Free Republic

For years defendants in tort cases have said that Philadelphia's courts are biased, but little in the way of empirical data was available to substantiate the claims. But, a new study - by Professor Joshua D. Wright for the International Center of Law and Economics (ICLE), Portland, Ore. - indicates that the accusations of structural biases in favor of plaintiffs are justified. Wright is a law professor at George Mason University School of Law School in Arlington, Va. The study, originally published in October 2011, has updated information as of February 2012 that ...

The people of the United States ordained a Constitution of limited government. As time passes, the people have more of the “government” and less of the “limited.” Americans must work at maintaining their freedoms. Defense of the constitutional freedom of association involved in choosing roommates to share housing illustrates the effort required. Government has attempted to regulate our ability to choose a roommate, but efforts to resist that intrusion pay off in preserved liberty. Tricia Rowe, a 31-year-old single woman who owned a three bedroom, single-family house, wanted a roommate. She posted on a church bulletin board a notice that...

Obama the Chicken is Being Plucked by Mark McGrew January 29 through the 31st, 5% of the sheriffs in America are in Las Vegas Nevada, learning how to tell the Federal government agents to pack sand and get out of town. 20% of the 50 United States of America have been presented with lawsuits and or legal filings challenging the eligibility of Barack Obama to be on the ballot for the 2012 election... Read all 3 parts here: http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/30-01-2012/120356-obama_the_chicken-0/

CHRISTIAN & MISSIONARY ALLIANCE DECLARES WAR ON CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION Subject: Christian & Missionary Alliance seize Christian firefighter/pastor's church and bank account by force then steals their Christmas Dear Pastors, Workers and Members of New Jersey and Greater New York City Christian and Missionary Alliance and Christians throughout the United States, Some of you may be aware that Bruce Terpstra and the Metro District may be giving Paramus Community church property to one of their Korean groups. At first this might appear to be a wonderful gift to the Korean Christians in New Jersey. But it is urgent that you know...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that attorneys fees in a class action lawsuit against Kia Motors America were inappropriate. Kia Motors America, an automobile manufacturer, lost a class action lawsuit for breach of express warranty. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the ...

Iraqi Lawyers' Syndicate says more than 3,000 civilians in Iraq have lodged an official complaint against the US government and its military troops in the Middle Eastern country, Press TV reports. The lawsuit has been filed against US forces for crimes they have committed against Iraqi civilians and the destruction of their private properties during the US-led occupation of the country that began in March 2003, the Iraqi Lawyers' Syndicate said. The Iraqis have the right to call for the prosecution of those US soldiers that have committed crimes against the civilians during their military missions, said the director of...

Independent scientific research institutes whose work influences the policies of the U.S. government as well as governments abroad, also impact litigation in the states. "The information from these think tanks does bubble up," said Professor Alex Tabarrok, chair of the Economics Department at George Mason University in Virginia. And, James Copland, director of the Center for Legal Reform at the Manhattan Institute in New York, said organizations that host "research" conferences affect trial outcomes. "A lot of lawyers pay top dollar to attend these conferences," Copland said. One such organization is the Collegium Ramazzini (CR), an independent, international ...

HOLY S*** GUYS STRUGGLE STRIKES GOLD AGAIN! http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20110324_0000757.NIL.htm/qx LOLOLOLOLLLOLOLOLOLOLOOLOL So that’s why Zuckerman wants money! Send this to Cain and all your media outlets!

On Monday afternoon the victim-rights lawyer Gloria Allred took the stage with a fourth woman named Sharon Bialek alleging that pizza mogul Herman Cain sexually harassed her ten years ago while he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association. She is reportedly the first such woman to publicly come forward. Allred’s long and impressive career has included representation of Scary Spice and various alleged Tiger Woods mistresses, and attacking the late Michael Jackson for child endangerment. Given the import of the moment, this seems like the right time for a roundup of some of her more important victories rooting out...

Anyone who has met me knows I'm totally like, no fan of 26-year-old woman Meghan McCain. I found her latest threat to sue Erick Erickson at RedState.com for "illegally using her byline" on Leon Wolf's "Totally Meghan McCain" parody columns absolutely hilarious. Even better, McCain claimed the parodies, which were poorly written on purpose, could be confused with her real columns at The Daily Best. The buxom blogette tweeted: Sexist? Really? Here is part of the parody post that triggered McCain's lawsuit threat: Firstly in the first place, some people had a question about my very obvious statement, “I don’t...

