Category: Torts

Animals, Society, Torts

In Re Peanut: New York Family Moves to Sue State Over the Killing of Beloved Squirrel

Peanut the Squirrel is back . . . at least in court.

The rodent has achieved fame in the last couple of months, which few animals short of Rin Tin Tin have reached. He is certainly the most famous of his genus since Rocket “Rocky” J. Squirrel. After Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner posted cute pictures of Peanut on social media as their companion and friend, New York officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided their home on Oct. 30 and seized both Peanut and a raccoon pet named Fred. They proceeded to euthanize both animals. Now the family is lawyering up. Continue reading “In Re Peanut: New York Family Moves to Sue State Over the Killing of Beloved Squirrel” →

Congress, Criminal law, Torts

Report: The Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt Had a Long History of Disciplinary and Training Problems

I have previously written about the dubious investigations of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6th and the alleged violation of the standards for the use of lethal force by the officer who shot her. I strongly disagreed with the findings of investigations by the Capitol Police and the Justice Department in clearing Captain Michael Byrd, who shot the unarmed protester. Now, Just the News has an alarming report of the record of Byrd that only magnifies these concerns. Continue reading “Report: The Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt Had a Long History of Disciplinary and Training Problems” →

Academia, Torts

Professor Luna Teaches Animal Liability at George Washington Law School

This week, the students in my day (left) and evening (right) torts class received a lecture from the leading American expert on animal tort liability, Professor Luna.  Herr Professor taught subjects like animus revertendi with the insight and intensity expected from a world renown canine academic. Continue reading “Professor Luna Teaches Animal Liability at George Washington Law School” →

Torts

“Something Wicked This Way Comes.”: Halloween is Starting With a Litigious Flare

“Something wicked this way comes.” Those words from William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” capture the approach of Halloween.

Traced to the Celtic festival of Samhain to mark the end of the harvest, pagans would often summon the dead. Halloween today more often summons contingency lawyers by the gross. If there is a holy holiday for personal injury lawyers it is Halloween with its mix of slip-and-falls, food liability, and costume defects. Continue reading ““Something Wicked This Way Comes.”: Halloween is Starting With a Litigious Flare” →

Congress, Criminal law, Politics, Torts

Over the Border: Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the Supreme Court

This month, there is a new case on the docket after the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos.  The First Circuit reversed a trial court that dismissed the case, alleging that the American firearms industry is legally responsible for violence in Mexico. I believe the First Circuit is dead wrong and will be reversed. However, as a torts professor, there is a question of whether the tort element of proximate cause could be materially changed in the case. Torts professors are already lining up to argue that there is a proximate cause under existing doctrines to hold the firearms industry liable. I respectfully disagree. Continue reading “Over the Border: Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the Supreme Court” →

International, Media, Politics, Torts

Deadspin Loses Major Motion in Defamation Case Over Blackface Column

We previously discussed the defamation lawsuit against Deadspin and writer Carron Phillips over an article claiming that nine-year-old Holden Armenta appeared at a Chiefs game in 2023 in black face. I noted in a prior column that I believed that the court would view this as a matter that had to go to a jury. It now has. Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg this week rejected Deadspin’s motion to dismiss.

Continue reading “Deadspin Loses Major Motion in Defamation Case Over Blackface Column” →

Media, Politics, Torts

Court Refuses to Throw Out the Defamation Lawsuit Against MSNBC Legal Analyst Andrew Weissmann
Andrew Weissman.

