Ok, for decades I made fun of the fools who dove into a lake on New Year’s Day.
Yesterday I did it.
My wife Joy and I joined 20+ other folks at Tims Ford Lake in Winchester, Tennessee for the Third Annual Polar Bear Plunge. I now am the proud owner of a pink t-shirt that tells the world that (a) I am comfortable with my masculinity and (b) I took off my clothes and dove into a lake in the middle of winter.
I am honored to report that our firm’s blogs have been awarded the “Law Firm Blogs Award” by Blawg Review. The award recognizes the efforts we have made coordinating our four blogs over the last year. Our other blogs are Tennessee Business Litigation Blog, Medical Malpractice Blog, and Erisaontheweb, a blog about the law of ERISA concerning the denial of disability and pension benefits.
We have had a lot of fun working on these blogs during the past 10 months. Each of us has been the beneficiary of the knowledge and experience of others over the years, shared in CLE programs, publications, and through war stories in the bar. Blogs are the new method of sharing knowledge and experience, and although we came to this way of sharing information relatively late we are pleased to contribute what we can to help lawyers better serve their clients.
Thanks to Kevin and the nice folks at Lexblog for helping us launch and maintain these blogs. (Kevin – can I get a discount now?)
Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has a unique writing style. Here is an excerpt of a recent opinion where he addresses the issue of stare decisis; the excerpt gives those unfamiliar with his work a feel for how the man writes (and thinks):
“The plaintiffs’ lawyer asks us to overrule Harkins because,
he contends, it was decided incorrectly. But if the fact that a court considers one of its previous decisions to be incorrect is sufficient ground for overruling it, then stare decisis is out the window, because no doctrine of deference to precedent is needed to induce a court to follow the precedents that it agrees with; a court has no incentive to overrule them even if it is completely free to do so. The doctrine of stare decisis ‘imparts authority to a decision, depending on the court that rendered it, merely by virtue of the authority of the rendering court and independently of the quality of
its reasoning. The essence of stare decisis is that the mere
existence of certain decisions becomes a reason for adhering to their holdings in subsequent cases.’ Midlock v. Apple Vacations West, Inc., 406 F.3d 453, 457 (7th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted). It is not a conclusive reason; the Supreme Court has specified considerations that a court should weigh in deciding whether to follow or to overrule a previous decision. ‘[W]hen this Court reexamines a prior holding, its judgment is customarily informed by a series of prudential and pragmatic considerations designed to test
the consistency of overruling a prior decision with the ideal of the rule of law, and to gauge the respective costs of reaffirming and overruling a prior case. Thus, for example, we may ask whether the rule has proven to be intolerable simply in defying practical workability; whether the rule is subject to a kind of reliance that would lend a special hardship to the consequences of overruling and add inequity to the cost of repudiation; whether related principles
of law have so far developed as to have left the old rule no more than a remnant of abandoned doctrine; or whether facts have so changed, or come to be seen so differently, as to have robbed the old rule of significant application or justification.’ Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 854-55 (1992) (citations omitted); see also Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 827-28 (1991); Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U.S. 375, 403 (1970).”
Interesting. And certainly good advice. Don’t tell an appellate court that a prior decision is “wrong.” You need to do more, much more, to convince an appellate court to change the law.
Here is an article about an unusual former lawyer with an interesting way of making a living.
Here is how the author describes newsletter-publisher Shannon Ragland: “Similar verdict reviews are published in dozens of other states, but what sets Ragland’s apart is his background — he’s a disbarred lawyer and convicted felon — and the fact that he adds his editorial 2 cents, teeing off on lawyers and judges alike for what he describes as strategic blunders, defective reasoning and deceit.”
It just goes to show you that there is always a way to make a buck.
Thanks to Keith Williams for sharing this article with me.
May you and your family enjoy a wonderful Christmas and have a safe and healthy 2006 – and beyond.
What is the perfect Christmas gift for someone who loves the law of torts?
The original Restatement of Torts, published in 1934. My wife found a set for me on EBay.
The comments are full of examples concerning steamships and railroads. It is a real pleasure to see how the law has changed over the past 75 years.
Those of you who attend ATLA conventions probably know Howard Nations. Howard is a Vandy Law grad who practices in Houston. He is a frequent speaker at ATLA programs.
This is a paper he wrote called ?Shakespeare’s Tribute to Trial Lawyers.” Read it and feel good about what you do.
Thank you, Howard.
Ok – if you didn’t see Stewart poke a little fun at Ford Motor Company last night go to Crooks and Liars and watch the video.
Some of you know that I have been involved in litigation against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville for the past 6 years, suing it on behalf of two young men (and the mother of one) for outrageous conduct arising out of the abuse of the young men when they were teenagers.
The case was filed in January of 2000, lost on summary judgment in June 2001 shortly before trial, and lost again in the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed and remanded; read the opinion here.
The case was set again for trial March 13, 2006 and settled in the late afternoon on Saturday, December 10. Read about the settlement here.
Ever had a lawsuit involving a horse? For example, have you ever had a horse and car collision case? A case where a person riding a horse got hurt? How about a case arising out of a breach of contract concerning the sale of a horse?
Here is a site that collects the law of horses. Really.
If you have a PI case that involves a person injured while riding horse be sure to read the Tennessee Equine Activity Act.
Day on Torts