Delaware Superior Court Judge Peggy L. Ableman ordered two opposing lawyers in asbestos litigation to attend a mandatory civility course over the Labor Day weekend. A letter addressed to attorneys Loreta P. Rufo and David W. deBruin suggested they needed a refresher course in civility. In the Sept. 1 letter, which was posted in Abovethelaw.com, Ableman wrote, "In view of the recent correspondence regarding the Anderson and Morgan trials, the Court has decided that it is necessary to ...

US Preparing To Sue Banks For Billions Over Misrepresenting Safety Of Mortgage Securities Zeke Miller Sep. 1, 2011, 10:37 PM The New York Times scoops that the federal government is preparing to file suit against a dozen major banks in the coming days for their roles in 2008 financial crisis. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is alleging that the banks misrepresented the quality of mortgages bundled together as securities — billing subprime loans as secure investments. Among the banks set to be slapped with lawsuits according to the Times are: Bank of America,...

A man who has filed well over a hundred lawsuits against local small-business owners says he's an advocate for the disabled. His critics say what he does is harassment and extortion. James Farkus Cohan says he's disabled with end-stage emphysema. He sues small businesses, claiming those businesses are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Cohan has filed at least 161 lawsuits... Eyewitness News caught up with Cohan after his daily hike up a steep hill near his Sun Valley home. He was hiking without a wheelchair, walker or oxygen tank.

PHILADELPHIA - It seems the Eagles aren't the only team in town ready for some NFL action. The lawyers of Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman and Smalley have taken on the National Football League in federal court. Seven former professional football players -- among them former Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jim McMahon and Philadelphia Eagles lineman Gerry Feehery -- retained the Philadelphia law firm, alleging the NFL failed ...

(CBS/AP) PHILADELPHIA - Six former players and one current player have sued the NFL in Philadelphia over the league's handling of concussion-related injuries, the first potential class-action lawsuit of its kind. The players accuse the league of training players to hit with their heads, failing to properly treat them for concussions and trying to conceal for decades any links between football and brain injuries. The plaintiffs include two-time Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon, who has said he played through five concussions but now frequently walks around "in a daze" and forgets why he entered a room. The suit accuses the...

The unique way Texas regulates air pollution from refineries, chemical plants and other major industries is no more — for now. The EPA said Tuesday all 136 industrial plants with state-issued permits that do not meet federal Clean Air Act requirements have agreed to apply for new ones. The announcement comes one year after the federal agency rejected Texas' use of so-called flexible permits. But the dispute is not over, because state officials and at least 10 industry groups are challenging the EPA's actions in federal court. Gov. Rick Perry and other Texas officials have said the EPA was threatening...

A special congressional election Tuesday in Southern California gave Republicans a surprising opening to seize a House seat in a Democratic stronghold and send a powerful message nationally going into 2012. Democrats hold a commanding 18-point registration edge in the district where Barack Obama notched a 31-point win in 2008, but the likelihood of a meager turnout, combined with widespread voter anxiety over the economy, could make for a tight finish. Republican businessman Craig Huey has been attacking President Obama relentlessly, arguing the nation needs deep cuts in tax, debt and spending to drive job growth. Democrat Janice Hahn has...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is able to boast about job growth under his watch, noting that over 265,000 jobs, or nearly 37 percent of the jobs created nationwide since the summer of 2009, have been created in the Lone Star state. He credits this growth to a few simple conditions: low taxes, a regulatory climate that is fair and predictable, and a legal system that limits frivolous lawsuits. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly one-fourth of the 70 companies that left California this year relocated to Texas. When new or relocating companies and investors survey the landscape and consider...

When a fully clothed, apparently suicidal man walked into the San Francisco Bay from Shoreline Drive, in Alamdea County, all the would-be rescuers could do was watch. For about an hour. Why their boots stayed dry is a matter of debate Wednesday, the day after 57-year-old Raymond Zack was pronounced dead at an Alameda County hospital. The water's depth and temperature may have played a role. As did budget cuts. The Alameda Fire Department's water rescue program was discontinued in 2009 because of budget cuts. "(The) Alameda Fire Department does not currently have, and is not certified, in land-based water...

The regulatory aims of the EPA to curb CO2 emissions; the continued push for carbon cap and trade legislation; and, the ongoing attempts by the international body politic to arrive at an operating framework to address climate change, all of these are now joined by our children’s efforts to get the judiciary to act to protect the planet. Well, maybe not your child or mine, but some youths throughout the country are now plaintiffs in various lawfare battles intended to obtain from the courts what climate change activists cannot seem to accomplish through the legislative and regulatory processes. Alec Loorz...

