Jonathan Lee Riches – Overlawyered

July 5 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 04:13:14 +0000

“After drunken driver kills son, mother billed for cleanup” [Greenville News, S.C.]
Cities, states and school districts in California will be among losers if Sacramento lawmakers pass bill authorizing phantom damages [Capitol Weekly; more on phantom damages]
New from Treasury Dept.: steep exit fees for many corporations departing U.S. domicile [Future of Capitalism, TaxProf]
Jonathan Lee Riches is back filing his hallucinatory lawsuits again, and courts don’t care to stop him [Above the Law] More: Lowering the Bar.
Funny 1988 letter from Wyoming lawyer to California lawyer about fees [Letters of Note via Abnormal Use]
L.A. family is considering adding another valedictorian lawsuit to our annals [L.A. Times, earlier]
Effort to compensate Japanese nuclear accident victims is proceeding without much litigation [WaPo]

Tags: California, feeing frenzy, Japan, Jonathan Lee Riches, Los Angeles, schools, Wyoming

July 5 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 11 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:09:19 +0000

“Feds seek to halt inmate’s frequent lawsuits” [AP; J.L. Riches]
“SeaWorld Blasts ‘Improper’ Suit Over Trainer’s Death” [OnPoint News, earlier]
Does new NY law serve as road map for charities that wish to defy donor intent? [CultureGrrl]
Cruise ship case an example of tensions that arise when defense lawyers jump fence to join plaintiffs’ side [Julie Kay, DBR]
More on Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal’s “my lawsuits create jobs” stance [Bainbridge; related, New York Times Magazine (opponent MacMahon: “His business is suing people.”)]
Australia: “Autistic student sues over test” [The Age]
“The most conservative court? Hardly” [Jacoby, Globe] And Justice Breyer, for one, has “rejected the notion that the U.S. Supreme Court has a pro-business slant and said the court doesn’t rule in favor of companies any more frequently than it has historically.” [Bloomberg via Adler, Volokh]
“Abducted by aliens? Call now for compensation” [four years ago on Overlawyered; Germany]

Tags: amusement parks, Australia, charitable trusts, defense lawyers, Jonathan Lee Riches, Richard Blumenthal, Supreme Court

October 11 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Jonathan Lee Riches sues Guinness Book of World Records

Walter Olson — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:43:02 +0000

The notoriously litigious inmate has sued the records book for calling him the world’s most litigious guy; he also “objects to the names Guinness intends to call him”, including: “Johnny Sue-nami,” “Sue-per-man” and the “Patrick Ewing of suing.” He is currently an inmate at a federal facility in Kentucky. [Spokane Spokesman-Review, KOMO] (& welcome ABA Journal readers).

Tags: Jonathan Lee Riches

Jonathan Lee Riches sues Guinness Book of World Records is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 20 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:10:49 +0000

Boy fatally shoots stepbrother at home, mom sues school district as well as shooter’s family [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Problem gambler sues Ontario lottery for C$3.5 billion [Toronto Star]
Cop declines training in which he’d be given Taser shock, and sues [Indianapolis Star]
Ultra-litigious inmate Jonathan Lee Riches scrawls new complaint linking Bernard Madoff, Britney Spears [Kevin LaCroix]
Just to read this update feels like an invasion of privacy: “Judge to Hear Challenge to $6M Herpes Case Award” [On Point News, earlier]
“Best criminal strategy: join the Spokane police” [Coyote Blog] More: Greenfield, Brayton.
Will mommy-bloggers be held liable for freebie product reviews? [Emily Friedman, ABC News, earlier]
Update: “Fifth Circuit says no bail for Paul Minor” [Freeland]

Tags: advertising, Canada, Federal Trade Commission, Indiana, Jonathan Lee Riches, lottery, Paul Minor, police, public employment, schools, Washington state

April 20 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Names in the news

Walter Olson — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:37:40 +0000

Ultralitigious inmate Jonathan Lee Riches has filed a motion attempting to insert himself into the Bernard Madoff legal quagmire, but a federal court has rebuffed his efforts. That may make Riches the only person in the country not to have a legitimate legal grievance against Madoff [NYT DealBook via Christopher Fountain]

Tags: Bernard Madoff, fraud, Jonathan Lee Riches

Names in the news is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Microblog 2008-11-05

Walter Olson — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:59:59 +0000

“Friend named superlawyer five years after she quit practice” [@vpynchon] #
Unreality meets unreality: inmate Jonathan Lee Riches files third-party brief in World of Warcraft case [Duranske, Virtually Blind] #
Uh-oh: new White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is on record as a supporter of “universal citizen service” [Lindgren @ Volokh] #
Ralph Nader is vile (but you knew that) [Weigel, Reason “Hit and Run”] #
U.K.: new pet welfare regs could mean jail for owners who fail to put obese dogs and cats on a diet [Daily Mail via Bookworm Room] #
Frum: GOP future should be in going after educated voters [National Post] #
Idea for re-use of McCain-Palin yard signs [Steve Hayward, NRO Corner] #

Tags: animal rights, chasing clients, Jonathan Lee Riches, Rahm Emanuel, Ralph Nader, United Kingdom

Microblog 2008-11-05 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 16 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:54:07 +0000

