Florida – Overlawyered

Great moments in public employee unionism

Walter Olson — Sat, 16 May 2020 16:05:41 +0000

“The Broward Sheriff’s Office sergeant who was first to respond to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting lost his job after he hid behind his car as the first shots rang out. He’ll be reinstated, awarded full back pay, the union said Wednesday.” [Devoun Cetoute and Carli Teproff, Miami Herald, via Miami Herald]

Tags: Florida, police unions

Great moments in public employee unionism is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Liability roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 10:14:59 +0000

“Businesses Warn Fear of Lawsuits Could Stall Rebooting of Economy” [Andrew G. Simpson, Insurance Journal; New York Times (“liability companies could face if employees were to get sick after returning to work”); Eugene Volokh (Jim Salzman proposal on assumption of risk legislation, and the constitutional angle)]
Emergency declaration triggered liability protections for people and enterprises responding to outbreak [Andrew Bayman, Geoffrey Drake, and Mark Sentenac, King & Spalding; Jim Beck, Drug & Device Law] 2005 pandemic-preparedness bill’s liability protections were inevitably assailed by Sen. Edward Kennedy and Public Citizen [Tyler Cowen]
“Protect the Doctors and Nurses Who Are Protecting Us; They need immunity from lawsuits and prosecution for triage decisions.” [I. Glenn Cohen, Andrew Crespo, and Douglas White, New York Times; Erik Larson, Bloomberg]
“Class Actions During COVID-19” [Frank T. Spano and Elizabeth M. Marden, Polsinelli]
From before the crisis: “New York Holds that Registration to do Business does not Constitute Consent to General Personal Jurisdiction” [Stephen McConnell, earlier here and here]
More from before the crisis: Federalist Society debate between Brian Fitzpatrick and Ted Frank on Fitzpatrick’s new book The Conservative Case for Class Actions; trucking business reels under huge verdicts [Matt Cole, Commercial Carrier Journal, parts one and two, earlier here, etc.] Ex-client sues Houston’s “Car Wreck Clyde” charging case running and other no-nos [Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, Texas Lawyer] In Florida, “‘Inconspicuous’ political cash helped trial lawyers notch wins against insurers” [Matt Dixon and Arek Sarkissian, Politico]

Tags: assumption of risk, class actions, COVID-19 virus, Florida, medical malpractice

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

Police misconduct roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 10:59:32 +0000

Crime victims’ rights enactment: “Florida cops who use force keep names secret with Marsy’s Law” [Tony Marrero, Tampa Bay Times, I’m quoted; earlier]
Sergeant’s Benevolent Association in NYC declares “war on” Mayor Bill de Blasio and I have something to say about that on Twitter;
Jeepers: “The chief also said Tuesday that someone forged his signature on Kidd’s 2015 agreement, which lowered his punishment from termination for cowardice to a 65-day suspension.” [George Hunter, Detroit News] “How San Antonio’s Worst Cops Get Their Jobs Back” [Zuri Davis]
“Nobody was physically injured in the Looking for [Guy] Who Was in Prison incident, but the plaintiff does allege that the grenades terrified her and her children, [who] also did not enjoy having assault rifles pointed at them by screaming officers.” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]
Philly cop misconduct files rarely made public but here’s an exception [William Bender and David Gambacorta, Philadelphia Inquirer] Three links on Baltimore police misconduct [my Free State Notes post]
Deputy was drinking and crashed twice, but kept his job and county owes him $16K [Elizabeth Doran, Syracuse Post-Standard, related editorial]

Tags: Baltimore, Florida, Philadelphia, police, police unions

Police misconduct roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Environmental roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:05:10 +0000

