Free Republic

As several new private ventures to take people on trips to space come closer to becoming reality, California lawmakers are racing other states to woo the new space companies with cushy incentives. They are debating a bill now in Sacramento that would insulate manufacturers of spaceships and parts suppliers from liability should travelers get injured or killed on a voyage, except in cases such as gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing. Last year, the state enacted a law that shields space tourism companies such as Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic from similar lawsuits. “We’re still in the fledgling part of space...

My neighbor was bemoaning the fact that he did not have enough flat ground on his lot to put up a 16' diameter x 3' deep above ground pool. It would be the simple kind with the inflatable ring around the top to add rigidity. Since we have a flat spot next to his driveway, I suggested that he put it up there. To be safe, I checked with the county. Oh, boy! Zoning - "It has to be 10 feet from the property line." Me - "But the property line is with the neighbor who wants to put up...

While the Socialists are finally coming out about the reality of the costs that Obamacare will bring and the utter monstrosity it is, others of the Socialist Democrat Party are pushing for gun owners to be forced to purchase liability insurance for gun owners. Those that don’t could face fines of $10,000. We told you that when you open the floodgates of allowing the Federal government to mandate purchasing a product there would be more to come. Maloneycare is just another in a long line of legislation that will be coming down the pipe. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced her...

A contingent of liberal Democrats in Congress is proposing a new federal gun control idea: mandatory liability insurance for gun owners. When New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the legislation last month with eight other Democrats, she boasted that it is “the first bill to require liability insurance of gun buyers nationwide.”

It's a 34 page scanned pdf, so it is both detailed and slow to download. Reading the earliest versions of what happened, or was alleged to have happened, I find them incomprehensible. Bullets coming out of the trigger guard or the side of the gun? Then he changes to an out-of-battery discharge, but even that doesn't hold up. The judge doesn't fix a number, but orders the defense to file its documents on attorney fees (with a hint that they shouldn't be tempted to pad things out). I suspect this will be a VERY expensive mistake. Comment by James: Reading...

(Washington, D.C.) – On Friday, September 7, 2012 at 10 a.m., a panel of judges in the New York Appellate Division (4th Department) in Rochester, New York will hear arguments in a first-in-the-nation case, deciding whether a controversial federal gun industry shield law protects gun sellers who negligently and illegally sell guns to traffickers. The court will decide whether to reinstate a lawsuit brought by Danny Williams, a former Buffalo high school basketball star who was shot with one of hundreds of guns sold in high-volume, all-cash sales at an Ohio gun show to a notorious gun trafficking ring. Williams...

ANNAPOLIS — The Senate voted Friday to approve a gambling expansion bill, sending the legislation to the House where floor debate is expected to begin Monday. The Senate voted 28-14 in favor of the bill, which would legalize table games at the state’s slots casinos and allow a new casino to be built in Prince George’s County, pending approval in a November referendum.

Torrence Brown Jr., one of the Aurora movie shooting survivors, is planning on suing the theater, confirmed his family's publicist on Wednesday. "We're going to make sure whoever is accountable is going to take responsibility for this tragedy," Cassandra Williams of Wet PR said. She said that Brown, who was friends with 18-year-old AJ Boik, one of the shooting victims, is handling the criticism his suit has sparked. "We know it goes with the territory, so he's fine," Williams said. She added that Brown, 18, is seeking therapy and is emotionally distraught after the shooting.

According to the Hawaii Reporter, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie (Dem) signed a bill into law that will make it easier (or at least more tempting) for NRA representatives to give firearm training instruction in the beautiful island state. Governor Abercrombie signed House Bill 679 into law on July 9. The bill, which you can find official information about here, aims to protect NRA instructors. It “exempts NRA instructors from absolute liability for injury or damage caused by their firearms during the course of providing firearms training at a firing range for the purpose of acquiring a permit to purchase a...

A man whose wife died when a Nigerian commercial airliner crashed into a crowded neighborhood in that country's largest city filed a lawsuit in the United States on Thursday that blames the accident, at least in part, on U.S. companies that designed, manufactured and sold the ill-fated plane. An American attorney filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of David Chukwunonso Allison, whose wife, Joy Chiedozie Allison, was on the Dana Air MD-83 that went down in the African nation Sunday afternoon. The crash killed 153 people who were on the plane and an undetermined number...

