“The Kentucky Court of Appeals yesterday ordered the dismissal of claims against a woman who had been found negligent for leaving her car keys within reach of an allegedly drunken friend who crashed her car.” After a night of drinking, Tina Cox had retired to bed while a friend stayed up. He then took her car keys from her purse and went for a drive, where he struck a pickup driven by Joseph Waits. Waits sued Cox (whether he sued the driver as well is not clear) and a judge ruled her 40 percent responsible for the resulting verdict, which consisted of roughly $220,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages. According to the judge, Cox, knowing that her friend had previous DUI convictions, was negligent to have left her purse with the keys on a coffee table where he could get at it. The appeals court disagreed, noting Cox’s testimony that her friend had never previously driven her car without her permission. (Bruce Schreiner, “Court orders claims to be dropped in Shelby suit”, AP/Louisville Courier-Journal, Mar. 6).
Posts Tagged ‘personal responsibility’
Cheeseburger seconds
“Given that a 2003 Gallup Poll found that 89 percent of Americans don’t believe in blaming the fast-food industry for obesity, you’d think the bill is unnecessary. I take this vote as Washington’s way of recognizing that in America, a bad idea, given enough time, will gain support, take root and become law.” (Debra Saunders, “If you are what you eat, then sue”, San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 12). “Victor Schwartz, a leading expert on tort law who has been advising the National Restaurant Association, says these lawsuits still face formidable obstacles. He thinks a greater danger to the industry is that at some point state attorneys general will start filing lawsuits demanding compensation for Medicaid expenses, as they did with tobacco.” (Jacob Sullum, “Fast Food Damnation”, syndicated/Reason, Mar. 5). Blogger Kevin Drum (Calpundit) is torn and, he says, open to argument: “On the one hand, I don’t think much of using civil damage suits aimed at a specific industry as a way of changing social policy. Down that road lies madness. But at the same time, I also don’t think much of Congress exempting specific industries from the civil justice system. That can lead to some madness of its own.” (Mar. 11). Vice Squad (Mar. 11) has links on various topics including McDonald’s elimination of its Supersize offerings and developments in the U.K. on food regulation. The roll call on Wednesday’s vote is here. (See Mar. 11 and links from there.) More: in a commentary for Knight-Ridder, Fort Worth editorialist Linda P. Campbell defends the suits (“A helping of tort with your fast food”, Nov. 12, 2003). Restaurants are feeling the heat (Kim Severson, “Make it a super size, then call your lawyer”, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 12, 2003).
Cheeseburger bill passes House
By a vote of 276 to 139 with most Democrats opposed, the House gave its approval to a bill that would bar lawsuits against the food industry over obesity. (Christopher Lee, “House bill bans suits blaming eateries for obesity”, Washington Post/San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 11). The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate; similar legislation is pending in many state legislatures and has passed in Louisiana. Jacob Sullum at Reason “Hit & Run” has two good commentaries on the bill. It’s “disconcerting to see Congress instructing state courts to dismiss patently absurd lawsuits. I worry that it’s not really necessary. I worry more that it is,” Sullum writes. (Mar. 9). Sullum also catches GW law prof John Banzhaf talking out of both sides of his mouth about whether obesity lawsuits have been successful (Mar. 10).
One activist quoted in the new coverage is Ben Kelley, who in cooperation with Prof. Richard Daynard has taken a prominent role in organizing conferences advising lawyers on how to sue the food industry (see Elizabeth Lee, Andrew Mollison, “Food fans weigh in”, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mar. 10). It turns out that this is none other than the same Ben Kelley we covered ten years ago when we examined how litigation consultants working with trial lawyers have successfully promoted bogus media coverage of alleged auto hazards, including NBC’s famous use of hidden incendiary devices to portray GM trucks as prone to explode (Walter Olson, “It Didn’t Start With Dateline NBC”, National Review, Jun. 21, 1993.) The pro-foodmaker Center for Consumer Freedom has more on Kelley’s recent activities: see Dan Mindus, “McLawsuit Lies”, National Review, Oct. 29; “Trial Lawyers Up Demands On Food Companies”, Oct. 30; “Update: Obesity War Loses Discredited General”, Nov. 4.
MedPundit Sydney Smith thinks (Mar. 10) that the much-headlined new study purporting to find that obesity claims more lives than smoking “is, all things considered, a very weak study. Certainly too weak to be the foundation of sweeping public policy.” For more of our coverage of obesity litigation, see Aug. 11, Jun. 20, Sept. 4, Aug. 6, Jul. 21, Jul. 3, Jul. 3 again, Jul. 1, Jun. 24, and a great deal more here. More: Radley Balko dissents from the bill on federalist grounds (Mar. 11)(& letter to the editor, Mar. 18).
L.A. Times on spinning teacups
Funny, pointed editorial in Los Angeles Times on the decision of one of the management dwarves at Disneyland (“probably Grumpy”) to slow down the Mad Hatter’s spinning teacups lest someone sue (see Mar. 4). “Maybe right next to the sign, ‘You Must Be This Tall to Ride,’ they should post ratings with little symbols — one lawyer with briefcase for mildly scary attractions and a whole legal assault team for roller coasters.” (“Around and Around and…” Mar. 7).
