Consumer Law

The Medical Malpractice Crisis Continues and the Problem Isn't Lawsuits

Posted on June 11, 2010
Now that the medical malpractice lawsuit issue has relinquished the title of national ?political football? in the national health insurance reform debate, the issue moves back to the states, where it has been thrashed around for over 30 years. Yes,...

Election Results Say Some Interesting Things About Corporate Money in Politics

Posted on June 09, 2010
Tuesday was a big election day but the biggest story may have come by way of the supremely ? activist U.S. Supreme Court. As a charming follow-up to its widely-condemned Citizens United decision that ?gave corporations a free speech right...

What Happens When Courts Don't Work - The Bhopal Disaster

Posted on June 08, 2010
Want to hear a tragic story about a man-made disaster caused by a foreign corporation? Let?s Google Earth over to Bhopal India for a moment, where Union Carbide Corporation (now owned by Dow Chemical) caused the world?s worst industrial accident...

Huff Post Repost: The Tortured "Torts" of Sarah Palin and Oil

Posted on June 06, 2010
Last week, the right-wing, corporate-backed Pacific Research Institute, well-known tobacco industry apologist, produced a dense yet nutty "statistical" analysis of state tort systems (bottom line: the fewer cases against corporate wrongdoers, the better)...

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Judges Take (Corporate) Stock

Posted on June 04, 2010
You may have already heard that ?six of 12 active judges assigned to the federal judicial district based in New Orleans already have removed themselves from spill-damage lawsuits? because of ?conflicts tied to oil investments or personal relationships with lawyers...

Transocean Bah Humbug

Posted on June 03, 2010
For some reason, we've been thinking a lot about Ebenezer Scrooge lately. In fact, we were reminded of this exchange between Scrooge and his nephew in The Christmas Carol: ?What reason have you to be merry? You?re poor enough,? says...

Business Hypocrites and their Boatloads of Lawsuits

Posted on June 02, 2010
The social media world was keyed up yesterday about a front page New York Times story about a guy who was is being sued by a company about which he had complained on Facebook: After a towing company hauled Justin...

Huff Post Repost: America Wakes Up to the Importance of Liability and the Stupidity of ?Caps?

Posted on June 01, 2010
Teachable moments can come almost anytime, from anywhere. The recent history of corporate and professional breakdowns and mess-ups should provide a number of them. Bob Herbert raised the issue in a stinging New York Times column recently when he asked,...

Cases Move Forward in that Other Southeast U.S. Environmental Catastrophe ? Chinese Drywall

Posted on May 28, 2010
The last time we covered the Chinese Drywall ?hot mess," the Deepwater Horizon oilrig occupied nary a nanosecond of brain power for most people. Of course, now our collective brains are hurting pretty badly over that. Incredibly, what is happening...

Beware of Childrens? Medicine Makers

Posted on May 27, 2010
Last month, when the Food and Drug Administration recalled ?40 kinds of [Johnson & Johnson] liquid pediatric Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec? because they possibly contained metal particles and/or ingredient problems, the FDA pointed worried parents straight to the generic...

Paint Companies Try to Squeeze Rhode Island for Lead Paint Costs ? Judge Says No Way

Posted on May 26, 2010
Though much was known about the dangers of lead in paint (which causes irreversible brain damage in children) as early as the 1930s, the United States did not ban lead paint until 1978. Paint manufacturers, knowing of the danger, marketed...

Toasting Good News Where We Can

Posted on May 25, 2010
Today is a hell of a day for bad news. The market is sliding. There?s a Bay of Pigs-like standoff between North and South Korea. And all the kings? horses and all the kings? men still can?t stop oil from...

Suspicious Health Care: If You See Something, Say Something

Posted on May 24, 2010
If you're ridden the New York City subways lately, you've heard this: ?If You See Something, Say Something.? For those who haven't been to New York City for awhile, that's the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority slogan aimed at NYC bus...

Without a Spotlight, BP's Bad Behavior Will Likely Get Worse

Posted on May 21, 2010
How preposterous is it that BP is clamping down on what we do and don?t know about the disastrous oil spill they?ve caused in the Gulf? The blogosphere is on fire about the CBS News clip that shows a CBS...

Florida Needs Terminator Lawyers Against BP

Posted on May 21, 2010
Honestly, we don?t mean to repeat ourselves. But there?s another weird converging of topics going on, which like yesterday?s BP/Law Clinic post, also involves BP. I guess when corporate wrongdoing becomes this huge, it spills over into all kinds of...

