“The Last Best Place”: not a trademark yet
For years controversy has raged over a Las Vegas businessman and resort owner’s efforts to trademark the phrase, widely used as a description of Montana. (Missoula writer William Kittredge says he...
View ArticleJury acquits W.R. Grace and execs in Libby, Mont. asbestos case
A high-profile federal environmental prosecution has struck out following charges of prosecutorial misconduct as well as disputes over the quality of the evidence [Montana's News Station, Van...
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July 6 roundup
U.K.: “Families told doormats are health and safety risk” [Telegraph] Montana judge holds onto case for 34 years before finally issuing ruling [Popehat] Free speech and the web: panel from American...
View ArticleMom left two girls, 12, in charge of three younger ones at mall
And soon Bridget Kevane, a professor of Latin American and Latino literature at Montana State in Bozeman, found herself fighting a child endangerment rap. [Free Range Kids via Amy Alkon; Judith Warner,...
View Article“Bat maker found liable for player’s death”
A Montana jury decided that the aluminum baseball bat manufactured by “Louisville Slugger” maker Hillerich & Bradsby was not a defective product, but that the company should have warned of the...
View ArticleOn trial for vehicular homicide, sues family she killed
Citing text messages she sent her boyfriend shortly before the incident, Montana prosecutors contend that Justine Winter’s crash at 85 mph into an oncoming vehicle was a deliberate suicide attempt....
View ArticleMontana: “Bicyclist Gets Nearly $100G After Fall on Icy Trail”
“The president of the Florence Park District says he’s disappointed in a system that allows a man riding a motorized bicycle on a winter night on a trail that doesn’t allow motorized vehicles to...
View ArticleEnvironmental law roundup
Peter Schweizer: “To RFK, Jr: I’m No Sock Puppet, But You Sir Are a Bootlegger” [Huffington Post; some background on America's Most Irresponsible Public Figure®] Will legal campaign succeed in...
View ArticleFree speech roundup
Berkeley: “Police chief sends sergeant to reporter’s home after midnight to demand article revision” [Poynter] In 1932, a New York Congressman convened a hearing to blast theater critics for harming...
View ArticleStep 1: Buy house next to golf course
Step 2: Sue golf course because balls land constantly on your property. Step 3: Lose lawsuit. [Ravalli, Mont., Republic] Tweet Tags: golf, Montana Step 1: Buy house next to golf course is a post from...
View ArticleFree speech roundup
Paleo-diet blogger wins a round in battle with North Carolina occupational licensing [IJ via Alkon, earlier here, here, etc.] If you live in Connecticut or Montana, you have a U.S. Senator who’d go...
View ArticleFree speech roundup
University of Montana professors who refuse Title IX training to be reported to federal government [FIRE, more, Missoulian] Professor yanked from public-university classroom over offensive...
View ArticleFarm and food roundup
California Medical Association, which seems unruffled by growth of regulatory state when docs are not its targets, backs bill to require warning labels on soda [Governing, AP, Sacramento Bee, Monterey...
View ArticleAllstate Insurance Co. v. Jacobsen: SCOTUS should review Montana class-action...
The rules for class actions seeking injunctive relief against unlawful conduct are looser in key respects than those for actions in which monetary relief is the object, in part because the consequences...
View ArticleFirecracker or steering defect?
Hyundai expects to appeal a $240 million punitive award in Montana [ABA Journal on award and causation dispute] Tweet Tags: autos, Montana Firecracker or steering defect? is a post from Overlawyered -...
View ArticlePolitics roundup
California may lead in number of arrested lawmaker scandals but jealous New York vows to catch up [NYDN] Will voters in hotly contested Massachusetts primary remember Martha Coakley’s central role in...
View Article“Hyundai Must Pay $73 Million Punitive Award, Judge Says”
The story from Montana, on Bloomberg, updates our earlier report including this link. Writes correspondent R.T.: Big difference in liability theories here: Plaintiff: Defective steering mechanism;...
View Article“How do you know it’s time to give up and dismiss your claim?”
“Well, if the judge is comparing you to the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, now’s probably a good time” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar, on the Montana case of Wallace v. Hayes]...
View ArticleSupreme Court and constitutional law roundup
“Laura & Marvin Horne’s Story”, video on raisin takings case, features the great Michael McConnell [YouTube, earlier] Actor Edward Gero shines as Antonin Scalia in new stage play The Originalist...
View ArticleFree speech roundup
Weirdly, Europe is more willing to legislate against pro-ISIS views than openly to argue against them [Nick Cohen] City of Inglewood, Calif. sues for copyright infringement over videos by critic of...
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