Related: federal judge approves $53.8 million in settlements for 82 members of Laborers Union local “which represents asbestos, lead and hazardous waste handlers in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey” and who alleged that Ground Zero cleanup, as opposed to other hazards they might have encountered on jobs, was to blame for “respiratory and digestive diseases, psychological injuries and cancer” they suffered; building owners and contractors were the defendants [Reuters] Earlier on Ground Zero responder litigation here, here, etc.

Ground Zero responder litigation, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

September 12 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 6 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

• Are you a member of Tyson chicken or H&R Block Express IRA class action settlements?
• Jim Copland on Harry Reid and the trial bar. [NRO]
• Jim Copland on the Ground Zero settlement, which may pay lawyers $200 million—but the judge plans fee scrutiny. [NY Post; NY Daily News]
• Kevin LaCroix interviews the Circle of Greed authors. [D&O Diary]
• Judgeships: Rhode Island lead paint trial lawyer in despite mediocre rating, but Sri Srinivasan out because of his clients—not Al Qaeda, but, heaven forfend, eeeevil corporations like Hertz.
• There’s no evidence that workers on automotive brakes (which sometimes contain asbestos) get mesothelioma at a greater rate than the rest of the population, but auto companies still get sued over it. Ford fought one in Madison County, rather than settle, and won. [Madison County Record]
• Overview of defensive medicine at work. [AP]
• Pantsless Rielle Hunter on John Edwards: “He’s very honest and truthful.” [GQ]

March 16 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Unfortunately, the story incorrectly refers to AEI as a “lobbying organization,” which it is definitively not. It is unimaginable how the Times could have made this mistake, given that just three weeks ago, they had to correct an identical mistake; the senior editor has promised me a correction.

“Congress Is Again Weighing Aid for Ground Zero Rescuers” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

New Yorker magazine on James Zadroga is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

More on the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

The firm claims that Mr. Spielberg defamed the firm when he wrote to the office of the Manhattan district attorney asking prosecutors to open an investigation into what Mr. Spielberg alleges is the firm’s mishandling of earlier litigation involving the diet drug fen-phen.

The lawsuit also claims that Mr. Spielberg slandered the firm in conversations he had with a New York Times reporter, Anthony DePalma, who wrote a lengthy article about the involvement of a name partner at the firm, Paul Napoli, in the fen-phen litigation.

Yet, Mr. DePalma’s article doesn’t quote Mr. Spielberg or mention him at all. Napoli Bern is representing the vast majority of thousands of ground zero workers in their suits alleging that the city failed to protect them from toxins at the site that have caused respiratory and other illnesses. …

“They don’t want me to be able to talk to the press or law enforcement,” Mr. Spielberg said of the suit against him.

(Joseph Goldstein, “Seeking To Cut Off Criticism, Law Firm Sues Former Client”, New York Sun, Jun. 6).

Napoli Bern sues disgruntled client is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Things I should’ve said: that a dictator did a good job in the past hardly means that a dictatorship is a good idea, even if you can reappoint the same dictator. But one can be dumbfounded by the stupidity of some questions.

Earlier: April 1 and March 31.

House Judiciary Committee hearing on 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

(Bumped Tuesday with SSRN link to testimony.)

James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2007 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system