Month: November 2010

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The Social Network: Defamation or Right to Privacy

 

In 1952, James Hill, his wife and two children were held hostage by three escaped convicts in their Pennsylvania home. In an interview following the incident, Mr. Hill stressed that “the convicts had treated the family courteously, had not molested them, and had not been at all violent.” Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 US 374. The convicts were later apprehended and two convicts were killed. The Hill family kept away from the spotlight and sensationalism surrounding the story, moved to Connecticut and resumed a private life. In 1953, author Joseph Hayes published a novel, The Desperate Hours, which depicted a family of four held hostage by three escaped convicts in their home. Hayes’s storyline differed from the actual events by incorporating violence including a beating and a verbal sexual assault to the family by the convicts. The book became a play, also titled The Desperate Hours, which eventually … Read the rest

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What to Do about the Bush Tax Cuts to Avoid Going Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

 

I was six years old when my father first told me “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  However, as a six year old, I had no concept of money, taxes or other individuals, so this declaration meant nothing to me.  All I cared about was nap time, lunch and recess.  My dad must have been crazy, because as far as I was concerned, some nice lady gave me my lunch every day and it certainly didn’t cost me anything.  However, now as a twenty something, in my seventeenth year of education, I realize that even if something seems free, someone somewhere is paying for it (likely through taxes).  So, thanks dad, for paying for my lunches all those years ago (and my seventeen years of education).  

As 2010 slowly – or quickly – draws to a close, one thought on everyone’s mind is what is going … Read the rest

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Data, Information, and the Practice of Law

The practice of law has changed substantially with the advent of computers, the Internet, and the “Information Age.” In many ways, these changes in the legal landscape are not surprising, as they roughly parallel those in the personal and commercial worlds. Much of the technology that has made its way into widespread use has focused on improving and streamlining existing methods. Though we certainly interact now in ways that we could not have 30 years ago, this has largely been within a scheme of roughly incremental changes – the word processor can act as a much more efficient typewriter, and hard drives can act as a very large file cabinet (or library). Court filings, collaboration, and record keeping, among many other tasks, have been streamlined; previously inaccessible sources of information are available even to those with the smallest budget; young law students may seem “dependent” on online services for their … Read the rest

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Lumbermans v. Broadspire: Why an arbitrator should decide questions of procedural arbitrability

    On October 13, 2010, the Seventh Circuit handed down their ruling in Lumbermans Mutual Casualty Company v. Broadspire Management Service, Inc, LLC. In Lumbermans, the parties had a contract for Broadspire to purchase an Insurance Administration business from Lumbermans. The purchase agreement set out specific procedures for Lumbermans to submit a “disagreement notice” to the regularly submitted price reports created by Broadspire stemming from the transaction. The contract required that these disagreement notices have “reasonable detail” and an alternative determination of the payment required. Lumbermans submitted four disagreement notices. Broadspire refused to arbitrate the claim under the section of the contract which controlled the choice of dispute resolution for disputes arising from the disagreement notices. It was their contention that the disagreement notices did not comply with the contract and therefore should fall under the general arbitration clause which had different procedures. The court found that the dispute … Read the rest