“The Climate Debate Should Focus on How to Address the Threat of Climate Change, Not Whether Such a Threat Exists” [Jonathan Adler, whose analysis of environmental law is often quoted in this space]
“Grizzly Bears and Endangered Species Recovery” [Cato Daily Podcast with Brian Yablonski and Caleb Brown] “Property Rights as a Foundation for Conservation” [same, with Holly Fretwell and Brown]
“If an environmentalist values the land more than ranchers do, then the environmentalist should get the lease.” [Shawn Regan, Reason; related on “diligence” regulations in federal resource leasing Robert M. Nelson, Regulation, Jan./Feb. 1983]
“Litigation vs. Restoration: Addressing Louisiana’s Coastal Land Loss” [U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, earlier]
Who will build the roads? Go ask Friedrich Engels [David Henderson, Econlib] Related: Market Urbanism Report podcast on road privatization and other topics with Robert Poole, Chris Edwards and others;
“Florida Democratic Party adopts ‘rights of nature’ into platform” [Scott Powers, Florida Politics; see here, here, here, etc.]

Tags: climate change, endangered species, environment, Florida, Louisiana, roads and streets

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

Liability roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 10:59:12 +0000

U.S. Chamber’s annual lawsuit climate survey ranks Illinois as nation’s worst this year [Institute for Legal Reform]
Withholding material helpful to the defense: “Time for a Brady-type disclosure requirement for federal government in False Claims Act litigation” [Stephen A. Wood, Washington Legal Foundation]
“Both sides need to learn that frequently the best response to immature behavior is to ignore it. Don’t react, don’t sink to the other side’s level, don’t try to fight fire with fire.” Advice from a federal judge to the lawyers in a Florida case [Eugene Volokh; Doscher v. Apologetics Afield, Inc.]
Expert witness follies: litigation funders are filling the old tort lawyer role of bankrolling dodgy research on which future litigation campaigns can be based [Jim Beck]
Back in July I linked a grim assessment of Pennsylvania’s Oberdorf v. Amazon decision expanding product liability for retail platforms. Here’s a less grim one that came out around the same time [Gus Hurwitz, Truth on the Market]
By South Florida standards, those $1 million lawsuit fraud charges against an ADA lawyer the other day aren’t especially big; last year feds shut down an auto-claims ring they said cleared $23 million and involved “chiropractors, attorneys, clinic owners and tow-truck drivers.” [Paula McMahon, South Florida Sun-Sentinel; Insurance Fraud Hall of Shame]

Tags: Amazon, claims fraud, expert witnesses, Florida, Illinois, qui tam

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

Destructive rights of student inclusion

Walter Olson — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 10:55:59 +0000

If you have wondered how the Parkland killer could have asserted a legal right to be “mainstreamed” into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School despite a long history of violent tendencies, this investigation by the local newspaper may provide your answer.

In an eight-month investigation, the South Florida Sun Sentinel found that a sweeping push for “inclusion” enables unstable children to attend regular classes even though school districts severely lack the support staff to manage them. … Even threatening to shoot classmates is not a lawful reason to expel the child….

“It’s just a no-win scenario right now,” said attorney Julie Weatherly, of Mobile, Alabama, who advises school districts on the legal complexities of removing aggressive students when they have a disability. “Nobody wants a Parkland, of course. It’s this huge nightmare.”

Aside from IDEA, the federal disabled-rights-in-school laws, and its sometimes even more stringent state counterparts, federal education privacy laws are involved as well. A Broward County teacher chose to break the rules after an elementary student “obsessed” over a girl, tormented her if she withheld attention, and on being removed from the classroom one day cried and screamed her name while throwing himself against a door:

The girl’s mother had no idea her daughter was being terrorized. Because of the student’s federally protected privacy rights, Budrewicz’s bosses cautioned her not to tell the mother — a warning she ultimately defied. The mom cried and thanked her and removed her daughter from the class the next day, she said.