The state Supreme Court breathed new life Thursday into lawsuits by seriously ill ex-smokers, ruling that a former cigarette addict can seek damages from tobacco companies for her cancer despite having failed to sue for earlier smoking-related illnesses... The California Supreme Court removed one obstacle to tobacco suits by ruling in 2007 that the two-year deadline started running when former smokers learned that they were ill, and not merely that they were addicted...

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Wednesday offered a strong defense of his agency’s new Internet traffic regulations, telling skeptical Republican lawmakers that existing laws were not strong enough to police the large firms that operate the Web’s infrastructure.. “In my view, while critically important, antitrust laws alone would not adequately preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet,” the FCC chief told a House Judiciary subcommittee on the hot-button issue of “net neutrality.”

In a long-sought move, the University of Miami won a legislative victory on Wednesday when Florida lawmakers agreed to extend state lawsuit protection to university doctors working in public hospitals. Gov. Rick Scott will likely sign the bill into law. Scott is also expected to sign another lawsuit-limitation bill that passed Wednesday that changes the way people can sue automobile makers. The vote to give “sovereign immunity” to UM has been years in the making. The state protects government hospital employees, residents and interns — including those at Miami’s Jackson Health System — from major medical malpractice judgments. But UM...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A group of attorneys using children and young adults as plaintiffs plans to file legal actions in every state and the District of Columbia on Wednesday in an effort to force government intervention on climate change. The courtroom ploy is backed by high-profile activists looking for a legal soft spot to advance a cause that has stumbled in the face of stiff congressional opposition and a skeptical U.S. Supreme Court. The goal is to have the atmosphere declared for the first time as a "public trust" deserving special protection. That's a concept previously used to clean...

Last Tuesday, a man by the name of Chip Thoma filed a lawsuit against Governor Palin over an alleged “traffic conspiracy.” Yes, you read that right… If you’re thinking this sounds like some sort of ridiculous frivolous complaint, you would be correct. Mr. Thoma isn’t new to Governor Palin, nor is he new to filing frivolous claims against Alaskan Governors. However, you wouldn’t know much about this case if you got all of your news from the Associated Press. Becky Bohrer, the AP writer who covered the story, not only posted her story with an embarrassing grammatical error, but she...

Not content to pack off millions of miscreants, impoverished or labor-averse citizens to the welcoming, welfare bestowing arms of the United States government, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has decided to hold Americans responsible for his nation’s crime rate as well. On November 2nd, 2010, Calderon retained the New York law firm of Reid, Collins and Tsai to sue American gun manufacturers and dealers for the reputed massive influx of weapons into the otherwise zephyr-swept, Shangri La of Mexico. “We seized more than 90,000 weapons…I am talking like 50,000 assault weapons, AR 15 machine guns, more than 8,000 grenades and almost...

The following is adapted from a speech delivered on February 16, 2011, at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar in Phoenix, Arizona. TO BEGIN, consider one of the most important measures of property, the kilogram. It’s a measure of mass or, for non-scientific purposes, weight. According to the papers last week, a global scramble is under way to define this most basic unit after it was discovered that the standard kilogram—a cylinder of platinum and iridium that is maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures—has been losing mass. You may think that this is impossible. Of all the...

The Republican-led House of Representatives is fighting back against big-money plaintiffs’ attorneys who use campaign cash to control congressional Democrats. A provision in the budget continuing resolution would forbid government from spending funds to implement a new Consumer Product Safety Commission program. On March 11, the CPSC is set to launch a new online database publishing thousands of outside complaints about allegedly unsafe products. These attacks would be publicized before any investigation and without independent evidence that complaints are legitimate. It’s an open invitation for competitors or interest groups to destroy a product’s reputation - and sales - without proof....

According to CNBC’s Kate Kelly, JPMorgan has just released its 10-K and it reveals some shocking information. Kelly says “JPMorgan [JPM Loading... () ] has been named as a defendant in about 10,000 different law suits. And as a result, they could end up needing an additional $4.5 billion on top of what they’ve already set aside for legal losses." What should you make of it? Instant Insights with the Fast Money traders Fast trader Karen Finerman is a JPMorgan shareholder but she isn’t concerned by these developments. "They talked about substantial legal costs in their last call," she says....

