August 2006


NJ Appeals Court Holds No Duty to Warn About Gravity

This week, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that a bunk-bed manufacturer has no duty to warn the user of a bunk bed that rolling off the top bunk during sleep may result in gravitationally induced injuries. This ruling was…


Airport Screeners Directed Not to Touch Your Monkey

The always-vigilant Transportation Security Agency has promulgated rules governing the security procedures to be implemented when a disabled traveler is traveling with a service animal, in case al Queda figures out how to pack a bunch of explosives into a…


Woman Sues Mall for Aiding and Abetting Squirrel Attack

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, Marcy Meckler alleges that the owners and employees of the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie are responsible for injuries she suffered on December 3, 2004, when she was attacked…




Judge Admonished About Cheering for Seahawks

Earlier this year I reported on an incident in Washington where a superior court judge had asked all those in the courtroom to shout "Go Seahawks" before being seated.  (As you may or may not recall, the Seahawks were in…


Judge Rules Lawyer Is Too Drunk to Litigate

Many's the time that we have debated the question whether it is possible to be "too drunk to litigate."  This will not settle that debate, but it is one more piece of evidence. A judge in Las Vegas ordered a…



“Goofy Letter” Unmasks Bogus Attorney

Prosecutors in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, say they became suspicious of Jeffrey Riddell in March after they got a letter from him on behalf of a criminal defendant he was representing.  Although it was written on letterhead, the letter was threatening and…