Many Maryland towns string Christmas lights from powerlines, but the town of Lonaconing made the mistake of asking for permission, rather than forgiveness, and Alleghany Power, afraid of the legal risks of an accident if it approved the display, was forced to forbid it. Protesting citizens have erected an inflatable Grinch protesting against Verizon and the power company, but their efforts would be better directed at the litigation culture that forced these company’s decision. (JoAnna Daemmrich, “Grinch pulls plug on a cherished ritual”, Chicago Tribune, Dec. 22).
Posts Tagged ‘Maryland’
Welcome Baltimore Sun readers
The newspaper of H.L. Mencken gave this site a nice recommendation Nov. 24 (not online) in its column about the Web, “The Monitor”:
What’s the point? — This site explores the ever-increasing litigiousness of society by reviewing law blogs (aka “blawgs”), and linking to and discussing articles and papers on cases, laws and so on.
What to look for — Check out posts on such recent cases as a man who says he got glued to a toilet seat in the bathroom of a Home Depot and last week’s accusations that Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee is too hot.
Today’s police chase lawsuit roundup III
- Antonio Chatman has already pled guilty to charges of fleeing police (the third time he’s been in trouble for doing so in his lengthy criminal history) and resisting arrest, but now claims that he jumped upon a Dumpster to give himself up, and sued the city of Johnstown and police officer Michael Page over its use of Obi, a police dog that bit him when he fought the apprehending dog. A jury didn’t buy his story.
On Thursday afternoon, Page shook hands with and thanked the jurors who cleared him. The 35-year-old also said the threat of a lawsuit can haunt officers as they make split-second decisions on the street.
“You have these type of things in the back of your mind,” Page said. “And unfortunately, that hesitation may cause me or somebody else to get hurt.”
Chatman’s attorneys argue that Page should have been equipped with a baton, though Page was over 50 feet away. (Mike Faher, “Jurors clear police dog”, Tribune-Democrat, Nov. 18; Id., “Police defend dog accused of biting”, Nov. 16; Id., “Officers testify in dog-bite lawsuit”, Nov. 15; Id., “Police-dog bite lawsuit begins”, Nov. 14). The district court had granted summary judgment, but the Third Circuit reversed (as the law required them to do) because of the “he said, he said” factual dispute. Unless Pennsylvania prosecutes Chatman for perjury, he will suffer no consequences for bringing the lawsuit.
- Patrick Sterling was fleeing police after being caught drag racing when he lost control of his Honda Civic and killed a thirteen-year-old pedestrian, Dennis Howard. So, of course, the family is suing the town of Orange. (Gerard A. Frank, “City faces lawsuit in boy’s death due to chase”, East Orange Record, Nov. 17; Scott Weinberger, “Family’s Claim About Cop Unfounded”, WCBS, Nov. 11).
- A Houston policeman complains about the safety implications of the city’s implementation of police-chase regulations. “Basically, that’s telling the crooks out there to just go on and do what you want and get away with it, because we’re not going to be chasing you.” The city denies that the revisions are the result of lawsuit fears, though it has been subjected to litigation over an innocent killed by a criminal fleeing police. (Jeff McShan, “HPD: To chase or not to chase”, KHOU, Nov. 23).
- An interview of a teenage car thief provides more support for the proposition that regulating police chases just encourages criminals to drive dangerously more often: “The police in the District would see us and chase us, but once they saw us go over 70 miles an hour they stopped.” In the words of one policeman, “If the [DC and Maryland] police were allowed to do their job and chase stolen cars, people wouldn’t run from the police. They don’t have this problem in Virginia. If you steal a car in Arlington, the Virginia State Police will chase you all the way to Georgia.” DC has gotten sufficiently lawless that Police Chief Charles Ramsey’s car has been stolen. (Michael Patrick Carney, “‘Don’t hurt me, I’m just a kid'”, Washingtonian, Dec. 2005).
Earlier coverage: Oct. 26; Mar. 29; Mar. 15 and links therein.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t files: toy safety
Maryland PIRG complains about the toy industry:
Some toy manufacturers are over-labeling toys by placing choke hazard warnings on items that do not contain small parts. This could dilute the meaning of the warning labels, making them less useful to parents.