Another compilation of the hundred best law blogs, with a familiar name among the nine “general” picks, so thanks for that [“Criminal Justice Degrees Guide” via ABA Journal]

Europe has a transnational association of personal injury lawyers, funded by the EU, but with no wheeler-dealer, masters-of-the-universe vibe in evidence [PoL]

Delta wasn’t liable in Kentucky Comair crash, but some plaintiffs sued it anyway in what their lawyer describes as an “abundance of caution” — that’s a diplomatic way to put it [Aero-News Net; link fixed now]

U.K.: Mom told she’d need to pass criminal record check before being allowed to take her own son to school [Telegraph]

Regular coverage of the litigious exploits of delusional inmate Jonathan Lee Riches, if you’ve got the stomach for them [Dreadnaught blog]

Federal Circuit reverses $85 million infringement verdict won by Raymond Niro, blasted by critics as original “patent troll” [AmLaw Daily]

“Determined to defeat lawsuits over addiction, the casino industry is funding research at a Harvard-affiliated lab.” [Salon]

Hired through nepotism by in-laws, then fired after divorce, sues on grounds of “marital status discrimination” [eight years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: accolades, airlines, child protection, compulsive gambling, Europe, Jonathan Lee Riches, patent trolls, Raymond Niro, shotgun defendant selection, United Kingdom

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

Losing patience with Jonathan Lee Riches

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:56:14 +0000

The federal judges in the Northern District of Georgia decided to place curbs on the famously litigious inmate who’s filed more than 1,000 lawsuits nationwide naming celebrities and politicians as members of hallucinatory cabals against him. In March the judges enjoined him from filing more suits without permission in the district, which he can do only if he agrees to be prosecuted for false statements. (Miami Daily Business Review, Jun. 12, also with some discussion of Jack Thompson and of a few other Florida litigants who’ve had their acts shut down after filing (e.g.) 18, 20 and 60+ meritless or inappropriate actions.)

The order in the Northern District of Georgia has not prevented Riches from continuing to file lawsuits against celebrities and public figures elsewhere, as in the federal District of South Carolina. (Rachel Barron, “Vinod Khosla Slapped With $43M Lawsuit”, Greentech Media, Jun. 20).

Tags: Florida, Jack Thompson, Jonathan Lee Riches, pro se, South Carolina

Losing patience with Jonathan Lee Riches is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

The Jonathan Lee Riches docket

Walter Olson — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:39:29 +0000

We’ve covered the litigious inmate fantasist before, but this is still a striking statistic: “Thirty-nine percent of the 491 cases filed so far this month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia have been filed by one man: Jonathan Lee Riches. …Some of Riches’ prior complaints have been dismissed, including a $662 trillion suit filed in the Northern District last summer against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. The suit alleged that Vick was attempting to ‘kidnap’ Riches’ mind and to force him to lose weight, and demanded that the $662 trillion be delivered — in ‘British gold’ shipped via truck — to the front gates of the prison where Riches is incarcerated.” (Janet L. Conley, “Inmate’s Frequent Filings Take On Targets Ranging From Spitzer to Van Halen”, Fulton County Daily Report, Mar. 25).

Tags: Atlanta, Georgia, Jonathan Lee Riches, prisoners

The Jonathan Lee Riches docket is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

January 30 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:28:24 +0000

Vioxx settlement is good for Merck and the trial lawyers suing it, the price being paid in legal ethics [Gryphon/City Journal]

Australia: will-contest lawyers “will have their fees capped after a string of cases where the bill has exceeded the final inheritance.” [Sydney Morning Herald]

ADA obliges golf courses, at least Marriott’s, to furnish accessible carts to disabled golfers, federal judge rules [Egelko, SF Chronicle]

Henry Fonda/Sidney Lumet jury-deliberation classic Twelve Angry Men normally spoken of in tones of reverence. But what’s this? [Leo McKinstry, U.K. Spectator; Gracchi, Westminster Wisdom]

Columnist and talk show host Michael Smerconish, himself former trial lawyer, is among latest to be sued by inmate/fantasist J*nath*n L** R*ch*s [Philadelphia Inquirer; earlier]

Biggest-ever EEOC settlement for individual racial discrimination will bring Lockheed Martin electrician $2.5 million [Reuters/NYT]

U.K.: Coast guard wins award for saving teen from cliff, then loses job because he didn’t follow prescribed health and safety precautions [Times Online, Sun]

Lawsuit by baseball pros who missed out on big careers because they never abused steroids? [RedBirdsFan]

Until Sarkozy, French heads of state liked to cancel outstanding parking tickets on taking office; contrast with American practice of pardons as departing Presidential gesture [Rittelmeyer/Cigarette Smoking Blog]

New at Point of Law: Ted on med-mal statistics; Prof. Richard Nagareda on recognizing that mass torts are lawyer-driven; voter intimidation and union card check; state AGs and letters of marque and reprisal; Prof. Michael Krauss on thread-count class action; IRBs vs. hospital safety; Ted’s continuing coverage of the Vioxx settlement; and much more.

OSHA backs down from its plan to regulate hazards like trippable power cords and rickety chairs in telecommuters’ home offices [eight years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: Australia, baseball, card check, France, hospitals, Jonathan Lee Riches, Philadelphia, prisoners, roundups

January 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system