Posts Tagged ‘global warming’

October 30 roundup

  • My Oct. 28 WSJ op-ed is now on-line for free. [AEI]
  • Your tax dollars at work: $24.2 million for two 17-year-old trespassers burned by high-voltage electrical wires six feet above the top of an Amtrak train that they had climbed. The one who received “only” $6.8 million had injuries minor enough that he’s serving in the Army now. [Lancaster Online via Northridge Buzz Blog]
  • Refuting trial lawyers’ claims of repealing McCarran-Ferguson as a panacea for insurance rates. [Point of Law]
  • “At what point are these accommodations exacerbating learning disabilities, and creating life disabiltities?” [Ivey; Wall Street Journal]
  • $1.5 million verdict: plaintiff blamed her bipolar disorder on a nurse’s error that caused a lung to collapse. [Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; see also Kevin MD commenters]
  • Trial lawyers insult West Virginia businessmen for daring to challenge their hegemony. [Institute for Legal Reform]
  • Bank of America overcredits account, takes money back, gets hit with California state class action verdict that could cost billions. [Point of Law]
  • Latest Duke lacrosse case outrage: prosecutor’s office says it hasn’t even interviewed alleged victim. [Volokh; Outside the Beltway; Corner]
  • In anticipation of Philip Morris v. Williams, hear the great Sheila Birnbaum argue State Farm v. Campbell. [Oyez MP3 via Mass Torts Prof]
  • Kristol: the U.S. Senate still matters because of judicial nominations. [Weekly Standard]
  • Election challenge to Washington state incumbent Supreme Court justice who is supported by trial lawyers. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer via Bashman]
  • Don’t tell AG Lockyer, or he’ll want to sue the fat for global warming. [NY Times via Kevin MD]

October 27 roundup

  • Bill Moyers calls his lawyers. [Adler @ Volokh]
  • Jim Copland: 9/11 suits against New York City over emergency recovery work “simply wrong.” [New York Post]
  • Did the PSLRA help shareholders? [Point of Law]
  • 32-year-old Oregon grocery store employee sues, claiming that Green Day stole his never-recorded high-school writings. [Above the Law]
  • Does one assume the risk of a broken nose if one agrees to a sparring match at a karate school? [TortsProf]
  • “At KFC (né Kentucky Fried Chicken), the chicken is still fried. At Altria (né Philip Morris), the cigarettes still cause cancer. And at the American Association for Justice, some will say that the trial lawyers are still chasing ambulances.” [New York Times via Point of Law]
  • More on global warming lawsuits. [Point of Law]
  • Dahlia Lithwick, wrong again when bashing conservatives? Quelle surprise! [Ponnuru @ Bench Memos; see also Kaus] Earlier: POL Oct. 6 and links therein. Best commentary on New Jersey gay marriage decision is at Volokh.
  • Michael Dimino asks for examples of frivolous lawsuits. What’s the over-under until it turns into a debate over the McDonald’s coffee case? [Prawfsblawg]
  • Unintended consequences of campaign finance reform. [Zywicki @ Volokh; Washington Times]
  • Who’s your least favorite Supreme Court justice? [Above the Law]
  • More on Borat and the law. [Slate] Earlier on OL: Dec. 9 and links therein.
  • “Thrilled Juror Feels Like Murder Trial Being Put On Just For Her.” [Onion]
  • A revealing post by the Milberg Weiss Fellow at DMI: companies make “too much” profit. I respond: “Again, if you really think the problem is that insurance companies charge ‘too much’ and make ‘too much’ money, then the profitable solution is to take advantage of this opportunity and open a competing insurance company that charges less instead of whining about it. (Or, you could use a fraction of the profits to hire a dozen bloggers and thus solve the problem at the same time keeping the whining constant.)” [Dugger]

Calif. AG sues automakers for global warming

In a first-of-its-kind suit, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is demanding damages from automakers for the impact of global warming. “Because, after all, the California attorney general is the one who should be deciding national policy on the global warming controversy,” notes Ted at Point of Law. Even accepting Lockyer’s contentions at face value, autos sold in California contribute less than 1 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions (David Shepherdson, “Calif. sues over auto emissions”, Detroit News, Sept. 21).

