Plaintiff Wins $1,791 in 1st Amendment Case, County’s Legal Fees Were $464,242

The Denver Post has a story about a lawsuit won by Mike Zinna against Jefferson County, Colorado, that illustrates the high cost of litigation and the incredible amounts government spends defending itself.  The lawsuit arose after Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Congrove denied Zinna access to public records and prevented him from speaking at public meetings.  Zinna claimed the County violated his first amendment rights.  The court agreed and awarded Zinna damages of $1,791, which seems like a victory for Jefferson County.  Not!

Jefferson County paid $464,242 to “win” the lawsuit.  It may also be liable to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees, which could approach $500,000.  The bottom line is Jefferson County taxpayers lose almost $1,000,000 in scarce government resources in these financially difficult times because a long-gone elected official prevented some guy from speaking at a public meeting.  The justice system is completely out of balance.

Man Injured by Flying Hot Dog Sues Kansas City Royals

The Associated Press reports that a man sued the Kansas City Royals baseball team claiming that he was injured when the team’s mascot, Sluggerrr, threw a hot dog into the stands that hit him in the eye.  The plaintiff is asking for damages exceeding $25,000.  Clearly Sluggerrr should have cut the hot dog into pea-sized pieces before throwing it into the stands, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.  See “Food Police’s Next Target – Hot Dogs.”  See also “Dog-Flinging Mascot Blamed for Eye Injury.”  Here’s the plaintiff’s complaint.  I am sure there are some people who would say that Sluggerrr would not have throw the dangerous missile and the injury would not have occurred if the hot dog had a warning label on it that said, “do not throw hot dog at fans at a baseball game – could cause injury.”

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Yelp, the Online Review Site

Online review website Yelp was named a defendant in a class action lawsuit filed in federal district court in Los Angeles.  The plaintiff claims it asked Yelp to remove a negative review, but Yelp refused and then demanded $300 a month to remove the review.   See “Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0: Local business owners say Yelp offers to hide negative customer reviews of their businesses on its website … for a price,” and the “Yelp Class Action Lawsuit.”

Wind Turbine Wars

Wind power is a new pot of gold for the trial lawyers.  The litigation over the installation and use of wind turbines has begun in earnest.  ABA Journal:  “Wind farms are a growing source of clean energy.  But some of the neighbors are beginning to complain.  ‘They told us that the noise at 900 feet would be no louder than the hum of a refrigerator,’ says Hal Graham.  But he says the reality has been far different.  “We can’t sleep.  We can’t watch TV.  This has been a disaster for us and our neighbors.’ . . . an increasingly vocal minority says there is another, more sinister, side to wind power.  They acknowledge that, from a distance, the towering sentinels seem to spin lightly and noiselessly in the wind.  But closer up, they insist, turbines emit stomach-jarring whooshes and rumbles, and an impossible-to-ignore rhythmic hum that disrupts sleep and causes headaches, nausea and fatigue in some people.  Another problem is shadow flicker, caused when the spinning blades chop up sunlight, creating a swooping pattern of shadows that some people say makes them woozy and sick.”

“The growing contentiousness over the health effects of wind turbines already has resulted in some sharp legal fights —with more sure to come—over where turbines should be located and how they should be regulated.”

Man Buys Chicken Sandwich and Sues for $2 Million

Frank Sutton wanted to eat, but the McDonald’s was closed.  Some of the employees of the burger joint apparently were hanging around after closing.  Frank convinced one of them to sell him the now infamous chicken sandwich.  Frank claimed grease from the chicken sandwich injured him and sued for $2 million.  The trial court threw out the complaint, but the appellate court reversed and sent the case back to the trial court.  Moral:  No good deed goes unpunished.  Here’s the opinion of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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