In “acquaintance rape” cases, especially, these laws unjustly deny defendants access to potentially exculpatory evidence. Yet they haven’t succeeded in protecting rape accusers’ reputations or right to privacy either, especially in runaway media events like the Kobe Bryant trial in Colorado: “high-profile rape trials allow the media to do far more damage than rape shield laws ever tried to mitigate”. (Dahlia Lithwick (acting this month as guest columnist), New York Times, Aug. 8).
Posts Tagged ‘Colorado’
“Pay the lawyers in coupons, too”
The editorialists of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News (Jul. 25) are critical of the settlement of a class action suit against AT&T Wireless said to be worth a maximum of $20 million in coupons, airtime and other benefits. Under the deal, most former subscribers will be offered noncash benefits with a value not to exceed $3, while current subscribers will be offered noncash benefits with an estimated average value of $10.50. Denver law firm Hill & Robbins (see also Jun. 9) is asking for $3 million cash in fees, plus $750,000 in expenses. The suit challenged the cell-phone company’s practice of delayed roaming charge billing, under which some roaming fees were not charged to customers’ bills until the next month, resulting in a detriment to those customers who had used up all their allotted minutes in the later month. See also John Accola, “Lawyers’ bonanza in AT&T lawsuit”, Scripps Howard/Sun, Jul. 20 (via Colorado Civil Justice League).
Initiative battles
In Florida, the state supreme court has certified for the fall ballot a doctor-backed initiative (see Mar. 1) that would cut lawyers’ fees in malpractice cases, and also three lawyer-backed “revenge” initiatives aimed at the doctors. And in Colorado, a proposed amendment is headed for the ballot that would write into the state constitution broad rights to sue over construction defects. Major battles are expected on both — details at Point Of Law (Fla., Colo.).
Defeat the Federal Marriage Amendment
George Will, Lynne Cheney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudolph Giuliani, and Bob Barr are all on record opposing this wretched would-be Constitutional amendment, and they’re right. See Faith Bremner, “Conservatives opposing marriage amendment”, Gannett News Service/The Coloradoan, Dec. 11, 2003. For our earlier posts on the subject, see Feb. 20 and Feb. 25. For a comeback to the ripely absurd “FMA is needed to bolster fertility rates” argument, see Jacob Levy, Volokh Conspiracy, (Jul. 9); for some ribbing of social conservatives who seem determined to borrow the “precautionary principle” from enviro absolutists for this occasion, see Jane Galt’s co-blogger “Mindles H. Dreck” (Jul. 8, Jul. 9). “As for the gay Republicans whose votes Mr. Bush might then lose, Mr. Weyrich [Paul Weyrich, prominent in the Washington religious right] wrote, ‘Good riddance.'” (Carl Hulse and David D. Kirkpatrick, “Senate Braces Itself for Fight on Gay Marriage”, New York Times, Jul. 9). And the same kind sentiments to you, sir!
More: And the Chicago Tribune (Jul. 13), and the Wall Street Journal, and Richard Epstein…. Update Jul. 14: defeated 48-50 on procedural vote. Yet more: Dale Carpenter (U. of Minn. Law School), “The Federal Marriage Amendment: Unnecessary, Anti-federalist, and Anti-democratic”, Cato Institute White Papers, Sept. 23; Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), “The Marriage Amendment Is a Terrible Idea”, Wall Street Journal, Sept. 28 ($).
Great moments in environmental protection
“After six years of regulations and restrictions that have cost builders, local governments and landowners an estimated $100 million, new research suggests the ‘threatened’ Preble’s mouse in fact never existed. It instead seems to be genetically identical to the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse, which is considered common enough not to need protection.” (Mead Gruver, “Research: Endangered Mouse Never Existed”, AP/Las Vegas Sun, Jun. 11; “More mice could muddy waters in Preble’s mouse fight”, AP/Casper Star Tribune, May 14)(more on endangered species).
Nutritious, fattening or both?
