Justinian Lane
Inter Alia on the Internet – Welcome Back Edition
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine was intentionally uneventful, with one pleasant exception. A good law school friend of mine (who for some reason fancies corporate law) introduced me to a hilarious comedy show called Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace. It’s a spoof of 80’s tv shows and horror stuff. Only six episodes were made, and they’re all on Youtube.
- The Wall Street Journal covers a handful of cases in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is regarded by administrative law geeks as being even more important than the Supreme Court. I chuckled when I saw that the National Association of Manufacturers is opposing the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. NAM is very unhappy with the idea of revealing which corporations are funding their assault on the justice system.
- Speaking of administrative law, state and federal agencies are battling about who can sell slots at the Newark airport. This whole problem will end up as a hypothetical question on a law school exam, I’m sure.
- A must-read post at Overlawyered. I’m not sure what prompted this, but Walter has asked his readers not to make hateful, personal attacks against those who file lawsuits. Here’s an excerpt: “When we voice our disagreement with the claims made in resulting lawsuits, it can be helpful to imagine those family members’ faces as being among those in the audience, and let our words be shaped accordingly.” Kudos to Walter, and let’s hope the rest of his readers follow his advice. I’m also going to hope this post marks the end of Overlawyered’s long tradition of mocking victims who say their lawsuits aren’t about the money.
- This one is all over the Internet – a judge was admonished for relying upon Wikipedia in a judicial opinion. How long until this decision has a Wikipedia entry?
- As someone who does technology consulting to attorneys, I heartily agree that lawyers are behind the technology curve.
- A common argument for tort reform is that the tort system adds unnecessary costs to the products we buy. You know what else adds unnecessary costs to our products? Luxury perks for CEO’s and other corporate executives, like corporate jets & helicopters. Perhaps we’ll all save some money on Bristol-Meyers’ products as they’re selling the corporate fleet.
- What’s the worst part of product-liability lawsuits for corporations? Not the damages awards, which are often covered by insurance, but the negative press that can sink their stock. Negative press has made Schering-Plough’s stock “radioactive.” If SP is sued over Vytorin, expect its stock price to sink even lower.
- Better not crank call the Republican National Convention. Does anyone know if the Democrats followed a similar strategy?
Posted at 8:06 PM, Sep 03, 2008 in Roundup | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Walter deleted a comment similar to this. He brooks no fundamental disagreement, nor does Ted. Kia repeatedly does the same. Censorship is cult.
The plaintiff family is attacking a productive entity, and is seeking to damage the economy by rent seeking. They demean the injury of their loved one by tawdry money grubbing. Their lawyer should have warned them, their private facts would be subjected to discovery and would enter the public record. If the case is extreme enough, it would enter the press. Most plaintiff families are sleazy, scapegoating, lowlifes, even if wealthy. The average family does not sue.
It is sometimes "not for the money," I agree with Justinian. It is then to scapegoat others for the knucklehead, intoxicated, idiotic behavior of their loved ones. These knucklehead behaviors come from an appalling, incompetent, lazy, absent upbringing. And, the family has trouble facing their own responsibility for the injury.
These vicious predators offer no quarter. They deserve none.
Posted by: Supremacy Claus | September 4, 2008 06:48 AM