Can the wheels of justice handle a golf cart?  Lisa and Donna worked for the Easter Seal Society and were riding together in a golf cart on a path on Society property.  Lisa was driving when suddenly the golf cart went out of control.  Donna was thrown and seriously injured.  She sued the Society, which claimed that she was working at the time and therefore was limited to worker’s compensation benefits.  Donna argued the worker’s comp policy specifically exempts accidents involving motor vehicles.  She argued a golf cart is a vehicle, has a motor and therefore is a motor vehicle.  But the Court found a motor vehicle has to be one that is or could be registered to ride on a public way and golf carts are not equipped with required equipment, which includes headlights, taillights, directional signals, rearview mirrors and windshield wipers.  Also, golf carts have no motor vehicle insurance.  So no motor vehicle, no lawsuit.  Sorry, Donna, you took a real swing at it, made some great arguments, but there seem to be a hole in one or more of them and any way you look at it, a golf cart is simply not a caddy.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

Donna J. East v. Lisa M. Labbe, Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of Tolland, 3/9/98, Sullivan, J., 1998 L.W. 111028

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As this boating season comes to an end, if you plan to sell your boat, check your insurance policy, because if the boat sinks you could find yourself up a well-known creek without a paddle.  Jeffrey and Christie bought a 50-foot steel house sailboat which they insured with a well-known boat insurer.  Three years later they decided to sell the boat to Joe, who was supposed to pay them $1400 a month until the full purchase price was paid.  What was a little unusual was even though Joe now owned the boat, Jeffrey and Christie could still use it until the last payment was in.  Everything was going great until the boat broke loose and ended up hard aground on a set of dangerous rocks.  At this point the insurer learned the boat had been sold and refused all coverage under the policy, which provides that coverage terminates automatically if the boat is sold without prior written consent of the insurer.  Jeffrey and Christie argued the fact they could use the boat meant they still actually owned it during the payoff period.  But the Court held for the insurer, and both boat and insurance ended up on the rocks.  So reading and understanding your insurance policy is the best policy all aground.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

Conlon Insurance Company v. Jeffrey H. Garrison and Christie R. Garrison and Nations Bank, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, June 16, 1999, Gordon, J., 1999 W.L. 421014 (E.D. Wis.)

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The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.  You’ve probably heard that oft-quoted line from Shakespeare, and you may have even thought it or said it yourself.  Well, sorry to disappoint you but when Shakespeare penned that famous line it seems he meant it as a compliment to lawyers.  To find the line, we turn to Henry VI, Part 2, where we find the rebel Jack Cave with his followers Dick, the butcher, and Smith, the weaver.  Jack is discussing his plan to become king, which he could only pull off after he killed all those who stood in his way.  Jack calls for his followers to make him king, whereupon Dick, the butcher, says well, the first thing we do is let’s kill all the lawyers.  Scholars say Shakespeare actually meant the line as a compliment to lawyers and judges who protect people from tyranny and anarchy.  Jack goes on to complain about the skin of an innocent sheep, which being scribbled over, should undo a man.  Three centuries later, it’s paper instead of parchment and emails instead of scribbles.  But as for lawyers, let’s quote a little Longfellow who said, things are not always as they seem.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

King Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2, Line 73

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Can a magazine publish nude photographs of a beautiful woman years after she was killed by her famous husband?  This case involved Hussler Magazine which decided to publish nude photos of Nancy Benoit, who along with her young son, was strangled by her professional wrestler husband, Chris Benoit, who then committed suicide.  Nancy was a well-known model and wrestler in her own right and the deaths garnered a great deal of publicity. Twenty years before these tragic events occurred, Mark took photographs and videos of Nancy.  Nancy’s mother, as administrator of Nancy’s estate, sued, to stop Hussler from publishing the photos, claiming Nancy had asked Mark to destroy them and believed that he had. The Court that first heard the case dismissed it, concluding that Nancy’s death was a legitimate matter of public interest.  But the Appeals Court reverses, stating the right of publicity does not end with death and Hussler’s headlined “exclusive nude pictures of wrestler’s doomed wife” will not be allowed, that an infamous murder does not render one’s entire life an open book.  So last rights include the right to right or wrong.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™
Maureen Toffoloni vs. LFB Publishing Group, d/b/a Hussler Magazine, et al., Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 08-16148, 6-25-2009, Wilson, J.

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When you lose everything at the casino, can you sue the casino for making you lose everything?  This case involved a disbarred lawyer who sued three New Jersey casinos alleging they facilitated her gambling addiction and induced her to gamble away money belonging to her and to her clients.  She claimed casino employees continued to allow her to gamble despite a clear indication that she was a compulsive gambler.  She was gambling 5 days per week, losing an average of $5,000 per hour, and in one weekend she lost $150,000.  She claimed New Jersey landowners have a legal duty to make their premises safe for invitees, and these casinos were definitely unsafe for compulsive gamblers.  But the Court said the heightened duty applies only to dangerous conditions on the premises and casinos do not have a duty to rescue compulsive gamblers from themselves. The Court said her theory would impose a duty on shopping malls and credit card companies to exclude compulsive shoppers and defies both common law and common sense. So when you wager your wages, you’re out of luck and you can bet on it.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™
Arelia Margarita Taveras vs. Resorts International Hotels, Inc., et al, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 9-19-2008, Bumb, J.

