I am still in San Francisco at the ALI meeting. Last night we had a reception at the Legion of Honor and then dinner at the Boulevard. On today’s agenda are discussions of proposed restatements on the law of nonprofit organizations, aggregate litigation (class actions) and restitution and unjust enrichment. …
Day on Torts
Changes
Some of you have looked at the upper right-hand corner of this blog and noticed that our firm name has changed to The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. Those of you on our announcement list received a more formal notice last week. What’s going on? John Branham, the gentleman I…
Report From San Francisco
I am in San Francisco attending my first meeting as a member of the American Law Institute. Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Members Consultative Group for the Restatement Third, Economic Torts and Related Wrongs. We spent two hours debating five black-letter law sections of a draft of the…
What? You Accept Cases on Referral?
A young lawyer called me with a question the other day. He was looking at a case that required a significant amount of experience to handle it appropriately, and was clearly struggling. He wanted to keep the case (it had tremendous potential), but I could hear during several moments of…
Settlement Doesn’t Bar Malpractice Claim
Rudolf fired his lawyers after a jury trial that resulted in a 50% finding of comparative fault and a total verdict of $250,000. He then hired a new lawyer, got a new trial, and then settled his case for $750,000. Next, he sued his original lawyers for malpractice, saying that he failed…
Police Chase Opinion Issued by SCOTUS
Some people have found a way to turn a police chase case into a Sec. 1983 action. It was always tough – and it just got tougher. Here is the issue as stated by Justice Scalia: "We consider whether a law enforcement official can, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, attempt…
Off Topic – A Tacky Ad
Is this the worst lawyer ad of the year? I hope so. Here is the owner of the offending law firm. I am sure she is proud of herself – she has managed to accomplish in one ad what she apparently cannot establish by her work product. Fame. I hope…
Guidelines and Levels of Care for Pediatric Intensive Care Units
The American Association of Pediatricians has issued "Guidelines and Levels of Care for Pediatric Intensive Care Units." The abstract: "The practice of pediatric critical care medicine has matured dramatically during the past decade. These guidelines are presented to update the existing guidelines published in 1993. Pediatric critical care services are…
Tort Cases To Be Argued in June 2007
The Tennessee Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Nashville on June 5, 6 and 7. Here is a list of the tort cases which will be heard and the issues to be determined in each case: * Simpson Strong-Tie Company v. Stewart, Estes, & Donnell – Rule 23 Middle District…
Loss of Services of a Homemaker
This report published by Rueters says that if "the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year." Is this data that can be reasonably relied upon by an economist in a…