To: TimF who wrote (5217 ) 2/28/2006 5:44:09 PM From: TimF Respond to of 7936 Some from the Overlawyered archive - October 27 -- Zone of blame. Two years ago a former mental patient slew New Jersey state trooper Scott Gonzalez, first ramming his cruiser head-on, then killing him with two shotgun blasts through the car's windshield. So who's his widow suing? The killer's parents; the makers of her husband's police gun, because it briefly jammed after he'd fired seven shots from it; and the Ford Motor Co., because the deployment of its airbags on collision allegedly delayed his exit from the car. (Eric D. Lawrence, "Widow’s suit blames auto, gun makers for cop’s death", Easton, Pa. Express-Times/Lehigh Valley Live, Oct. 26 -- full story). Update Jan. 3, 2004: jury finds for Ford. overlawyered.com Let that gator do his thing Michael McCormick of Lake County, Fla., has now gotten off with a simple warning, instead of the original $180 ticket from the Florida Wildlife Commission, for roping an alligator he saw headed toward some children and their adult caretaker. The mechanic "says he's certain what would have happened if he had not put himself between the 5 or 6 foot gator and the family. 'Considering the size of the small children, I honestly think he was coming after them.'" To his surprise, wildlife officials when they arrived treated him as the wrongdoer for illegally "possessing" an alligator. A 12-year-old Tavares, Fla. boy was recently killed by an alligator. (Man Ticketed After Catching Gator That Was Threatening Children, WFTV.com.)overlawyered.com August 9 -- More things you can't have. Latest food items to become unavailable due to fears of liability, according to Wall Street Journal news articles in July: parents' care packages of food to kids at camp ("[c]amps worry about getting sued should a child get sick from an allergic reaction or from rotten brownies," as well as raising other objections; July 28); burgers cooked medium-rare in restaurants (diners at establishments in San Francisco and Carnegie, Pa. were recently allowed to obtain pink burgers by signing written liability releases, but other restaurants won't make even that concession, though E. Coli poses relatively little risk to adults in good health; July 15). (New York Press editor Russ Smith commented on the summer-camp report; scroll down to near bottom of his column.) overlawyered.com U.K.: "over-promoted" bodyguard wins $50K While on the subject of Britain: "A black police bodyguard who protected the Duchess of Cornwall has won [A]$70,000 compensation [roughly U.S. $53,000] after suing Scotland Yard for 'over-promoting' him because of political correctness." Sgt. Leslie Turner's "representatives argued he landed the prestigious job as Camilla's bodyguard only because he was black. It was claimed that as a result of being over-promoted and not receiving proper training and support, Sgt Turner made mistakes which led to him being re-assigned....Had Sgt Turner's case reached a tribunal, potentially embarrassing secrets about Charles and Camilla's lives may have been aired." ("Camilla's protector paid out", Daily Mail/Melbourne Herald Sun, Jan. 8)(via Taranto). Writes Gary Collard at SarcastiPundit (Jan. 10), "The amazing thing is that it wasn't a US trial lawyer who first thought of this."overlawyered.com "N.Y. Judge Refuses to Reverse Wrestling Referee's Call" Law.com: "New York Judge Thomas J. Spargo refused to second-guess the referee of a high school championship wrestling match last week, declining to 'establish a precedent of reviewing and potentially reversing a referee's judgment call from the distant ivory tower of a judge's chambers.' Several judges from the top of the state judicial system to the trial courts have expressed sentiments ranging from disappointment to disgust when competitors turn to the courts to resolve athletic disputes." (John Caher, New York Law Journal, Dec. 13).overlawyered.com