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Another Ill-Tempered Texas Federal Judge Named Sam

Andrew J. McClurg — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:50:38 +0000

What is it about Texas federal district court judges, at least judges with the first name “Sam,” that makes them so fond of belittling lawyers? First, we had the notorious U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent from San Antonio (see here, here, here, and here). Then he went away, only to have his role as Lawyer Crucifier-in-Chief filled by U.S. District Judge Samuel Sparks from Austin (see here and Read more...

French Artist Specializes in Humorous Legal Paintings

Andrew J. McClurg — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:09:18 +0000

Thanks to French artist, Cassou, for introducing herself to Lawhaha.com and sending along a sample of one of her paintings.

She said the world of justice inspired her to “create a judicial series of humorous paintings with tender irony” that she exhibits in courthouses throughout Europe, including, recently, in Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Breda, Middelburg, and Maastricht. This year her work will be displayed at courthouses of The Hague and in Amsterdam.

The pictured painting is called “le juge, un singe?” (the judge, a monkey?). She explains it this way: “The ape has the reputation of being a caricature of human being, a buffoon. The

Federal Judge Chastises Non-Family Friendly Lawyers

Andrew J. McClurg — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:29:02 +0000

Congratulations to the new parents. The Court so orders.

In a Kansas federal district court, the defendants’ lawyer asked for a trial continuance because it conflicted with the date on which his wife was having a baby.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers opposed the continuance, which “surprised” the judge. “Irritated” is probably more accurate. Judge Eric Melgren not only granted the motion for continuance, but chastised the objecting lawyers while ordering that the new parents be congratulated:

Defendants seek a brief continuance, noting that one of their counsel …, along with his wife, is expecting their first child

Spot the Tort: Parking Garage Hole

Andrew J. McClurg — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:17:24 +0000

A first-year University of Memphis law student sent along this picture from the parking garage where most students park. The picture came as a follow-up to our class discussion in Torts II of the use of exculpatory clauses by, among others, parking garages.

Exculpatory clauses–which invariably appear on the back of tickets customers receive when they enter a parking garage–operate to relieve negligent actors of liability. Exculpatory clauses generally will be upheld if clearly written, so long as they do not pertain to an essential public service, such as medical care or education. Courts are split on whether parking garages

McClurg Interviewed on Westlaw Insider Blog

Andrew J. McClurg — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:08:35 +0000

The Westlaw Insider Blog recently interviewed McClurg about his new book, The “Companion Text” to Law School: Understanding and Surviving Life with a Law Student.

No Socratic Method to Liven Up Class? No Problem. Use Sex.

Andrew J. McClurg — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:58:52 +0000

–Law School Story from Tony Arseneault, Université Laval’s Faculty of Law (Quebec, Canada), Date of event: 2011

In 2011, I was at my first session at Université Laval’s Faculty of Law, when I had the pleasure to meet the teacher that changed my perception of constitutional law forever: Patrick Taillon.

I come from the province of Quebec, Canada. As you may or may not know, Quebec is a civil law (French law) province when it comes to private law, and common law (English law) when it comes to public law. Essentially, all subjects like Contracts, Civil Liability or Property Law

Ill-Placed Bottle Rockets Create a “Palsgraf” for a New Generation

Andrew J. McClurg — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:47:54 +0000

A former student sent along the complaint below, which a friend of his suggested might be “the new Palsgraf for our generation.” Hmm, this might not be a good generational sign given the allegations.

For non-legals, Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad is a famous tort law case all law students read involving a bizarre accident at a train station, where the court ruled that a tort defendant owes a legal duty to act with reasonable care to another only if the other is a reasonably foreseeable victim of the defendant’s conduct. More Lawhaha.com posts involving Palsgraf are here, here, Read more...

Spot the Tort: Why Waste Money on Concrete When You Have Spray Paint?

