Civil

Various Plaintiffs v. Various Defendants

Justin writes: I was a little flummoxed when I saw this caption. I thought, “That can’t be right. Someone at Westlaw must have been screwing around.” But … there it is. It’s beautiful in its simplicity. It’s the all-purpose caption! Think…


U.S. Pat. No. 8605152: Method for Filming a Yoga Class

"The yoga community went into uproar," says the Electronic Frontier Foundation, after companies that offer online fitness classes got letters from a competitor, YogaGlo, saying that it had applied for a patent on the "method and technique" involved. The method and…


You’re Not Fooling Anybody, Clown

Personally, I have no doubt this was a deliberate attack: Darlene B___ v. Jerusalem Temple Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Praetorian Insurance Company; Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System; George Carden Circus International Inc.;…


Headnote of the Day: Prison Doghouse Incident

The opinion itself is nothing special, but I thought it did become amusing when Westlaw compressed the holding into a headnote: Trustee guard who was forced to ride on top of doghouse containing prison dogs due to space limitations in…


In Other Child-Care News

It is apparently frowned upon to put a child down for a nap and then use duct tape to make sure he stays put. And the problem is what, exactly? According to Reuters, a Texas couple has sued a day-care…



Bad Attitude Costs Texas in Fee Dispute

Hey, I get it—sometimes when you win and you think the other side's position was bogus, it's hard not to get all smug and self-righteous. But you really should try. Not trying very hard—well, not trying at all—cost the State…



Lawsuit Alleges Duck Attack

KATU in Portland reports that a woman who says she was attacked by a duck at a trailer park has sued the duck's owner. Plaintiff alleges in part that said duck was a repeat offender. According to the complaint (which…