We previously discussed the defamation case against NYU Law Professor and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann. He is being sued by lawyer Stefan Passantino after Weissmann said that he coached former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to “lie” to Congress. At the time, I wrote that “it is hard to see how Weissmann can avoid a trial.” U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan apparently agrees. She just rejected Weissmann’s motion to dismiss the case. Continue reading “Court Refuses to Throw Out the Defamation Lawsuit Against MSNBC Legal Analyst Andrew Weissmann” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Torts

California Sued Over New “Deepfake” Law

California has triggered the first lawsuit over its controversial new laws that require social media companies to censor fake images created by artificial intelligence, known as deepfakes as well as barring the posting of images. A video creator is suing the State of California after his use of a parody of Vice President Kamala Harris was banned. The law raises serious and novel constitutional questions under the First Amendment. Continue reading “California Sued Over New “Deepfake” Law” →

Criminal law, Torts

IRS Whistleblowers Sue Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Abbe Lowell for Defamation

Last January, I received a letter threatening me with a defamation lawsuit if I continued my criticism of Hunter Biden, including allegations of criminal conduct. It all seemed part of a “Legion of Doom” defense hatched by Biden supporters reportedly to target critics and even potential witnesses. I proceeded to write three more columns repeating the claims, but did not hear again from the Biden team. Now, it is the Biden defense that is being targeted with defamation lawsuits. IRS investigators Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler are suing attorney Abbe Lowell over public allegations of criminal conduct on their part. Continue reading “IRS Whistleblowers Sue Hunter Biden’s Lawyer Abbe Lowell for Defamation” →

Media, Politics, Torts

Palin Wins Appeal on Defamation Case Against New York Times

Over the years, I have written repeatedly (here, here, here, here, and here) about the interesting defamation case brought by Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, against the New York Times. The judge in the case U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff was previously reversed and proceeded to issue novel and deeply flawed rulings before dismissing her case.  He has now been reversed again and Palin will have a new opportunity to sue the newspaper. Given Judge Rakoff’s dismal record in this case, it is concerning that he will be allowed to preside in any new trial.

Continue reading “Palin Wins Appeal on Defamation Case Against New York Times” →

Media, Torts

CNN Loses Another Motion in Defamation Case as Court Orders Tapper to Appear

We previously discussed the defamation lawsuit against CNN and the curious effort to use Taliban law to dismiss the lawsuit by Navy veteran Zachary Young. The litigation has not been going well for the network and it just lost another key motion to block an effort to depose Jake Tapper. Worse yet, the court appears to have questioned the veracity of the host in a sworn deposition on his lack of knowledge over the financial subject matter of the deposition. Continue reading “CNN Loses Another Motion in Defamation Case as Court Orders Tapper to Appear” →

Media, Torts

“Illegal Under Taliban Law”: CNN Seeks Summary Judgment Under a Curious Claim in Defamation Case

CNN has been fighting a defamation case brought after a segment by Jake Tapper that accused Zachary Young and his company Nemex Enterprises Inc. of preying on people seeking to flee Afghanistan, even suggesting that he was a type of human trafficker. CNN’s new motion for summary judgment raised eyebrows in citing Sharia law to say that what Young was doing in rescuing people was unlawful under Islamic restrictions. Continue reading ““Illegal Under Taliban Law”: CNN Seeks Summary Judgment Under a Curious Claim in Defamation Case” →

Torts

No Bones About It: Ohio Supreme Court Rules Boneless Chicken Need Not Be Boneless
YouTube

As Foghorn Leghorn warned “This is going to cause more confusion than a mouse in a burlesque show.”

The Ohio Supreme Court just ruled that selling a boneless chicken dish does not mean that it is boneless because it is referring to a “cooking style not a guarantee.” Continue reading “No Bones About It: Ohio Supreme Court Rules Boneless Chicken Need Not Be Boneless” →

Media, Torts

NBC Loses Major Motion in Defamation Trial by Doctor Called the “Uterus Collector”

NBCUniversal lost a major motion in the defamation lawsuit brought by Plaintiff Dr. Mahendra Amin, an obstetrician gynecologist who was accused by  MSNBC hosts, including Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace, of performing unnecessary hysterectomies at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center. The case will now go forward to trial on the claim that Maddow and Wallace made “verifiably false” statements on air. Continue reading “NBC Loses Major Motion in Defamation Trial by Doctor Called the “Uterus Collector”” →