Police in Montgomery County, Maryland are investigating a new “Castle Doctrine” case after Harry Trueman Powell, 34, was shot and killed by a homeowner. Powell allegedly had been sleeping in the basement of the home for some time — a home that had its own firing range. Since there is no report that Powell was armed, the case is likely to raise Maryland’s Castle Doctrine defense. Continue reading “Maryland Homeowner Kills Intruder in Latest Castle Doctrine Case”
Category: Torts
There is an interesting criminal case out of Minnesota that highlights both criminal and tort doctrines on the defense of self and defense of property. Landis Rachel Hill, 31, and her boyfriend, Christopher Dwayne Grayson, were arrested after Hill ran over a man who allegedly robbed them. Al Rakip J. Zaidi, 21, died from “severe head trauma” after being hit by their 2001 Ford Expedition.
Continue reading “Minnesota Woman Arrested After Running Over Man Who Allegedly Robbed Her”
A couple of bizarre recent cases raise a question that we occasionally discuss in my torts class: the liability for suicidal acts, particularly jumping from buildings. This week, a 31-year-old man jumped from a high-rise in Jersey City, New Jersey and landed on a BMW. The car was heavily damaged but he was able to walk away after plunging nine floors.
Continue reading “Suicide Torts: Recent Bizarre Cases Raise Questions Over “Jumper” Liability”
Students at California Lutheran University have filed a federal defamation lawsuit against the school for defamation and false light after the school denounced softball players and coaches as racists for a college skit. The claim is part of a broader claim alleging discriminatory treatment given to the CLU Women’s Softball program as opposed to the CLU Men’s Baseball program. In a bizarre twist, the complaint includes a picture of the former university president Chris Kimball dressed as Bob Marley.
Continue reading “Students Sue California Lutheran University For Slander Over College Skit”
During the debacle in the withdraw from Afghanistan, the Biden Administration claimed to have killed an “ISIS-K Planner” but curiously refused to give his name despite repeated media requests. It was odd because clearly he knew about it as did his colleagues. Ten innocent people (rather than three claimed by the Administration) appear to have also died in the attack. However, now the New York Times reports that we may have vaporized an innocent person who was loading water rather than munitions into his car. Indeed, the newspaper suggests that he is a former U.S. Aid worker. If so, the report could trigger a compensation demand. We just discussed such compensation system in my Torts class. Continue reading “NYT: The “ISIS-K Planner” Killed By The Administration Was A Former U.S. Aid Worker Loading Water Containers”
Free speech has always held a precarious position in Australia which does not have an equivalent to the First Amendment in guaranteeing free speech as a constitutional right. Despite this history, a new decision out of the High Court is still shocking in its implications for further attacks on free speech. The court ruled that newspapers and television stations that post articles on social media sites like Facebook are liable for other third party comments on those posts. The ruling, if replicated in other countries, could accelerate the censorship of viewpoints on the Internet. Continue reading “Australia High Court Delivers Major Blow to Free Speech In Defamation Ruling”
In torts, we often discuss strike suits and slip-and-fall actions designed to force settlements from litigation-wary companies. In Louisiana, police arrested a man, Arthur Bates Jr., 47, who they allege staged such an accident. The problem is that it was caught on videotape by the Tesla driver. Such staged accidents are also the work of professional gangs who work with unscrupulous lawyers, including staged moving accidents to force unsuspecting drivers into rear-end collisions.
Continue reading “Louisiana Police Arrest Man In Staged Hit-And-Run Case”
A very disturbing case of alleged police brutality just got far worse after defense counsel for Jim Jones, 62, alleged in open court that a prosecutor with the District Attorney for Lawrence County, Tennessee told a deputy sheriff to delete pictures of the beaten Jones. The prosecutor “has been terminated” but the question is whether the disclosure will feature in a trial for civil damages.
We have been following a slew of defamation lawsuits by political figures over the last few years. (See, e.g., here and here and here and here and here and here and here). As a torts professor, it has been a bonanza for my students to see different issues raised in such cases involving public officials and public figures. The latest such case is between two well-known Republican women and commentators: Kimberly Klacik and Candace Owens. Former Republican congressional candidate Klacik is suing commentator Candace Owens for defamation in alleging that she has committed criminal acts, money laundering used drugs, and workers at a strip club. Klacik is seeking $20 million in damages. The filings raise some interesting questions for tort actions between two public figures. Continue reading “Klacik v. Owens: GOP Congressional Candidate Sues Conservative Commentator For Defamation”
In my torts class, we discuss liability for the mishandling of corpses as well as torts like the intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress related to deceased remains. The latest such example could well be a torts final hypothetical. Wylie Funeral Homes in Baltimore is accused of giving a widow an empty urn and lying about the handling of the remains of her deceased husband. It only gets more bizarre from there. We will be discussing this case in class for years to come.
There is an interesting case developing in the University of Oklahoma on free speech on campuses. Volleyball Player Kylee McLaughlin sued coaches Lindsey and Kyle Walton after she was allegedly excluded from the team for expressing conservative or unpopular views. What is notable is that, in the motion to dismiss, the coaches argue that they have a right, if not an obligation, to exclude players who are unpopular due to their views. According to the complaint, they further suggested that such action prepares “Sooner” athletes for the real world. While the case has drawn little attention beyond the site The College Fix, it raises serious issues for academia and free speech (as well as an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim). Continue reading “Better Sooner Than Later? Oklahoma Coaches Claim Right to Discipline Players For Unpopular Viewpoints” 
We have previously discussed animal liability in torts. There is a tragedy in Pennsylvania which could present difficult questions for such cases after Rhoda Wagner, 60, was killed by three pit bulls. She was watching the dogs for her roommate. If litigated, the state’s nuanced dog liability laws would come into effect.
Continue reading “Pennsylvania Woman Killed By Roommate’s Three Pit Bulls”
There is a no stand-your-ground case out of Oklahoma where Alexander Feaster, 46 is claiming that he shot Kyndal McVey, 27, in the back while she ran away as an act of self-defense. McVey had just torn down Feaster’s Nazi flag and he claimed that he was in fear of an “imminent Antifa attack on his home” last June, according to a court motion in the case. Continue reading “Oklahoma Man Shoots Unarmed Woman in the Back After She Tears Down His Nazi Flag”
Maud Maron is a public interest lawyer who is now at the center of a firestorm in New York. A Bernie Sanders donor and public interest volunteer, she is the classic image of a Manhattan liberal. Maron is also someone with the type of resume that should bring pride to any school. She is a mother of four who graduated from Cardozo Law School and became a public defender with the Legal Aid Society. By every indication, she is a dedicated public interest lawyer. Her life changed, however, after, as a mother of four public school kids, she criticized the teaching of what is commonly referred to as critical race theory in public schools. That led to her colleagues labeling her a racist and demanding her removal. She has now filed a lawsuit that claims that she was effectively forced out of her job by fellow lawyers and the union. Continue reading “Lawyer Sues Legal Aid Society For Discrimination After Being Attacked For Her Criticism Of Critical Race Theory”