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Partial birth abortion is clearly on the way out.  This case involved the Virginia law that bans what it terms “partial birth infanticide.”  The law makes it a felony to kill a human infant whose been born alive, which is defined as having been completely or substantially expelled or extracted from its mother.  The law is aimed at what’s known as the D&E procedure which stands for “intact dilation and evacuation” in which an abortion provider crushes the fetal skull of an intact fetus.  In very rare circumstances, the fetus’s head becomes lodged in the mother’s cervix and it’s necessary to end the fetus’s life in order to save the life of the mother.  The statute had been declared unconstitutional on the basis that it could prevent a doctor from saving a mother’s life, but the full bench of the Court of Appeals has reversed all earlier decisions and upheld the law.  The Court said to hold an entire law unconstitutional because of a very rare event is not appropriate and a physician can always take any action necessary to save a mother’s life. So it’s a tow hold, but for the moment, partial birth abortion has been aborted.

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Richmond Medical Center for Women vs. Herring,  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 6-24-2009

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Good Samaritans, which began with the bible, have made it to the internet.  This case dealt with a company called “Zango,” which provides free access to its popular catalogs, if customers agree to receive on-line pop-up ads as they browse the internet.  Zango was zinged by a company called Kaspersky Lab which distributes software called “Kis.”  Kis filters and blocks potentially malicious software known as “malware” and Kis classifies Zango’s program as “adware,” a type of malware and blocks it.  In other words, Kis delivers the kiss of death to Zango’s business model,  since consumers who don’t pay the fee get the pop-ups blocked anywhere.  Zango sued but Judge Rymer with rhyme or reason held that Kaspersky Labs is entitled to immunity under the Good Samaritan Provision of the Communications Decency Act, which basically provides immunity to anybody who restricts access to harassing or otherwise objectional material on the internet. So you may see fewer pop-ups popping up thanks to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

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Zango, Inc. vs. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 6-25-2009, Rymer, J., USLW Vol. 78, No. 1, Pg. 1010, 7-7-09

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If you bought or refinanced a house lately, you’re probably a little ticked at title insurance.  Title insurance covers the property for defects in the title, and in addition to your bank requiring the insurance, it’s probably a good idea to get an owner’s policy that protects you as well as the bank.  The problem is the cost, which is usually in the thousands of dollars, most of which goes to the bank’s lawyer who also happens to be the title insurance agent. Tom decided he was mad as hell and wasn’t going to buy it anymore and sued, claiming he was overcharged.  The rates on his coverage included an original issue rate, a reissue rate and an extended coverage rate. When Tom refinanced, the company charged him the extended coverage rate which was 20% more than the original issue rate.  He brought a class action suit under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or RESPA, which prohibits split percentages or kickbacks in real estate transactions. Bu the Court dismissed the case, holding there’s another section of the law that specifically protects title insurance fees. So homeowners are not entitled to a break on title insurance.

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Thomas A. Arthur vs. Trico Title Insurance Company of Florida, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No 08-1727, Wilkinson, J., USLW Vol. 78, No. 1, Pg. 1008, 7-7-09

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If you live on the streets, do you have a home?  That’s a tough question for anybody, but it’s particularly tough for a sex offender who is required by law to register his residence with the authorities.  Bill served five years for indecent assault and was also classified as a sexually-violent predator.  When he was released from prison, he was turned away from housing programs and had no choice but to live on the streets of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  After about a month he was arrested for not registering his residence.  The State argued even though he lived on the streets he still had to register, particularly since he had a mail address and a locker at a place called the Daily Bread.  But the Court said Black’s Law Dictionary defines residence as a house or other fixed abode, and if a homeless person drifts from park bench to bus stop to alleyway on a daily basis, he will never acquire a fixed abode.  Unless the law is changed, said the Court, he does not have to register.  So home is where the heart is and where the hearth is and while it may be heartless, the homeless are hearthless, and sex offender registration is rendered helpless.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. William Howard Wilgus, Superior Court of Pennsylvania, No. 1100 MDA 2008, June 26, 2009, Cleland, J.

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When you come to think of it, how do you really know that powder was cocaine?  This case got started when Boston police got a tip that a K-Mart employee, named Luis, was engaging in suspicious activity.  Police set up surveillance.  You might say a blue light special turned into a blue light special and they detained Luis and found on his person white clear plastic bags containing powder that looked like cocaine.  They also arrested two other men who, when they got out of the police car, left behind 19 more plastic bags.  The samples were submitted to the state lab which reported back by affidavit that the substance was indeed cocaine.  The defendant moved that he had the constitutional right to cross-examine the analyst.  Two Lowers Courts said no way, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed holding analysts must be produced at trial.  The Court said forensic evidence is not immune from the risk of manipulation and 95% of cases are resolved by plea bargaining.  Four justices dissented but the majority ruled, and those who say it’s cocaine won’t be able to take a powder when it comes time to prove it.

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Luis E. Melenez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, U.S. Supreme Court, June 25, 2009, Alito, J., No. 07-591

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