Turf war

11/16/12

By Dan Brillman

While most National Football League players seem to agree that natural grass and hybrid surfaces are safer than the Astroturf of days gone by, a former pro punter says one new-generation field led to a debilitating injury, reports the Associated Press.

Brett Hartmann, who used to play for the Houston Texans, has filed a lawsuit against the operator of Houston's Reliant Stadium, claiming an injury he sustained on the field might have ended his pro career.

Hartmann says he caught his leg in the seam of a patch of grass in the stadium during a game against Atlanta Dec. 4, 2011, and tore his anterior-cruciate ligament. (The turf is laid in 8x8-foot sections, as seen here.)

Since then Hartmann has undergone two surgeries but says his doctors have told him he may need additional "extensive" surgery and fears that his career is over. The suit seeks unspecified damages unrelated to already covered medical costs.

The complaint, filed against stadium operator Harris County, cites comments from other players and coaches, including New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who called Houston's field "terrible" when one of his stars tore multiple ligaments during a 2009 game.

Hartmann has no hard feelings towards the team, according to one of his lawyers, Gene Egdorf, who also says the suit is about the seams as well as about his client. "It's just not safe for a professional athlete to be stepping on those -- these big, strong, fast guys who are getting hit," Egdorf told the AP. "We see this all the time."

Holiday spirit

11/16/12

By Caitlin Tremblay

Thanksgiving is next week (kinda snuck up on us there, didn't it?). Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie  all are essentially synonymous with the harvest holiday. But what about turkey-day-related lawsuits? Turns out there's at least a handful of them, according to a slideshow put together by Property Casualty 360.

The suits range from the culinary (choking on a turkey bone in a restaurant) to the tragic (familial discord turned violent) to the accidental (two-car pileup after a turkey hit a driver's windshield). Then there's Promila Awasthi, a woman of Indian heritage living in California who sued her employers claiming they made fun of her and refused to pay her overtime when she worked American holidays like Thanksgiving. Lastly, a man sued his hunting partner after he was accidentally shot while the two were out looking for Thanksgiving turkeys.

Unlike theirs, though, may your Thanksgiving be delicious and lawsuit-free.

Disabled inmates file lawsuit

11/16/12

By Suhrith Parthasarathy

Inmates with disabilities housed in California's third-largest jail are denied a wide spectrum of services, ranging from accessible toilets and showers to the ability to participate in educational and rehabilitative programs, a lawsuit filed Thursday says. The complaint by Berkeley-based not-for-profit Disability Rights Advocates was made against the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County Superior Court, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The lawsuit also claims that the inmates with disabilities are housed in the jail's infirmary, in violation of their rights, even though they do not require 24-hour care, Mercur yNews reports. "What is happening at Santa Rita is wrong on so many levels," said Michelle Uzeta, legal director for Disability Rights Legal Center, a group assisting in the lawsuit, told the paper. "Civil rights are routinely violated, and the jail's correctional rehabilitation model is rendered effectively unavailable for an entire population."

The Bork factor

11/16/12

By Erin Geiger Smith

The 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court is noted for the highly contentious Senate confirmation battle, culminating in Bork's rejection. But another highlight was the deep dive by news outlets into Bork's video rental history, which led to public concern that their own video renting history also could be revealed. In 1988, Congress passed the Video Protection Act, making it illegal to release a list of videos customers rent without their consent to anyone but law enforcement, and those officials need a warrant.

Pro Publica wrote about those events this week when it was among many outlets that asked if the FBI's peek into former CIA director David Petreaus's email (sent or not sent, as the case may be) will lead to a similar outcry about just who can read your email, and for what reason.

As Summary Judgments mentioned this week, Google's recently released transparency report showed that the government is in fact demanding access to people's emails at an increasing rate. While social media companies and privacy rights groups have long grappled with how to balance the government's demand for people's information with protecting user's privacy rights, regular folks could now get in on the debate, demanding to know when the government is trying to get its hands on their electronic stuff.

So what would the next step in this battle be? Pro Publica points to a bill introduced by Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy as one remedy. It would require both that law enforcement get a warrant before they get customer emails from an Internet email provider and that citizens be notified when their email is being reviewed.

Road safety

11/16/12

By Erin Geiger Smith

Twitter was abuzz last Tuesday night with people proclaiming they would move to Colorado, and it had nothing to do with the election results and everything to do with Colorado voters making pot legal. Washington state got in on the game as well. With approved recreational smoking, however, come concerns from law enforcement about how road safety might be affected.

Drugged driving is illegal in both states, but officials told NPR they're worried about drivers under the influence of marijuana, since unlike portable breath tests for alcohol, there's no easy way to tell if someone is impaired from recent pot use. Colorado made no changes to its DUI laws, the report said, but Washington did, with a new standard for blood tests.

Under the new law, police still have to observe signs of impaired driving before pulling someone over, according to NPR. In the case where a driver is stopped, a medical professional would test the blood for THC, an active ingredient in pot.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, levels of THC in the blood fall quickly after smoking, and within three hours, generally test at less than 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood. Anything over a five nanogram result would automatically spell a DUI conviction for the driver.

While critics in Washington say the standard is too strict, Colorado lawmakers are preparing to take up driving standards again when they convene next year.

"I believe a 5-nanogram limit will save lives," said Colorado Republican state Senator Steve King, sponsor of previous driving-high bills.

Summary Judgments for November 15

Summary Judgments for November 14

Summary Judgments for November 13

 Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook