel Fisher/Forbes, Abnormal Use] “In contrast, a New Jersey case against the same defendant resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement divorced from any showing of culpability.” [PoL]
An expert witness wore two hats [Chamber-backed Madison County Record]
5-4 Washington Supreme Court decision in asbestos case bodes ill for makers of safety devices [Pacific Legal Foundation]
“Defective design and the Costa Concordia” [Rob Green, Abnormal Use; Rick Spilman, The Old Salt]
Calif. appeals court says man shot by 3 year old son can sue Glock [SFGate]
“Evidence of Drug Use May Be Relevant in Product Liability Litigation” [Farr, Abnormal Use]
“What used to be in chemistry sets that are not in there anymore are actual chemicals” [BBC, earlier here, here]

Tags: asbestos, baseball bats, chemistry sets, cruise ships, expert witnesses, guns, Oklahoma, product liability, Washington state

Product liability roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

September 14 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:36:41 +0000

Large newspaper group drops RightHaven; “it was a dumb idea” [Kravets/Wired, more] Courtroom reverses for copyright aggregator assume a comic tone [BoingBoing, Slashdot, Corporate Counsel]
Dan Snyder drops suit against Washington City Paper [WCP, Wolfman/CL&P, Adler, earlier here, here, etc.] More reactions to TSAer’s lawsuit threat against columnist/blogger Amy Alkon [Treacher, Balko, Bader]
Jury declines to credit testimony about when victim took Children’s Motrin [Beck]
Mississippi high court strikes down widely noted $7 million lead paint verdict in Sherwin-Williams vs. Gaines [AP, Freeland, LNL, opinion]
“Is suing the bar a new drunk driving trend?” [NJLRA]
Decline of chemistry sets tells a story of fear and liability [John Browning, SETR, earlier]
“Expectedly pleasing,” that’s me [Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason]

Tags: chemistry sets, dramshop statutes, lead paint, libel slander and defamation, Mississippi, pharmaceuticals, RightHaven

September 14 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Chemistry set with no chemicals”

Walter Olson — Sat, 14 May 2011 12:28:52 +0000

Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing: “The liability-phobic dilution of kids’ science has reached its apotheosis with ‘CHEMISTRY 60′: a chemistry kit that promises ’60 fun activities with no chemicals.’ Kids are expected to supply the chemicals from their parents’ kitchen cupboards.” [linking to Sean Michael Ragan, MAKE; see also Chemical & Engineering News, RSC]

Several years ago Wired carried a report by Steve Silberman: “Garage chemistry used to be a rite of passage for geeky kids. But in their search for terrorist cells and meth labs, authorities are making a federal case out of DIY science.” The CPSC carries out a war on chemicals that can be used to make illegal fireworks, while a Texas law makes it illegal “to buy such basic labware as Erlenmeyer flasks or three-necked beakers without first registering with the state’s Department of Public Safety to declare that they will not be used to make drugs.” The renowned 1940s and 1950s manufacturer of chemistry sets, Porter ChemCraft of Hagerstown, Md., “produced more than a million chemistry sets before going out of business in the 1980s amid increasing liability concerns.”

Tags: chemistry sets, CPSC, schools, science and scientists

“Chemistry set with no chemicals” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system