BP and Law Clinics ? One Spooky Interaction

Posted on May 20, 2010
Einstein once coined the excellent phrase "spooky action at a distance." He was referring to the ?action at a distance? theory in physics, the ?interaction of two objects which are separated in space with no known mediator of the interaction.?...

We're All "Mom and Pop" Oil Companies Now!

Posted on May 18, 2010
We found this "Confidential Memo" on Huffington Post. Check it out! ____________________________________________ CONFIDENTIAL MEMO To: Oil Industry Executives From: [Redacted name], Chief Executive Officer [Redacted name] Oil Company Date: May 18, 2010 Re: We're all "Mom and Pop" Oil Companies...

Sanjay Gupta, Lawsuits and Food Safety

Posted on May 17, 2010
We know that CNN?s resident neurosurgeon, Sanjay Gupta, is one busy guy. Understandably, he doesn?t always have a lot of time to make sure everything he says on the air is actually correct. Like the pretty deficient work he did...

California Nursing Home Verdict Tells a Bigger Story

Posted on May 14, 2010
We realize that we?ve been a bit focused on national calamities this week. But honestly, when it comes to issues we?re concerned about here at ThePopTort ? corporate accountability, regulatory failures and the importance of civil courts as the last...

Heroes and Losers in Congress Yesterday (Party? Irrelevant)

Posted on May 13, 2010
We will start with the bad news. Delaware Senator Tom ?I am a former governor of Delaware and I care a lot about states rights as a recovering governor? Carper (D-DE), apparently cares a lot more about the Big Banks...

Insurance Industry Rears its Ugly Advertising Head - Again

Posted on May 12, 2010
In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Crum and Foster, Aetna and St. Paul insurance companies launched direct advertising assaults on the civil jury system, trying to scare the public that jury verdicts would effect jurors' pocketbooks through higher premiums. These...

Huff Post Repost: From Three Mile Island to BP- The Corporate Culture of Catastrophes and Cover-ups

Posted on May 10, 2010
When I was a young attorney barely out of law school, I took over the case to stop the restart of the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor on behalf of the local community group, Three Mile Island Alert....

Quick Wrap Up ? Supreme Court, Auto Safety and BP

Posted on May 07, 2010
Supremes: Mike Allen at Politico is reporting - Elena Kagan is most probably it (for the U.S. Supreme Court.) Auto Safety: On the front page of the New York Times today, you can find an article called, "In Washington, a...

Democracy Now! Lawsuit Over Gestapo Tactics

Posted on May 06, 2010
The new Arizona immigration law has its share of critics, not the least of whom is Republican Congressman Connie Mack of Florida, who likened the law to ?a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people...

Atrazine - Weeding out Water?s Killer Weed Killer

Posted on May 05, 2010
How?s that for a tongue-twister? Granted, it?s not rubber baby buggy bumper (which kinda makes sense only after the 5th read). Ours has a bit more meaning, though. This week, the Natural Resources Defense Council released an update of its...

Say Whaaaat?? Award to Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions

Posted on May 04, 2010
It has been way too long since our last ?Say Whaaaat?? Award, our own special recognition of those daring soles who say things that practically defy human comprehension. Today, we are especially thrilled to bestow this prestigious honor to one...

The BP Oil Catastrophe and Who Will Pay: In Their Own Words Because We?re Speechless

Posted on May 03, 2010
The breathtaking scope of the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf has not only taken our breath away, it has left us speechless today. So we?ll let others speak for us. Here are a few choice quotes: ?This isn't going to...

West Virginia Coal Mine Refrain

Posted on April 30, 2010
While the corporate disaster du jour ? the BP oil rig explosion and spill, which gets more distressing by the hour ? may be pushing the Massey Energy mine disaster off the national front pages, there are some very important...

Immigration and Abortion Lawsuits Move Forward; Dystopia Averted?

Posted on April 29, 2010
Opponents of two of the most controversial and extreme state laws passed in recent memory (see one funny take here, if that?s possible) are headed straight to court. First is the Arizona immigration law, which may be challenged by the...

Huff Post Repost: Chevron - Finding New Ways to Crush Opponents, Intimidate Filmmakers and Disempower Populations

Posted on April 28, 2010
I know I'm not the first one to draw comparisons between James Cameron's fictional Avatar, where a corporate-military entity uses force to obtain Pandora's valuable natural resource while devastating the indigenous population, and Joe Berlinger's award-winning documentary, Crude, where Texaco-Chevron...

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