I’m happy to announce that my speech last month at Hillsdale College in Michigan has been reprinted as the March issue of the college publication “Imprimis”, which reaches a very large (1 million+) readership. (Walter Olson, “The Threat from Lawyers is No Joke”, current issue, will rotate off top page — when that happens, search archive for March 2004)(or permalink printable version)
Posts Tagged ‘WO writings’
ADA filing mills: coming to your town next?
I’ve just published, in the new City Journal, an article on the thriving industry of filing disabled-accessibility complaints against unsuspecting businesses and building owners which are then traded in for hard cash, often couched as legal fees, payable to the organizers of the complaints. Established disabled-rights groups mostly say they’re dismayed by the practice, which doesn’t mean they necessarily support any steps that would stop it. (Walter K. Olson, “The ADA Shakedown Racket”, City Journal, Winter). For earlier coverage of the issue on this site, see Aug. 12, this group of links, and our disabled-rights page generally.
“Shut up! Or I’ll sue”
I review David Bernstein’s “You Can’t Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties From Antidiscrimination Laws” in today’s New York Post (see Nov. 7). The book can be purchased here.
California’s antispam law
I’ve got an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning on the remarkably bad legislation that California passed this year ostensibly banning spam, which in fact creates a right to sue unwary businesses for $1000 per email over all sorts of communications that aren’t regarded as spam by most recipients. Fortunately, the pending federal SPAM-CON bill, whatever its other merits or demerits, would override the California law, which otherwise is due to go into effect Jan. 1. (Walter Olson, “Spamifornia”, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 3) (sub). I’ll probably be returning to this subject in print again, since the space available in the WSJ didn’t permit me to explore some of the pertinent litigation precedents that make the California bill so scary, notably the antispam law passed by Utah last year and the record of class action suits under the federal “junk fax” law (Jul. 19 and links from there).