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- A lawsuit that led to a $10.1 billion verdict against cigarette-making Philip Morris USA before it was tossed out by the Illinois Supreme Court has been revived by a lower court, sending the case back to the county once tagged as among the nation's most lawsuit-friendly turfs. The unanimous ruling Thursday by the three-judge panel of the Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court cleared the way for the plaintiffs to argue that a favorable 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated case may be applied to reinstate the questioned Madison County one involving Philip Morris'...

America's taxpayers need to know about a thorny federal program lurking in the Obama budget: the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. It began decades ago as a millionaire's hobby horse and grew into a Frankenstein monster that today feeds millions of taxpayer dollars to green groups that sue the federal government -- and thus sue the taxpayer.

One of the straightest paths this country could take toward Bank Bailout 2, the Sequel, would be through forcing financial institutions to buy back the lousy mortgage-backed securities they sold before the meltdown. Large-scale buybacks could open gaping wounds on bank balance sheets, a risk Bank of America (BAC) is particularly vulnerable to because it swallowed Countrywide's gigantic -- and now infamously fraudulent -- mortgage machine. Regardless of that risk, banks should have to follow the rules of their contracts, and the law. But getting BofA to buy back its mortgage junk won't be easy. As of June 30, 2010,...

<p>It's one of the simple, most wonderful pleasures of life: zooming down a snow-covered hill just fast enough for a touch of fear to quicken your pulse. Maybe it's a solo run. Maybe you're clinging to a loved one as you tear down the hill tandem. Surely, sledding is one of those things that makes it worth toughing it out and living in New Jersey when sunnier climes often beckon.</p>

WASHINGTON (CN) - Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich says he suffered permanent injuries from biting an olive pit hidden in the sandwich wrap he bought at a House of Representatives cafeteria. He demands $150,000. The former presidential hopeful sued Restaurant Associates, which operates the cafeteria in the Longworth Office Building, its parent company, Compass Group USA, and food suppliers Performance Food Group Co. and Foodbuy LLC. Kucinich seeks damages for negligence, in Superior Court.

From across the pond, AFP reports from Paris: “From being a marginal and even mocked issue, climate-change litigation is fast emerging as a new frontier of law where some believe hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake. Compensation for losses inflicted by man-made global warming would be jaw-dropping, a payout that would make tobacco and asbestos damages look like pocket money.” We’re shocked, shocked to find people are going to sue you because of your carbon footprint. Shocked.

(CNSNews.com) - More than half of the states—27 out of 50—are now challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare in federal court. Six additional states--Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming--petitioned in federal court on Tuesday to join Florida’s law suit challenging the constitutionality of the health care law President Barack Obama signed last March. Nineteen states had previously joined with Florida in this suit, making the total number of states that are now a party to the suit 26. Virginia, which has filed its own lawsuit against Obamacare, is the 27th state challenging the constitutionality of the health-care law in federal...

The jilted bride who sued her ex for almost $100,000 in wedding expenses may not have been jilted at all. So says the groom, who has filed his own lawsuit, claiming that the decision to cancel the wedding was mutual. He’s seeking the return of a $45,500, 3-carat engagement ring. Both lawsuits do agree on one matter: There was a bachelor party — featuring strippers and lap dances — at a South Loop gentlemen’s club called the Pink Monkey. Dominique Buttitta, the former bride, an attorney who works in Hoffman Estates, filed a breach of promise suit Dec. 11 in...

If true, this is indeed a bombshell... Dave Pierre, the author of the book, Double Standard: Abuse Scandals and the Attack on the Catholic Church, reports the following on his site, TheMediaReport.com:In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles. In his missive Mr. Steier relayed,...

.........It started in May 2008. Mitchell was representing a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Volkswagen of America. Mooney was the attorney for the car company. The two men couldn't agree on the date of a hearing. The first volley came from the 50-year-old Mooney, who addressed his colleague as "Junior." "Please do not send me any more of these absurd emails. While I am happy to know that you are also the judge in this case, your continued unprofessional & juvenile behavior is not necessary," he writes. Mitchell, 36, responds in kind: "Old Hack: Your unprofessional and otherwise asinine behavior...

(This is an archived page; the original has been scrubbed from the web......) Sunday, June 27, 2004 Kenyan-born Obama all set for US Senate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations. The allegations that horrified fellow Republicans and caused his once-promising candidacy to implode in four short days have given Obama a clear lead as Republicans struggled to fetch an alternative. Ryan’s campaign began to crumble on Monday following...