Andrew J. McClurg — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:13:30 +0000

Taking a walk near my house in Memphis, I encountered this dangerous sidewalk condition. Note that instead of filling in the chasm, the city apparently opted to leave it be and cure the problem instead by spray-painting a thin orange warning line around it. Since the condition has been there for a quite a while (the orange paint is very faded), it appears this was considered to be an acceptable final fix.

Spot the Tort: Risky Stairway to Heaven

Andrew J. McClurg — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:19:58 +0000

Okay, not quite the stairway to heaven, but this long ladder could give the user a good head start. (All pics are expandable.) This picture from a University of Memphis law student makes me shudder.

Ladders are one of the most dangerous consumer products. A study published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health estimated that 2.2 million people received treatment in emergency rooms for ladder injuries during the 16-year-period from 1990-2005, an average of 136,000 cases a year.

Nearly 10% of injuries resulted in hospitalization, roughly twice that of consumer product-related injuries overall.

Other ladder injury data from the study

Backfiring Joke in Corporations Leads to BFFs

Andrew J. McClurg — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:00:40 +0000

–Law School Story from Thomas Walk, Wake Forest University School of Law, Date of event: fall 1979

Our Corporations professor had the annoying habit of ending a lot of his sentences with the phrase “All that jazz.”

Midway through the semester, my classmate who sat immediately to the left came to class with a notepad she bought at the mall. It had musical notes floating around the pages and the “All That Jazz” phrase. She wandered to the front of the classroom before the prof arrived and put the pad on his rostrum.

The professor walked in, examined the pad with a confused look, and laid it

Some Baby Names May Be Illegal

Andrew J. McClurg — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:42:37 +0000

This article from Time Newsfeed about how some governments make certain baby names illegal is reminiscent of one of our Hall of Fame Strange Judicial Opinions: “Hello, My Name Is … Oh, Never Mind.”

Meanwhile, the article warns that the following baby names have been declared illegal in New Zealand:

“Yeah Detroit”

Twins named “89”

“Sex Fruit”

Good news though! New Zealand will still allow boys to be named “Number 16 Bus Shelter.”

Warning: Stay Vigilant for Hogswarts Torts

Andrew J. McClurg — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:05:19 +0000

Professor and editor of the Torts Prof blog, Bill Childs, posted this picture of a warning sign at the new Harry Potter attraction at the Islands of Adventures theme park in Orlando. He noted that he particularly enjoyed that even the warnings are themed, as this one comes from the “Department of Magical Transportation.”

See my ABA Journal column on Hogwarts Torts, suggesting that no student in the history of education has been subjected to as many torts as poor Harry Potter.

Melodramatic Memorandum Livens Up “Chinese Drywall” Litigation

Andrew J. McClurg — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:40:32 +0000

It’s almost impossible to imagine a case that sounds more boring than “In re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.” In this multidistrict potboiler, the judge stayed an insurance coverage action, apparently hoping to facilitate a global settlement.

Unfortunately, nothing was moving forward, prompting the Trust to ask the court to lift the stay to get things moving. Counsel didn’t take any chances that the court might miss her point, punching up her memorandum in support of the motion to lift the stay with a dramatic journalistic touch:

Since this Court stayed the insurance coverage action ten months ago last March, no global mediation

Judge Dumps on Law Review Articles in Custody Fight Between a Birth Mother and Biological Mother

Andrew J. McClurg — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:41:03 +0000

A judicial friend from Florida sent along a case of first impression involving a parental rights determination between a birth mother and a biological mother that she calls “a law professor’s dream case.” It does sound a bit like a law school exam question—a very difficult one.

The case involved two women in a committed relationship who wanted to have a child. Ova from one of the women were removed, fertilized by donated sperm, and implanted in the other woman, who then gave birth to the child. Thus, one woman was the biological mother and one was the birth mother,

Spot the Tort: Pallete Pile-On

Andrew J. McClurg — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:10:49 +0000

A University of Memphis law student snapped this shot of someone trying to move way too many wood palletes at one time in the back of a pickup truck.