Civil

Wacky Warning Labels, 2006

A group called Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch runs an annual contest to find the dumbest or least necessary warning labels, and it released its 2006 list today.  The winners are: On a washing machine: "DO NOT put any person in…


UPDATE: Charges Against Accused Serial Meower Are Dismissed

Back in August, I reported on the dramatic story of the criminal harassment charges filed against a Pennsylvania teenager, accused of repeatedly meowing at his neighbor, 78-year-old Alexandra Carasia. Today, those charges were dismissed. The meowing allegedly began after the…


New York City Now Enforcing Ban on Mystery Meat

Those of you in the New York area may be happy to know that the state’s Division of Food Safety and Inspection has recently begun enforcing laws against selling a variety of foods from, shall we say, unregulated sources. You…



Chinese Entrepreneur Sues for Right to Sell Special Air

Li Jie is suing the Chaoyang Industry and Commerce Bureau, angry that the CICB has undermined his business by denying him a permit to sell bags of air to consumers.  (Not "air bags," just "bags of air.")  Li pointed out…


Deposition Confirms Suspicions of Drug Use

John Freeman sued for $3 million after he fell off a roof at a job site and broke his left arm.  Defense attorneys were eager to take Freeman’s deposition partly because they had learned he had a history of drug…



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…


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…