At Disneyland, slower teacups
At Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., the “Mad Tea Party ride with 18 giant spinning teacups was recently modified in the name of safety to make it harder for people to spin. The move has prompted fans of the ride to march to City Hall on Disneyland’s Main Street in protest and post hundreds of messages on Internet discussion boards under headings such as ‘Save the Teacups.’ … Purists acknowledge that Disneyland also faces criticism for not paying enough attention to safety, but they see the ride’s modification as part of a pattern. They believe the fear of lawsuits is taking some of the fun out of the Magic Kingdom. ‘It’s like all the good times are over,’ said annual pass-holder Isaac Martin, 24. ‘It feels so depressing.’ … Park officials said they made the change after a disabled rider lost his balance last month and slipped from a teacup. The rider did not require medical treatment.” Disney officials insist the ride, which takes its theme from an Alice in Wonderland scene, remains entertaining. (“Disneyland purists decry tame teacups in Fantasyland”, AP/Sacramento Bee, Feb. 29)(via onel7). More: MickeyNews, MiceAge. Yet more: Jun. 22, 2005.
Mom sues daughter over driveway mishap
The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that Carla Allen of Warren is not entitled to collect damages from her daughter for failing to maintain her property in a safe condition. Mrs. Allen tripped and fell “on a raised slab of concrete on her daughter?s driveway”. The “court ruled that when an average person with ordinary intelligence can discover a danger on casual inspection, as the mother could in this case, he or she cannot blame someone else for injuries.” The editorialists at the Detroit News say the case “speaks volumes about the absurd state of the U.S. judicial system” and suggests the need for more frequent sanctions. (“Fine Filers of Frivolous Lawsuits” (editorial), Detroit News, Feb. 24)
County to volunteer: stop plowing that trail
In suburban Chicago, Geneva resident Dave Peterson has for some time been dragging a homemade snowplow behind a mountain bike to clear the Fox River Trail, both for his own use and as a matter of public-spiritedness. No longer: “The county has asked him to stop because if there’s an expectation that the trail will be plowed, there’s a greater chance for litigation, said Kane County Forest Preserve District operations supervisor Pat McQuilkin. ‘If a person falls, you are more liable than if you had never plowed at all. Crazy world,’ wrote AnnMarie Fauske, the district’s community affairs director, in response to a letter to Peterson. ‘Unfortunately, the times we are in allow for a much more litigious environment than common sense would dictate.'” When Peterson pointed out that plowing the trail was important to commuters who use bicycles to get to work, the “forest preserve quickly replied that, while a ‘wonderful gesture … your act of kindness may also be open to legal issues should someone fall after your care.'” (Garrett Ordower, “County tells bicyclist thanks, but stop plowing trail”, Daily Herald, Feb. 21).
Common Good “Five worst lawsuits of 2003”
Common Good, the organization founded by author/attorney Philip K. Howard (The Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good) and dedicated to “Reforming America’s Lawsuit Culture”, has announced its picks for Top 5 Ridiculous Lawsuits awards of 2003, in what is intended to be a continuing annual series. Two of the five have been written up previously on this site: Blair Hornstine’s suit demanding to be made sole valedictorian of her school in Moorestown, N.J. (see Aug. 21, Jul. 12 and links from there) and a jury’s award of $10 million against the state of Washington over an assault committed in part by two foster kids in the state’s foster care program (see Nov. 24). The other three:
* Perri v. Furma Restaurant, Inc. (Illinois Court of Appeals, Jan.): “Parents can sue Chinese restaurant for hot tea burn, even though a child from their family caused the burn by spinning the lazy susan.”
* Gary Dailey v. Board of Review, et. al (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, Nov.): “Truck driver, who lied about having driver?s license, wins suit to get unemployment benefits.”
* Ellen Hall v. Tim Henn, et. al (Illinois Supreme Court, Dec.)(unpublished opinion): “Woman who broke her arm on backyard snow luge can sue neighbor who invited her and other friends and neighbors to use the luge.” The court held that a state statute protecting landowners from liability for opening their land to the public did not apply to invited guests and that the luge could be “considered an ‘unnatural and dangerous condition’ even though the victim called and asked if she and her daughter could come over and use it.”
“No damage award for shot burglar”
Connecticut: “A Superior Court jury has rejected a burglar’s bid for damages for being shot when he broke into a house five years ago. Clarence Wiggins of Waterbury had sued Louis Steponaitis Jr. of Torrington for shooting him in the right arm with a shotgun on Dec. 16, 1998.” (AP/WFSB (Hartford), Feb. 12).
Climbing on dump trucks isn’t negligent
Or at least so it’s being argued: freelance photographer Robert Levin is suing carting company Waste Management LLP for $50 million over injuries he suffered after he climbed on one of its garbage trucks to take pictures of Ground Zero and fell off. Levin’s attorney, Howard Klar of Manhattan, denied that his own client was negligent in the matter: “he never thought in a million years the truck would move.” (John Marzulli, “Ground Zero gawker sues for garbage-truck injury”, New York Daily News, Feb. 10).