Consumer Law

Tort Tuesday

Posted on May 05, 2009
Today I thought I'd highlight a few blogs that, like TortDeform, have taken the civil justice thing so seriously as to incorporate the tort theme into the blog's name. Now that's commitment! Check them out today for your daily dose of civil justice: The Pop Tort--so that civil justice isn't toast...

Civil Justice may never take a vacation...

Posted on May 04, 2009
...but people do! So this week's TortDeform posts will be a bit sparse. My intention is to make up for it with a nice roundup when I get back. In the mean time, every day I will highlight a few blogs for TD readers to visit for their daily dose of civil justice...

Happy Law Day!

Posted on May 01, 2009
A message from the President: In 1958, President Eisenhower established Law Day as "a day of national dedication to the principles of government under law." Each year on Law Day, we celebrate our commitment to the rule of law. That great commitment is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and has been reaffirmed by the words and deeds of great Americans throughout our Nation's history...

Up Next: A Supreme Court "Civil Justice" Justice?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Today President Obama announced that Justice Souter will be retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of this term, and the search for a Souter replacement has begun. Obama "hope[s] to have a new justice sworn in by the first Monday in October -- when the new court term begins...

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Nevada might change its bet on tort "reform"?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Remember the Nevada Hepatitis outbreak caused by a hospital's dirty practice of reusing syringes? Well, it is causing folks to rethink the utility, and equity, of med mal caps. Mahabarbara reports here: A hepatitis C outbreak is causing Nevada to re-think tort ?reform...

Today! Arbitration Fairness Day in DC

Posted on April 28, 2009
I am in DC and on my way right now to go participate in Arbitration Fairness Day--a day when consumer advocates, policy researchers, lawyers, and ordinary people who are passionate about the issue because of personal experience come together to explain why Congress must reform the law on forced arbitration...

Tribute to a Hero, Father--Civil Justice Style

Posted on April 27, 2009
I love Twitter because it allows me to stay almost instantly updated with what fellow bloggers on TortDeform's roll are doing. From Twitter I learned that this week's BlawgReview was hosted by John Hochfelder of New York Injury Cases Blog. He added a deeply personal element to the review format--picking an interesting topic and then using the blawgreview to highlight, critique, and round-up what other blawgers and legal websites are doing--by talking about the life of his late father, a war hero: By happenstance, I was assigned April 27th as my date to publish this piece...

What about the little guy? (Part 2)

Posted on April 20, 2009
Just wanted to share this quick read. A heartwarming reminder of why some people go into the legal profession. Given all the "greedy lawyer" stereotypes out there, I thought this might be a nice read.

What about the little guy?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Big corporate industries are lobbying relentlessly against the interests of ordinary people, even while accepting our tax money as bailouts. That's why I think Eric Turkewitz asks a good question in his recent blog, Who Lobbies for the Victims? Eric writes: In 10 days I head to Albany with other personal injury attorneys to lobby the legislature to keep the civil justice system open and available to New Yorkers...

Check out this Amazing Website

Posted on April 17, 2009
Fair Arbitration Now! Who doesn' want that? This website is awesome--it is complete with a blog, true stories of people who've been affected by forced arbitration, resources like reports/fact sheets, information about relevant legislation, and more. It is truly a one stop shop for information about binding mandatory arbitration...

Insurance Industry Foxes to Select the Henhouse Guards?

Posted on April 16, 2009
Cross-posted from DMIBlog.com: There?s little question that the nation is badly in need of new financial regulation. We need common sense mortgage lending laws that ensure borrowers are only offered loans they have a reasonable chance of paying back...

Med mal caps work... against med mal victims, that is.

Posted on April 15, 2009
Eric Turkewitz points out that when folks claim that capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims "works," they often conveniently neglect to explain what "working" really means. He writes: But what, exactly does it mean for a statute to "work" when it reduces the ability of the most badly injured individuals to recover for their loss? Does offering government protectionism for tortfeasors mean it works? Does stopping those who've been victimized from recovering from their loss mean it works? Does destroying the concept of personal responsibility for one's actions mean it works? If the objective is to offer windfalls to those whose negligence has injured others then one might say it works...

Tort "Reform" Caps--Discriminatory Impact

Posted on April 15, 2009
Check out the newest addition to the Center for Justice and Democracy's Spotlight on Justice Series. This one highlights the discriminatory impact of caps on non-economic damages. Click the image below for more information.

Listen and Learn!

Posted on April 10, 2009
Former TortDeform contributor, noted civil justice and politics journalist, and Mother Jones columnist Stephanie Mencimer will be on Air America's show Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonio. The show will air tomorrow, April 11th at 3pm EST and Sunday, April 12 at 8pm EST...

Regulatory Deficiency

Posted on April 09, 2009
By AMY TRAUB, cross posted from DMIBlog: Deregulation. It?s right up there with tax cuts, tort deform, and trade liberalization on the list of conservative nostrums. Cutting government regulation is supposed to promote competition and unleash the power of the market...