Is Lockyer making it up as he goes along with the new suit, legal-theory-wise? It would seem so. His theory that autos constitute a nuisance have never been enacted as law even by the California legislature, yet he’s asserting it retroactively to punish past behavior by Detroit and Japan worldwide. His views clash strongly with those held by elected officials in many other states, which is one reason our system gives the U.S. Congress, rather than the California attorney general, the right to set national environmental policy. His notion that internal combustion engines might not be unlawful in themselves, but constitute nuisance in this case because manufacturers could be doing more to minimize their impact, makes as much sense (which is to say, no sense whatever) as if he sued California’s own drivers on the grounds that they contribute to the problem by taking unnecessary trips.

Prof. Bainbridge has quite a bit more to say about the abuse of power involved in using this type of litigation as an end run around the political branches of government which are the proper locus of authority on policy matters of this sort (Sept. 21).

Reader Earl Wertheimer writes: “I would rather see the automakers simply agree to stop selling cars in California. Let them walk & bicycle for a while. This would promote better fitness and also reduce future obesity lawsuits.”

Reader Loren Siebert writes: “I wonder if the discovery process will include how many motor vehicles the state of CA has purchased and operates.” And Nick Fenton at DTT Buzz has suggestions for more litigation (Sept. 20).

More: Lockyer “is unlikely to win” the suit, according to legal experts interviewed, especially since “a similar case brought by California and other states against utilities companies in 2004 failed in the courts”. “Even with a small chance of success, environmental advocates say the new legal action is useful and necessary”, one reason being “to pressure carmakers”. “I hope that automakers realise this will be the first of a series of lawsuits,” says Jim Marston of Environmental Defense. (Roxanne Khamsi, “California faces uphill battle on car emissions”, New Scientist, Sept. 22). EconBrowser (Sept. 24):

…the key question in my mind is not the extent to which reducing greenhouse emissions from vehicles may be a good idea, but rather whether, under previously existing U.S. law, it has been lawful to manufacture cars that emit carbon dioxide. I submit that it has, and if a judge somewhere now creatively determines that a company can be punished for such perfectly lawful behavior, then I fear that America is no longer a nation ruled by law, but rather ruled at the whim of whatever those currently wielding power happen to think might be a good idea.

Yet more: Brian Doherty, Reason “Hit and Run”, Sept. 21.

Dissent on global warming? See ya in court

“For no apparent reason, the state of California, Environmental Defense, and the Natural Resources Defense Council have dragged [MIT’s Alfred P. Sloan professor of meteorology Richard] Lindzen and about 15 other global- warming skeptics into a lawsuit over auto- emissions standards. California et al. have asked the auto companies to cough up any and all communications they have had with Lindzen and his colleagues, whose research has been cited in court documents.” (Alex Beam, “MIT’s inconvenient scientist”, Boston Globe, Aug. 30).

A Lawsuit Everyone Can Bring

Can you sue over something that you claim will affect everyone in the planet in the distant future, even if that means that everyone on Earth can file a similar lawsuit now? The Supreme Court may address a similar question soon. The Supreme Court agreed today to consider whether the Bush administration must regulate carbon dioxide to combat potential global warming, in Massachusetts v. EPA.

Twelve states had sued the EPA to force it to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. Although carbon dioxide is an integral component of the atmosphere, and does not contaminate or cause cancer, the states argued it constitutes air pollution covered by the Clean Air Act, because it may cause global warming over the long run.

