Doctor operates on the wrong eye and held not responsible

The New York Post reports today about the dismissal of an action brought against the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. The article, entitled "Court can't see eye to eye with suit" states that the hospital was found not liable for negligently removing the wrong eye from a patient because the patient signed a waiver. more...>

Does outside legal financing need to be reformed?

Some plaintiffs finance their expenses before their lawsuit is settled. Are these "investments" in lawsuits loans? If they are loans, should they be regulated by usury statutes? more...>

How do immigrants pay for large smuggling fees?

A Chinese deliveryman who was stuck inside an elevator paid $60,000 in smuggling fee's to enter the country. How do these poor immigrants pay such a large fee to smuggler's when they only make $300 a week? more..>

Blawg of the Day

The Blawg of the Day is ..... Blawgreview.

Thanks to Bag and Baggage.

Best marketing bang for the buck: take a client to a ball game

Although this article is geared towards lawyers, its lesson is clear. There is great bang for your marketing dollar by entertaining clients at sporting events. more...>

Top defense wins of 2004

The National Law Journal lists the top defense wins of 2004. The top win was awarded to Latham & Watkins for an antitrust victory. more...>

What is it about men bloggers?

Since anyone can write a blog, why is the blogoshere dominated by white males? more....>

Judge Braun, lighten up!

I appeared in court yesterday of counsel in Judge Richard Braun's courtroom in Supreme New York County for a simple preliminary conference. For those who do not practice law in New York, at a preliminary conference, the parties set a basic discovery schedule. Most lawyers believe that this conference is completely bogus. If the court system would like to save resources, they should set a scheduling system by computer because the time line is nearly always the same.

The matter before the court was a subrogation claim where the insurance company that I was representing was suing for approximately $200,000 in damages to recover payment to its insured due to a gas leak. In Kings, Bronx and Queens County, these conference are held before a clerk and the parties simply check in with the clerk when they are ready to proceed. Most conferences are held at 9:30. The parties can agree before hand to appear any time before 11 a.m. If, for some reason, a party is not in the courtroom before 10:30 you are simply told to contact your advesary. This system appears to work because it allows attorney's to cover more than 1 case in a courthouse. For solo's, this system is necessary because they cannot be in two places at once.

Judge Braun on the other hand does not appear to understand the plight of solo's (even though he was one). Yesterday, I was late by ten minutes because I was delayed by a clerk in the Court of Claims who appeared at 10:15 for a 9:30 conference. When I arrived, at Judge's Braun's part, I was told that he dismissed the case because I arrived at 10:40 for a 10:30 conference. Incidentely, two of the defendants were missing. Thereafter, Judge Braun, called the parties before the court and asked the parties if they would be willing to consent to vacate the default. Thankfully, all parties agreed. Thereafter, we conferenced the case before one of the judges clerks. All parties agreed on the particulars of the conference. The clerk then asked me for a demand (the amount of money that my client was willing to settle for). None of the defendants have offered a penny. I stated that our demand was specific and was based on how much the insurance company paid to its insured for each item. I told the clerk that it was our intention that the insurance company be made whole for its loss. Additionally, I stated that we were willing to negotiate, however, it would be on an item basis (i.e., if they did not agree on the price of a damaged desk, we may lower the amount). The clerk then stated that the judge wanted an automatic lowering of our demand and that we would be punished by a delay in the case if we did not do so. I held my ground. However, it appears that Judge Braun did not delay the case.

Anyway, my suggestion to Judge Braun is to be more liberal and allow solo's to check in with the clerk on conferences. Additionally, the court should not dictate an arbitrary settlement demand.

Tenants sue FDNY over fire

Tenants of a burned out building where two people died haved sued the New York Fire Department because they were slow to arrive. more...>

New York's Highest Awards in 2004 at a Glance

Although it is not the custom of this blog to list large awards because they are frequently misused by proponents of tort reform, here is a list from the New York Law Journal of New York's Highest Awards for 2004.

Class Action Lawsuit by Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange is dismissed

Is the random poisoning of a large number of people, if it is a side-effect of the deforestation of a battleground, a crime against humanity? more...>

One year anniversary

I have been blogging for over a year!

Bruce Springsteen and the American Lawyer

Do American lawyers have anything to learn from Bruce Springsteen? Widener School of Law seems to think so. more...>

Another large award against Ford's Explorer

Another jury held Ford liable due to a malfunction in its Explorer model. This time, a jury found the seat belt and roof system to be faulty when the vehicle flipped five times. more..>

"Green Card" Nightmare

Lun Bao Zheng, a Chinese Immigrant who became a US citizen, became enraged by his wife whom he thought married him only for a green card, went on a murder-suicide rampage yesterday. more..>

Closure of "money service" accounts to hurt Immigrants

The New York Daily News reports today that JP Morgan Chase and North Fork banks will close "money service" accounts by the end of the month. These accounts are used to send funds from the US to other nations. The move will likely hurt millions in other nations who are dependent on US immigrants sending funds abroad for basic needs. more...>

Visa Politics

Reforms to US immigration law in the late 1980's and early 1990's- part of a "Free Trade of Ideas" campaign were ment to end the practice of ideological based visa denials. Unfortunately, it appears that the use of an ideological litmus test has been revived. more...>

New York Car Accident News

The New York Post reports on two car accidents today. In one accident, an elderly man, Donald Hennessey, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. In another accident, a 18 year old volunteer firefighter was killed when a speeding car plowed into him.

Texas study concludes no tort crisis

Malpractice reform is a high priority for President Bush, who contends that juries have run amok, multimillion dollar lawsuits are on the rise and greedy trial lawyers are filing frivolous lawsuits. His solution: cap malpractice awards. His problem: after studying a database maintained by the Texas Department of Insurance that contains all malpractice claims from 1998 to 2002, there is no evidence of a tort crisis. more...>

Will a cap on damages for medical practice lawsuits have any meaning?

President Bush has proposed limiting "pain and suffering" damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. Will such a cap actually limit the total amount awarded? more...>