Moritz Legal Information Blog

The Dispatch recently ran an article on how tort attorneys strategically use Facebook, combined with other research resources, to identify potential litigants. "For example, [digital bounty hunter Tim] Burd was hired for a lawsuit claiming a medical device used in hysterectomies, known as a laparoscopic power morcellator, causes ovarian cancer to spread in patients. The CDC says women over 55 are most likely to contract that kind of cancer. Burd says CDC data are especially powerful in combination "with Facebook, which is why we love it so much, because there's ovarian cancer support groups and stuff like that. So we target women in the country over the age of 55 that 'like' an ovarian cancer support group. That's a pretty targeted demographic."" The story reports that attorneys will pay researchers like Mr. Burd up to $3,000 per name . . . but why rely on others to do this work for you? With the right research skills you could set up your own s

Stairway to Heaven was released in 1971 by Led Zeppelin. That's 44 years ago. Forty-four years is half a lifetime at least, so why has a copyright infringement suit been filed only now? Well, most likely it has to do with court cases and risk. Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, attorneys can be sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits. What's more, attorneys like to win, especially when taking cases on a contingency fee basis . Two big cases have come out recently that suggest a copyright infringement suit can be lucrative even 44+ years after the claim arose. First, the U.S. Supreme Court held laches isn't a bar to these types of suits" [Writing in favor of the plaintiff who is suing MGM for copyright infringement over the film  Raging Bull , Justice Ginsburg] goes on to open a path towards more copyright lawsuits that will undoubtedly be alarming to Hollywood studios. "It is hardly incumbent on copyright owners, however, to cha

There are currently 13 presidential libraries , one for every former president since Hoover.   And the site of the 14 th presidential library has been revealed:   the Obama Presidential Center will be located in Chicago. Where did the presidential papers go before the era of presidential libraries?   According to a CRS Report describing the legislative history of the Presidential Libraries Act, the papers were initially thought of as personal property, and many of them were lost or destroyed.   With the advent of presidential libraries, these papers are much better preserved.   For example, although his time in office was relatively short, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum offers some fascinating digital material, from state dinner menus and programs to National Security Council meeting agendas and minutes – fodder for lawyers and nonlawyers alike.

Barclay Oudersluys just graduated from college and will be starting law school at UC-Berkeley in the fall. Between now and then, he'll be recreating Forrest Gump's run to raise money "for the Hall STEPS Foundation , a nonprofit founded by professional runners Ryan and Sara Hall to fight global poverty through better health." Mr. Oudersluys  merely has to run 32 miles per day to complete the 3,200 mile journey. Interested in running, but not, perhaps, 3,200 miles? Consider joining a local training group with Front Runner or Columbus Running Company , the latter of which has free group runs on Saturdays. Embrace the possibility that any residual exam stress and/or job stress may just melt away .

The EPA has been party to many a lawsuit on the topic of climate change.  In the Netherlands, concerned citizens have embraced a new approach -- not just asking for agency action, but rather charging the government with failure to protect Dutch citizens from climate change (see BBC coverage ). The organization bringing suit, the Urgenda Foundation, is posting legal documents from the suit, including the summons , translated into English.  As a result, environmental lawyers, scholars, and students have access to foreign legal proceedings on a topic of global concern.  The Urgenda Foundation relies on UN treaties, the European Convention on Human Rights, and Dutch law, concluding: It is a grave failure of Dutch politicians that they have not put the issue of climate change front and centre of the political agenda or led and instigated a public debate about what needs to be done to safeguard our future and that of our children, while the seriousness and the nature of the problem are

The NFL draft occurred yesterday with two quarterback positions filled first. Those two young men are probably thrilled, but I have no doubt they were far more excited about the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling that occurred the same day striking down Cleveland's "jock tax." Apparently professional athletes must pay tax in the jurisdiction where it is earned, and athletes play in any number of cities over the course of the season. The way Cleveland has been calculating tax on athlete income earned in Cleveland is apparently disproportionate to the way other cities calculate that tax. To build your tax expertise, especially if you are considering a career as a business or tax attorney for athletes, consider registering for Professor Susan Azyndar's Business and Tax Legal Research class next spring!