A splintered three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-to-1 to reject the lawsuit, but the judges in the majority didn’t agree on why. Judge Sentelle would have rejected the suit for not complying with the Constitution’s requirement of standing, under which a plaintiff must allege particularized injuries, not a “generalized grievance” shared by much of the public at large (much less the entire planet). Judge Randolph, by contrast, was unsure of whether the plaintiffs had standing, but concluded that even if they did, and the EPA had jurisdiction to regulate carbon dioxide, the lawsuit should still be dismissed. He pointed out that regulating carbon dioxide on a state-by-state basis, as the Clean Air Act would do, made no sense, since global warming is a planet-wide concern. Thus, the EPA’s decision not to regulate carbon dioxide was sensible. By contrast, Judge Tatel’s dissent argued that the plaintiffs did have standing, since although everyone might be affected by global warming, they might be affected by it in different ways, with a coastal state being flooded while an arid state might become more arid.

In another lawsuit, attorney generals from seven states have sued out-of-state utilities under state nuisance laws, alleging that power plants, by generating carbon dioxide, are causing global warming. New York federal judge Loretta Preska dismissed their lawsuit in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. She, too, held that the plaintiffs lacked standing, since they complained of a generalized injury that would be better handled by the political process than by the courts.

If state attorney generals can sue power plants in distant states, that may lead to an explosion of interregional litigation, regional conflict, and judicial micromanagement of out-of-state utilities.

New at Point of Law

Dozens of new posts at our sister site, including: plagiarism on the Harvard Law faculty; bill to revive Rule 11 sanctions for meritless litigation moving through House; more coverage of a lawyer’s attempt to collect “referral fee” of more than $140,000 from Illinois widow; Steve Bainbridge on attorney campaign donations and scoundrel Joe Kennedy; a sonnet on scientific evidence; class action fees in the InfoSpace and Ameritech cases, plus a paper on coupon settlements and an in-production Madison County movie; in praise of the Michigan Supreme Court; big fees in the really old days; public environmental suits, including the one on global warming; and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus urges philanthropists to support legal reform.

For employment-law buffs, there are new posts on legal protection for messages on employee T-shirts, California and federal overtime regulations, and the Wal-Mart class action. For those who follow product liability there’s coverage of fen-phen fraud arrests, firearms liability and asbestos bankruptcies. Plus election-year politics, including Jim Copland, Ted Frank and more. Shouldn’t you bookmark it today?

New at Point of Law

Over at our sister website Point of Law there are new posts galore, including Jim Copland on “light” tobacco suits and Ted Frank on second-guessing of the FDA by liability actions; links to MedPundit on asbestos, Robert Samuelson on the AGs’ global warming lawsuit, David Bernstein on the “Friends” harassment suit, and a not notably favorable review of the new documentary “The Corporation”; and employment law topics ranging from Wal-Mart litigation to Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblowing to the Griggs disparate-impact standard. And, of course, the centerpiece is the featured discussion now underway between Profs. Lester Brickman and Richard Painter on contingency fee reform.

Archived product liability items, pre-July 2003

(See separate pages for food and beverage cases, asbestos, pharmaceutical and vaccine cases, lead paint, auto safety, aviation, environmental, firearms, high-tech, media and tobacco litigation)

Texas’s giant legal reform“, Jun. 18-19, 2003.

Artificial hearts experimental? Who knew?“, Oct. 23, 2002.

Sorry, wrong number” (Angelos vs. cell phones), Apr. 23, 2001; “By reader acclaim“, Jan. 11, 2001 (& Oct. 1-2, 2002: judge dismisses case).

Read the label, then ignore it if you like” (flammable carpet adhesive), Jul. 12-14, 2002. 

Pitcher hit by line drive sues maker of baseball bat“, Apr. 19-21, 2002. 

Warning on fireplace log: ‘risk of fire’“, Jan. 25-27, 2002; “‘Wacky Warning Label’ winners“, Jan. 19-21, 2001; “Never iron clothes while they’re being worn” (more contest winners), Jan. 18, 2000 (& letter to editor, Jan. 21-23). 

‘How many people will this kill, I wonder?’” (EU product liability, blood suppliers), Jan. 18-20, 2002. 

Defoliant litigation proves evergreen” (Agent Orange), Jan. 7-8, 2002 (& see Apr. 3-4). 