Also via the Colorado Civil Justice League May 21 newsletter: class members will receive $240,000 and a law firm representing the class will get $350,000 in fees following the settlement of an action against Chemins Company Inc. of Colorado Springs over mislabeled powdered protein supplements. The supplements allegedly contained twice as many carbohydrates and half as much protein as specified on their label. The settlement was billed as being worth $3 million but only 117 certified claimants stepped forward instead of the projected 10,000. Hill & Robbins had originally requested $600,000 in fees but the judge said $825 an hour was too much so he cut it to $481 an hour, which still leaves the lawyers with a bigger share of the booty than their clients. (Rocky Mountain News coverage: John Accola, “Class-action morass”, May 7; “Two lead plaintiffs won’t get bonuses”, May 7; “The class-action game and how to slow it”, (editorial), May 14; letter to the editor from attorney Ronald L. Wilcox of Hill & Robbins, May 14).
Claim: motel glass too clean
The Colorado Civil Justice League, in its May 21 newsletter, reports: “The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that a Broomfield family has sued a motel for keeping a sliding glass door too clean. The family is suing the owners of the Hobby Horse Motor Lodge after their then-8-year-old son ran through a sliding glass door at the motel because ‘the glass was so transparent and clean that (he) erroneously, but understandably, assumed that the door had remained open,’ according to the lawsuit.”
Toward an “apology privilege”
“On the one hand, it should not surprise us that genuine contrition defuses litigation. Anybody who has ever served as a general counsel of a corporation knows — or should know — that most people bring lawsuits because they are angry. … On the other hand, we have created rules of evidence that make it very difficult for people and institutions to apologize. … If you apologize, it can and will be used against you to prove liability. If you don’t apologize, though, you may increase the likelihood of the lawsuit, you avoid coming to terms with your own culpability, and you fuel the rage of the person you injured.
“Two states, Colorado and Oregon, have created a little space for civility by passing laws that bar plaintiffs from introducing a doctor’s apology as evidence in a medical malpractice case. A great start, but why carve out an ‘apology privilege’ just for doctors?” — Jack Henneman of Tigerhawk (May 18). And see Cut to Cure, also May 18.
Insurer on hook for $150K for $8K chiropractor bill
In May 1995, Dawn Goodson’s car was rear-ended by a car insured by American Standard. Fourteen months later, in July 1996, Goodson and her children spent $8,000 on a chiropractor. Goodson submitted an insurance claim three months later.
You might imagine a wee bit of skepticism on the part of the insurance company. Goodson hadn’t gone through American Standard’s PPO, which meant that the bills were higher than they would have been; moreover, American Standard was skeptical that a chiropractor’s 1996 treatment for three individuals was medically necessary as a result of the 1995 accident, and asked for an independent medical evaluation. Nevertheless, American Standard, after initially offering to pay part of the bill, eventually paid the full medical bills in April 1998.
Not good enough: Goodson sued three months later, seeking damages for “emotional distress.” A jury awarded $75,000, and doubled it with $75,000 of punitive damages. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed Monday, holding that the eighteen-month delay in full payment was grounds for recovery of non-economic damages. You can guess what the eventual consequence will be for Colorado insurance rates now that an insurer is potentially subject to penalties of over 2000% for questioning a claim, but the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association paints it as a victory for the consumers who will now have to pay for the meritless claims insurers will pay out of fear of lawsuit. (Howard Pankratz, “Court says tardy insurers liable for emotional damages without proof of loss”, Denver Post, May 4; Karen Abbott, “Insurer is ordered to pay family $300,000”, Rocky Mountain News, May 4; Goodson v. American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin opinion).
Give us 40 percent of Colo. (or one casino site)
“The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma filed a claim Wednesday for 27 million acres given to the tribes in a 19th century treaty but said they would settle for 500 acres to build a casino in a symbolic return to Colorado. The petition, filed with the Department of Interior, covers northeastern Colorado and about 40 percent of the state.” And just like many Eastern tribes or would-be tribes, they’ve got an investor: “Steve Hillard, a Longmont venture capitalist who pulled together investors for the plan, dubbed the ‘Homecoming Project,’ said the unresolved settlement claims could tie up land and water sales in northeastern Colorado until an agreement is reached. Hillard said similar claims in Hawaii, New York, South Carolina and Texas have slowed real estate sales.” (Deborah Frazier, “Indians file huge land claim”, Rocky Mountain News, Apr. 15). For more on Indian land claim blackmail, see Feb. 9 and Nov. 2-4, 2001, among many others.