This Month in Lawsuit Abuse

by Derek G. Rowley © 2009, All Rights Reserved

Abusive, absurd and frivolous lawsuits continue to clog our courts and cost us all millions of dollars. Here are the low-lights:

• The Dallas Morning News reported on a lawsuit filed by a Dallas woman, Chris Daniel, “seeking six figures from a former neighbor and landlord for damage she says was caused by cigarette smoke wafting through adjoining walls of her high-end townhome.” According to the attorney for Estancia Townhomes, there is a solid, two-hour fire wall from foundation to roof between each of the homes. In addition to the lawsuit, Ms. Daniel has evidently filed a complaint under the Texas Fair Housing Act, claiming that her sensitivity to cigarette smoke qualifies her for a disability.
• The Chicago Sun Times reported on a workers compensation claim filed by a Cook County custodian, who claims she twice injured her back by “reaching around to pick up a piece of toilet paper”. Taxpayers are writing a check in the amount of $14,022.
• The San Mateo County Times reports that 60-year old Stanley Hilton has filed a $15 million lawsuit against San Francisco International Airport, claiming that his wife divorced him because of the constant airport noise. The lawsuit alleges the airport is guilty of being a public nuisance, negligence, assault, battery, fraud and breach of contract. Hilton, according the report is a former civil litigation attorney who also recently sued the property manager and owner of an office building for $20 million in August after being stuck between floors for an hour, arguing that it result in a fear of riding elevators.
• Staten Island Live reported that after 12 years, a free-speech lawsuit against former College of Staten Island president Dr. Marlene Springer was finally settled. The lawsuit claimed that Springer had violated the First Amendment by nullifying a student election in 1997. In a settlement in which Springer admitted no wrongdoing, the judge accepted Springer’s offer of $9 - which calculates to seventy-five cents for each year of the lawsuit. Claims for compensatory and punitive damages were evidently dropped.
• And finally, in a case of attorneys eating their own, the Seattle Times has a story about a Seattle civil-rights attorney, Bradley Marshall, who was disbarred after the Washington Supreme Court found he had gouged clients and bullied others into unwanted settlements. Marshall claims the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the State, and oversees attorney conduct and discipline, exceeded it’s authority in making the move. The amount of the lawsuit was not disclosed.

Tags: lawsuit abuse