Under the Christmas tree” (BB guns), Dec. 21-23, 2001. 

Segway, the super-wheelchair, and the FDA“, Dec. 13-14, 2001. 

Can’t find the arsonists?  Sue the sofa-maker“, Nov. 19-20, 2001; “Somebody to sue” (furnishings and building-supply cos. sued after fire), June 1, 2000.

Disclaimer rage?” (GPS software), Oct. 15, 2001. 

Target: trade associations” (National Spa & Pool Institute case), Sept. 5, 2001. 

Latex liability, foreseeable or not“, July 26, 2001; “Breakthrough for plaintiffs on latex gloves?“, July 18, 2000; “Rhode Island A.G.: let’s do latex gloves next“, Oct. 26, 1999. 

Claim: inappropriate object in toothpaste caused heart attack“, May 29, 2001. 

While you were out: the carbonless paper crusade“, Apr. 25, 2001. 

Plastic cup blamed for child’s autism“, Apr. 9, 2001. 

Tendency of elastic items to recoil well known“, Mar. 6, 2001; “Hunter sues store over camouflage mask“, Jan. 12-14, 2001. 

‘Juries handing out bigger product liability awards’“, Feb. 2-4, 2001. 

Anti-Ritalin lawyers still acting out” (trade association liability), Apr. 13-15, 2001; “Promising areas for suits“, Dec. 7, 2000. 

Product liability criminalized?“, Oct. 20-22, 2000. 

Product liability: Americanization of Europe?“, Oct. 18, 2000. 

Senator Lieberman: a sampler” (sponsored product liability reform), Aug. 8-9, 2000. 

Never too stale a claim” (suits against manufacturers over products built in early 20th century), Jul. 14-16, 2000. 

‘Backstage at News of the Weird’” (liquid drain cleaner), Jun. 29-Jul. 1, 2000. 

‘Skydivers don’t sue’“, May 26-29, 2000. 

House passes liability reforms“, Feb. 24, 2000.

Driving up housing costs” (Calif. construction defect cases), Dec. 10, 1999. 

Computer glitches:Toshiba and Ford, in the same boat“, Dec. 2, 1999; “Don’t redeem that coupon!” (Andrew Tobias), Nov. 24-25; “How I hit the class action jackpot” (Stuart Taylor), Nov. 17; “More details on Toshiba“, Nov. 5-7; “Toshiba flops over“, Nov. 3, 1999. 

Class actions vs. high tech“, Nov. 23, 1999. 

Baleful blurbs” (publishers’ liability for inaccuracies on book jackets), Nov. 16, 1999. 

Foam-rubber cow recall“, Oct. 22, 1999. 

Reform stirrings on public contingency fees“, Oct. 15, 1999. 

This side of parodies” (fictional account of self-inflicted icepick injury), Oct. 5-6, 1999. 

Fertilizer manufacturers not liable for World Trade Center bombing“, Aug. 23, 1999. 

Plus extra damages for having argued with us” (liability for global warming?), Aug. 19, 1999. 

Overlawyered skies not always safer” (“self-critical analysis” issue), Jul. 19, 1999.

Other resources:

The home page of Overlawyered.com editor Walter Olson contains a listing of his writings on product liability.

Archived environment items, pre-July 2003

See separate entries for archived entries on animal rights and mold.


Wildlife management, species protection, 2003:U.K. roundup” (licensing of exotic pet fish), Jun. 12-15. 2001:False trail of missing lynx“, Dec. 18; “Pricing out the human species“, Aug. 22-23; “Stories that got away“, Jul. 23; “Bush’s environmental centrism“, Apr. 24.  2000:Endangered list“, Dec. 4; “Snakes’ rights not always paramount” (man killed snake in self-defense), Aug. 18-20; “‘Imperfect laws add to danger of perfect storms’“, Aug. 10.  1999:Property owners obliged to host rattlesnakes“, Oct. 12; “Knock him over with a feather” (migratory bird contraband laws), Sept. 11; “Mow’ better ADA claims” (claim of “exotic prairie plants” by resident who didn’t want to mow her lawn), Jul. 26.