The Maryland General Assembly could consider legislation that would soften the impact of an April court ruling classifying pit bulls as “inherently dangerous” in the latest of several recent cases that have highlighted the checks and balances between the state’s legislative and judicial branches. A panel of Maryland lawmakers will meet later this month to study the possible effects of a state Court of Appeals decision that makes owners of pit bulls or pit-bull mixes liable if their dog attacks another person, even if the dog had no prior history of dangerous behavior. The assembly is expected to hold a...

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will cut nearly a quarter of its U.S. pension obligation by transferring the management of its pension plans for 118,000 white-collar retirees to a third party and offering lump-sum buyouts. The two moves unveiled on Friday will cut $26 billion from the automaker's massive U.S. pension liability of nearly $109 billion. GM's pension overhang is a top concern for investors. It was one of a handful of issues left untouched during GM's U.S.-financed bankruptcy restructuring three years ago.

A new ruling makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix in Maryland to take legal action against the dog's owner. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declares pit bulls as a breed are "inherently dangerous," and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages, as is any landlord who rents to a pit bull owner. The Maryland SPCA, which arranges adoptions for dogs that need homes, currently has three pit bulls under its care: a five-month-old Brutus is scheduled to be adopted this week,...

SHAWNEE, Okla. — Legislation signed by Gov. Mary Fallin would limit the liability of owners, employees and customers for injuries that take place on gun ranges, gun shops and gun clubs. Senate Bill 875, by state Sen. Anthony Sykes and state Rep. Dennis Johnson, would limit liability for injuries if the party in question acted in good faith. Liability would not be limited if the party involved acted intentionally, willfully or with wanton disregard for the safety of those injured. Sykes said the legislation helps bolster the Second Amendment rights of Oklahomans. “This measure will enhance our ability to exercise...

Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Alaska heard argument in an extraordinary case about gun control, federalism, and so-called "tort reform." At the heart of Kim v. Coxe is the question of how state judges ought to apply a Bush-era law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which was designed and enacted by Congress to protect gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits and liability for crimes committed with their weapons. When the Alaskan high court (right now it includes only four justices) issues its ruling, it will represent the first time a state supreme court was weighed in...

Please pray for my wife as she is having surgery today to repair a blocked ureter as a result of a botched c-section.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, which is ongoing and has now spread to a number of cities across the United States, will test both public and private entities when claims start rolling in, according to a risk-management expert. While most cities are accustomed to demonstrations, they may not be prepared for an ongoing movement like OWS, says Lori Seidenberg, a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s board of directors, serving as board liaison to the society’s Standards & Practices Committee. “Something like this could not have been anticipated by any risk manager,” Seidenberg says. “I know there is...

An El Paso County jury on Friday awarded nearly $300,000 to the daughter of a burglar who was fatally shot in 2009 while breaking into an auto lot. Parents of the victim, Robert Johnson Fox, embraced their attorneys after a judge announced the jury’s verdict, capping a two-week-long civil trial in which business owner Jovan Milanovic and two relatives were painted as vigilantes who plotted a deadly ambush rather than let authorities deal with a string of recent burglaries. Phillip and Sue Fox, who filed suit for wrongful death in 2010 on behalf of Fox’s 3-year-old daughter, called the jury’s...

div class="content">The map below, which shows the gravity of America's pervasive pension and healthcare liability underfunding problem, should certainly raise a few eyebrows. Sourced from the IMF's Article IV presentation which in turn sources the data from the Pew Center, the map shows that even despite the near doubling in the S&P since the March 2009 lows, there are still at least 9 states that have a minimum 35% underfunding in their pension and liability obligations. As a result, we expect that just like in the case of Illinois recently, many more states will be forced to issue debt to...

In a good indication that the Wisconsin protests have become a liability for Democrats, the White House and the DNC have clumsily attempted to distance themselves from the event in the New York Times: "Administration officials said Sunday that the White House had done nothing to encourage the demonstrations in Wisconsin — nor was it doing so in Ohio, Florida and other states where new Republican governors are trying to make deep cuts to balance their budget. … And, officials and union leaders said, reports of the involvement of the Democratic National Committee — specifically Organizing for America, the grass-roots...