[Brittany Wallman and Megan O’Matz, South Florida Sun-Sentinel; earlier here and here]

Tags: disability & schools, Florida, privacy, school discipline

Destructive rights of student inclusion is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Feds: lawyer made $1 million from bogus ADA claims in New York and Florida

Walter Olson — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 05:05:50 +0000

Feds arrested Florida attorney Stuart Finkelstein on charges of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, false declarations to a court, and obstruction of justice following a scheme in which they say he filed more than 300 lawsuits on behalf of two purported clients who had attempted to visit public establishments but were frustrated by lack of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. In reality, prosecutors say, the two individuals “neither retained nor authorized Finkelstein to file ADA lawsuits on their behalf” and “never attempted to visit” the public establishments. The lawyer allegedly “made numerous false representations” both to the businesses and to the courts, “obstructed official judicial proceedings, and then settled these fake lawsuits in order to collect approximately $930,000 in attorney’s fees.” The suits were filed in New York and Florida. [U.S. Department of Justice press release; Jay Weaver, Miami Herald]

Tags: ADA filing mills, Florida, fraud

Feds: lawyer made $1 million from bogus ADA claims in New York and Florida is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Expert on Money Laundering Arrested for … Well, You Can Probably Guess”

Walter Olson — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 10:59:42 +0000

“He’s incredibly credentialed,” said a defense attorney who had employed the expert witness services of a University of Miami professor hailed as an authority on money laundering and who, according to prosecutors in a new indictment, has been lately engaging in the practice himself. [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]

Tags: banks, expert witnesses, Florida

“Expert on Money Laundering Arrested for … Well, You Can Probably Guess” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Expensive windshields in Florida

Walter Olson — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 17:05:16 +0000

Florida’s overdue insurance-law reform on the “assignment of benefits” issue had a carve-out excluding auto claims, and Sunshine State lawyers continue to ride auto-glass cases for automatic fee entitlements. A report from the Florida Justice Reform Institute “shows nearly all auto glass lawsuits come from just 15 law firms — one firm, Malik Law, accounts for nearly 30 percent of all such lawsuits filed this year. Additionally, the vast majority of auto glass lawsuits are in Hillsborough and Orange counties. FJRI speculates that’s due to higher attorney fee awards in those counties.” [Drew Wilson, Florida Politics, earlier]

Tags: attorneys' fees, autos, Florida, insurance

Expensive windshields in Florida is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Higher education roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 10:01:13 +0000

Federal judge upholds Harvard’s admissions policy against charges of discrimination against Asian Americans, appeal likely [Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times; Roger Clegg/Martin Center; Neal McCluskey, Hechinger Report (“private institutions should be free to have affirmative action, but it should be prohibited at public institutions”); Ilya Shapiro, WSJ last year]
In Florida, following an initiative from Gov. Ron DeSantis, state universities expected to adopt versions of “Chicago Statement” committing to freedom of expression [Mary Zoeller, FIRE]
Under antitrust pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice, college association drops guidelines discouraging “poaching” students and other competition for enrollment. Could mean big changes in admissions process [Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed]
In case you missed this angle in the astounding Bruce Hay story earlier: Hay “has already run afoul of [Harvard] investigators for reaching out to journalists (namely me), which they view as an act of retaliation” under Title IX [Kera Bolonik]
“The Galling Push for a Student Debt Bailout” [Cato Daily Podcast with Christian Barnard and Caleb Brown] If more of the same is what you want, you’re in luck with the House majority’s new College Affordability Act [Neal McCluskey, Cato]
The story of Oberlin College’s town-gown legal debacle in the Gibson case [Abraham Socher, Commentary] Return of the loyalty oath, cont’d: update on University of California requirement that all faculty candidates “submit an equity, diversity and inclusion statement as part of their application” [Nora McNulty, Daily Bruin; Stephen Bainbridge; earlier] Professor at the New School exonerated after quoting James Baldwin [FIRE] Students at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have a lot of sensitivity training in their futures. Coming to 4-H too? [Hans Bader]

Tags: antitrust, California, colleges and universities, Florida, Harvard, racial preferences, retaliation, Tennessee

Higher education roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system