SAN FRANCISCO – Daniel Balsam hates spam. Most everybody does, of course. But he has acted on his hate as few have, going far beyond simply hitting the delete button. He sues them. Eight years ago, Balsam was working as a marketer when he received one too many e-mail pitches to enlarge his breasts. Enraged, he launched a Web site called Danhatesspam.com, quit a career in marketing to go to law school and is making a decent living suing companies who flood his e-mail inboxes with offers of cheap drugs, free sex and unbelievable vacations. "I feel like I'm doing...

The Obama administration scored a legal victory Friday when a federal appeals court refused to block federal climate regulations slated to kick in next month. State and industry challengers opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate regulations had asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to halt the rules while the massive court battle plays out, but the court wasn’t convinced. A host of states, industry groups and free-market groups are suing EPA over its regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gases from automobiles and large industrial sources like power plants and oil refineries, as well as...

It was just another Little League game. The pitcher had just thrown two strikes. But when the next pitch was hurled, the batter smashed it and sent a line drive straight into the pitcher. For 11-year-old Jake Schutter of Mokena, the moment forever changed his life. Standing on the pitcher’s mound, the ball crashed into the left side of his head. He dropped to the ground and began to vomit. He later learned he would be permanently deaf in one ear. And his family is still unsure of the full extent of cognitive damage the incident caused, according to a...

Well, well, well. Remember back when the Associated Press threatened bloggers for quoting snippets of AP articles? Is the organization considering dipping its toes in the Righthaven waters? The Las Vegas Sun reports that Righthaven has signed up Media News as a client and has sued a blogger on behalf of the Denver Post, after the blogger apparently reposted a Denver Post column by Mike Rosen (with a link and credit). This is interesting for a few different reasons. First, it was just a few weeks ago that the Denver Post published a cryptic "reminder" about copyright that had a...

As the Obama administration presses ahead with the health care law, officials are bracing for the possibility that a federal judge in Virginia will soon reject its central provision as unconstitutional and, in the worst case for the White House, halt its enforcement until higher courts can rule. The judge, Henry E. Hudson of Federal District Court in Richmond, has promised to rule by the end of the year on the constitutionality of the law’s requirement that most Americans obtain insurance, which does not take effect until 2014. Although administration officials remain confident that it is constitutionally valid to compel...

A man convicted of manslaughter and several other crimes in the death of a 14-year-old Prospect boy is now preparing to sue the victim's parents. Is it possible for there to be a more ridiculous lawsuit? Matthew Kenney of Prospect was riding his bicycle along Route 69 in Prospect on April 27, 2007, when he was struck by a car driven by David Weaving. Police said Weaving was passing another car at 83 mph in a 45 mph zone when he hit Matthew, who died the next day. Weaving was convicted in December 2008 and sentenced to 10 years in...

Yesterday, two airline pilots filed a federal suit alleging that airport scanners and aggressive pat-down procedures constitute unreasonable searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Study: Malpractice laws chasing docs from Illinois November 12, 2010 BY MONIFA THOMAS Health Reporter A new study says that half of all graduating medical residents or fellows trained in Illinois are leaving the state to practice elsewhere, a trend researchers blame in part on the state's "toxic" medical malpractice environment. Researchers from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine asked 561 Illinois medical students where they intended to practice after graduation and why. Students who planned to leave Illinois, often for Wisconsin or Indiana, cited salary, opportunities to work in their specialty and proximity to family as the most important...

Consumers' right to file class actions is in dangerIf AT&T has its way before the Supreme Court, any business that issues a contract to customers would be able to prevent them from joining class-action lawsuits, taking away arguably the most powerful legal tool available to the little guy. By David Lazarus November 5, 2010 It hasn't gotten a lot of press, but a case involving AT&T that goes before the U.S. Supreme Court next week has sweeping ramifications for potentially millions of consumers. If a majority of the nine justices vote the telecom giant's way, any business that issues a...

Silver Short Position Could Cost JP Morgan Billions In LossesNational Inflation AssociationOctober 28, 2010 It was just announced late Wednesday that two lawsuits have been filed in Manhattan federal court against JP Morgan and HSBC Holdings Inc. accusing them of manipulating the price of silver by "amassing enormous short positions". The suits were filed by Brian Beatty and Peter Laskaris, who each claim they lost money trading COMEX silver futures and options contracts as a result of JP Morgan's alleged manipulation. In NIA's latest documentary 'Meltup' that was released on May 13th, 2010, and has now been viewed by over...