Money, money, money, money (a round up)

Posted on April 09, 2009
Random bits of news from the week, with a monetary twist. Moving the money around. Big law firms are sending underworked associates to the public interest sector during the economic downturn. That way, they get to pay associates a bit less, associates get some experience doing public interest work, and the financially starved non-profit world gets some free young talent...

More predatory lending lawsuits...

Posted on April 08, 2009
Atlanta might join the ranks of cities (from Birmingham to Cleveland) and states (from California to Tennessee) suing over predatory lending practices. Here's what an attorney from Atlanta Legal Aid Society had to say about that: ?The [lenders] offered loans to people who could not pay and they knew that,? said Brennan, program director for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society...

Check out this quick read on the FDA

Posted on April 07, 2009
Not that criticism is out of order, but It seems like everyone's a critic of the FDA these days. Could the agency's recent steps to take a tougher stance on food regulation and the ushering in of a new crop of FDA leadership be markers of progress? I suppose time will tell...

Civil Justice Roundup: New York Times Edition

Posted on April 03, 2009
Whoa, the New York Times was on civil justice speed this week! I mean, they were just churning it on out. Here are some of the highlights, for your weekend reading pleasure. - Adam Cohen makes some good points about the need to change the legal profession in light of the economic crisis, and suggests what those changes should look like...

Nevada Must Repeal Dr. Desai's Law

Posted on April 02, 2009
A lot of words have been used to describe Dr. Dipak Desai, whose greed may have exposed 40,000 Nevadans to Hepatitis and HIV.  Let me add another word to the list: brilliant.  Why brilliant?  Because Dr. Desai didn?t just use the profits he made from reusing medical instruments to buy an 8,700 square foot mansion at the Red Rock Country Club...

Revoke Medtronic's Hit and Run License

Posted on April 01, 2009
Following up on Justinian's post, here's a great video by Alliance for Justice about preemption, Riegel v. Medtronic, and Wyeth v. Levine. Video hosted by Diana Levine. Hat tip to Ian at OverruledBlog.

Inter Alia on the Internet – April Fools' Edition

Posted on April 01, 2009
I?m not feeling terribly creative this morning, so you have my assurance that there aren?t any fake stories here intended as an April Fools? joke.  What?s the best way for defendants to deal with a class action they believe is frivolous?  Take it to trial and clean the plaintiffs? clocks...

Want to undo Riegel? Then Call Congress

Posted on March 31, 2009
Just saw this in my inbox and thought I should share: On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, victims harmed by dangerous medical devices and their families will be in Washington, DC, to meet with members of Congress about HR 1346/S 540, The Medical Device Safety Act (MDSA), legislation that would restore the rights of thousands of Americans who have suffered or even died because of defective medical devices, like heart defibrillators, artificial valves, and prosthetic knees and hips, to seek justice through the civil justice system...

Civil Justice Newsbits and pieces

Posted on March 30, 2009
Here's a spillover from the weekend and late last week. Items I intended to cover at length but never got to, but which I think would be of interest to TD readers. Enjoy! BLT writes about law firms that are doing their part to provide access to affordable representation, here...

The Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009--Now That's Stimulus

Posted on March 30, 2009
Hallelujah to this new bill, "The Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009." This bill proposes some truly significant changes that would help close the justice gap that divides the wealthy from the middle and aspiring middle class, preventing access to the courts for those in dire need of it...

Banks do the darndest things...

Posted on March 27, 2009
Here are just a few civil justice tidbits with a banking twist, for your weekend reading pleasure: Inherited from the prior administration (surprise, surprise), here's something that's got some preemption, some bailout madness, and some consumer abuse all in one...

Editorial on Caperton case

Posted on March 25, 2009
Thought I'd point out this editorial about the Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. case, for which the Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month. At issue is whether a judge was obligated to recuse himself from a case, when one of the parties had spent millions of dollars to affect the outcome of the judge's campaign...

Update on A Tale of Two Contracts...

Posted on March 23, 2009
Here's a hypothetical. You've got two very similar employment disputes each governed by a contract. One contains a pre-dispute binding mandatory arbitration clause, and the other is without such a devlish loophole. Can you predict the outcome of these disputes? (Here's a hint: one person was forced to go to a private arbitrator hand-picked by his former employer to resolve the matter, while the other retained his right to sue in the public court system where the laws must be upheld and reasoned judgments offered...

Obama Makes First of Many Judicial Appointments

Posted on March 19, 2009
Regarding his judicial philosophy, President Obama said this in an appearance on CNN?s Situation Room (May 8, 2008): ?[W]hat I do want is a judge who is sympathetic enough to those who are on the outside, those who are vulnerable, those who are powerless, those who can't have access to political power and as a consequence can't protect themselves from being dealt with sometimes unfairly...

House approves bill to tax AIG bonuses and others

Posted on March 19, 2009
From AP: Acting swiftly, the Democratic-led House approved a bill Thursday to slap punishing taxes on big employee bonuses at firms bailed out by taxpayers. The bill would impose a 90 percent tax on bonuses given to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at American International Group and other companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money...

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