One looks forward to the day where a Ralph Nader-founded organization intervenes as amicus in a failure-to-warn lawsuit to make the argument that liability should not be found because holding a manufacturer liable will create incentives to over-label and dilute the meaning of warnings.
Menace of gasoline underpricing averted again
Great moments in economic regulation, cont’d: now it’s Maryland that’s cracking down on service stations for the sin of pricing gasoline too cheaply. (Justin Blum, “Maryland Hits Brakes on Fleeting Gasoline Price War”, Washington Post, May 6). For an example from Minnesota, see Jun. 5, 2004.
Canada: provincial tobacco copycat suits
Bad ideas from the U.S. hit Canada ten years later dept.: two Canadian provinces are seeking to replicate the success of state attorneys general in the U.S. and scoop up large amounts of money from tobacco companies through lawsuits without the bother of raising taxes. British Columbia’s legislature followed the lead of several U.S. states (Florida, Maryland and Vermont) and enacted an explicitly retroactive “we win, you lose” statute undercutting tobacco companies’ defenses against cost recoupment. Now Manitoba has joined in, its decision announced by Theresa Oswald, who bears the scary title of Healthy Living Minister. (“Manitoba to back B.C. in tobacco case”, CBC, Feb. 25)(B.C. law).
Schools and sunscreen
Those reports from Bristol, England last summer (“It’s sunny, stay inside”, Jul. 6) turn out not to be an isolated case: in Montgomery County, Maryland, ordinary sunscreen lotion is considered a medication for which a doctor’s note is required, while in adjacent Howard County, a student who wishes to use sun protection cream must bring in a parent’s note and the bottle must be kept with the school nurse. The American Cancer Society, which favors wide sunscreen use as a protective against skin cancer, is upset. (Daniel de Vise, “Bill Would Legislate Maryland Students’ Use of Sunscreen”, Washington Post, Mar. 29)(via Taranto). More on zero tolerance: Kris Axtman, “Why tolerance is fading for zero tolerance in schools”, Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 31.
“How to Evict an Ex”
“Be prepared for a lengthy process” in the District of Columbia if the quondam paramour doesn’t want to leave, no matter that it’s your house. “It’s really complicated,” says one lawyer. (Sara Gebhardt, Washington Post, Jan. 22). For cases of roommate-entrenchment from Florida and Maryland, see Feb. 19 and Aug. 26, 2004.
Terror funding prevention
The Ninth Circuit reinstated indictments against seven defendants accused of financing a terrorist group. The ruling also reversed a district court ruling that invalidated the 1996 terrorism-financing law under which the US government had issued the indictments. The bush Administration has used the law as a tool to prosecute people who have allegedly bankrolled terrorist organizations by contributions to “charity” organizations. This ruling matches the outcome of a similar case before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Details are here.
The ruling is especially notable because the Ninth Circuit is generally considered the most liberal (and volatile) of the 12 regional circuit courts — it sits primarily in San Francisco and presides over appeals from US district courts in the far west and some mountain states; the Fourth Circuit is considered one of the two most conservative federal appeals courts and presides over appeals from district courts in the Carolinas, the Virginias and Maryland.
Class actions: Wal-Mart sued over obscenity in song
“Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which promotes itself as a seller of clean music, deceived customers by stocking compact discs by the rock group Evanescence that contain the f-word, a lawsuit claims.” (“Wal-Mart sued over Evanescence lyrics”, AP/USA Today, Dec. 11). On behalf of Melanie and Trevin Skeens, residents of Washington County, Md., attorney Jon D. Pels of the Bethesda, Maryland firm of Pels, Anderson & Lee LLC is demanding up to $74,500 for each copy sold of the CD in Maryland, and is vowing to expand the litigation into other states. (Julie E. Greene, “County couple sues Wal-Mart over lyrics”, Hagerstown, Md. Herald-Mail, Dec. 10). A Google search reveals that three years ago attorney Pels filed an intended class action against Atlantic Records, AOL Time Warner and Slip-N-Slide Records on behalf of a different Maryland parent, saying obscenities were not edited out of a supposedly “clean” version of Trick Daddy’s Thugs Are Us. (Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, “Trick Daddy Accused By Maryland Mom Of Having Dirty ‘Clean’ LP”, VH1.com, Jun. 26, 2001). More: The Christian Science Monitor’s account is sympathetic to the claimants and their lawyer (Dec. 20).