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.

“Right to know” laws, 2002:California’s hazardous holiday” (acrylamide), Dec. 27-29; “‘Lawyers who sue to settle’“, Nov. 4-5; “Chocolate, gas-pump fumes, playground sand and so much more“, Oct. 15; “‘Greedy or Just Green’“, Mar. 13-14.  2001:There’ll always be a California” (chocolate and Prop 65), Dec. 4; Letter to the editor (lutefisk exempted from toxic-substance status in Wisconsin), Nov. 29; “Be somewhat less afraid” (nuclear plant terrorism), Nov. 30-Dec. 2; “‘U.S. Debates Info on Chemical Hazards’” (“right to know” and terrorism), Nov. 12; “Chemical-plant vulnerabilities: read all about them“, Oct. 1. 1999:Lockyer vs. keys” (California attorney general declares brass a toxic hazard), Nov. 2. 

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. 

Zoning, land use, 2002:How much did you say that Indian legend was worth?“, Sept. 25-26; “‘Preserving’ History at Bayonet Point“, Feb. 15-17; “Planners tie up land for twenty years“, Jan. 18-20.  2001:Columnist-fest” (John Tierney on NYC battle over IKEA site), May 25-27; “Lessons of shrub-case jailing“, May 17; “Perils of regulatory discretion“, Jan. 24-25. 2000:Cornfield maze as zoning violation“, Oct. 30.  1999:Great moments in zoning law” (rescued pets from storm, charged with running unlawful animal shelter), Nov. 22.

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. 

Industrial farming:‘Tampa Judge Tosses Out Class-Action Suit Against Hog Company’“, Jul. 3-9, 2002; “RFK Jr. blasted for hog farm remarks“, Apr. 15, 2002 (& Apr. 17, Apr. 19-21, letter to the editor and editor’s response, Apr. 19); “Chickens are next“, Feb. 6-7, 2002; “Judge throws out hog farm suit“, May 7, 2001; “Trial lawyers vs. hog farms“, Dec. 7, 2000; “This little piggy got taken to court“, Sept. 12, 2000; “Not so high off the hog“, Oct. 4, 1999. 

‘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.

“Erin Brockovich”, 2002:‘Erin Brockovich, the Brand’“, Apr. 29-30.  2001:Exxon Brockovich vs. Erin Valdez“, Nov. 15; “NBC mulls Brockovich talk show“, Nov. 6, 2001; “Brockovich a heroine?  Julia really can act“, Mar. 23-25.  2000:Errin’ Brockovich?“, Dec. 21, 2000; “‘All about Erin’“, Oct. 12; “More woes for ‘Brockovich’ lawyers“, Jun. 22-25;  “Brockovich story, cont’d: the judges’ cruise“, Apr. 18; Brockovich story breaks wide open“, Apr. 17; “Plume of controversy“, Apr. 14-16; “Hollywood special“, Mar. 30.  1999:A Civil Action II?“, July 7. 

Trial lawyer/enviro alliance?  “RFK Jr. blasted for hog farm remarks“, Apr. 15, 2002 (& Apr. 17, Apr. 19-21, letter to the editor and editor’s response, Apr. 19); “‘Working’ for whom?” (Environmental Working Group), May 23, 2001; “Judge throws out hog farm suit“, May 7, 2001; “‘Bogus’ assault on Norton“, Jan. 18, 2001; “Trial lawyers vs. hog farms“, Dec. 7, 2000.

‘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.

Who needs power anyway?:Sweetness and light from Bill Lockyer“, Jun. 1-3, 2001 (& see June 8-10, June 22-24); “California electricity linkfest“, Mar. 26, 2001; “Brownout, Shivers & Dim, attorneys at law“, Oct. 11, 2000; “Worse than Y2K?” (EPA/DOJ suit against coal-burning utility plants), Nov. 18-19, 1999. 

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.