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2009 Legal News: The Fourth Annual Legal Louie Awards

2008: The Legal Year In Review

Looking back on this past year in legal news, there's been a lot of ups and downs even though the economy has spiked that graph chart in a downward direction.  MIPTC once again jumps into the fray of those with 20/20 hindsight vision with its Fourth Annual Legal Louie Awards, a tongue-in-cheek look at last year's legal news. 

Why a "Legal Louie?"  Louie was my grandfather's barber, who always had an opinion about legal shenanigans.  Grandpa Walker called him "three-spin Louie," because once you sat in the barber chair, just three spins later you were out.  Here's a round-up review of the legal news for 2008 and the resulting awards for the best and worst, in multiple categories:

Worst TV Legal Show:  Last time, Boston Legal won.  This year, it qualifies for this category only because ABC took it off the air.  What were they thinking?  Don't ask me.  Write to ABC.  Best line from the show?  "Maybe we can find a new network that cares."  No kidding.

Best TV Legal Show:  Perry Mason via the beta Google video network.  Sometimes, nostalgia is good, especially when there's few current worthwhile choices for this category.

Worst Legal Decision: The California Supreme Court decision(s) upholding same-sex marriage, Proposition 8 outlawing it and then the California Supreme Court's election to hear challenges to Prop 8.  Who's in charge here?

Best Legal Decision:  The California Legislature passed a law outlawing texting while driving, as a follow-up to the earlier law requiring hands-free cell phone devices while driving.  My only question -- why didn't they think of both laws at the same time?

Runner up?  We still have a Second Amendment, thanks to a 5-4 Supreme Court decision. 

Worst Jail Sentence (pending):  Eliot Spitzer.  Here's a guy who takes on the world, starts to shut down the bad guys and then can't keep his zipper up.  Best Spitzer joke?  "He's the only politician who went to D.C. and left with less money than he came with."

Runners up?  There are almost too many to count.  "Rudyard Rod" Blagojevich (current Illinois governor who is alleged to have senate seats for sale - he's almost a tie with Spitzer just on the basis of chutzpah).   Former [yes, it's capitalized because it's now become a title, not an adjective] Senator Ted Stevens (convicted of making false statements on a financial form).   Senator Larry Craig (weaseling out of a guilty plea that he solicited gay sex in a public bathroom at an airport).  Then there's former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.  (his book and PR tour admits he helped his bosses lie to us about policy decisions).

Notice the consistency here?  They're all politicians.  Surprise! 

Best Jail Sentence:  Nine to 33 years.  Finally, O.J. gets a sentence he deserves.  Best line of the sentencing hearing?  "I didn't know whether Mr. Simpson was arrogant or ignorant or both.  During the trial, I got the answer, and it was both."  Worst part of the hearing?  Figuring out how long O.J. will be in jail.  I listened to Clark County Judge Jackie Glass as she sentenced O.J., but along with the rest of the legal community, it took a call to her Court Clerk to figure out what she meant.

Worst New Legal Trend:   MySpace crimes.  It's hard to believe that the anonymity of the Internet has sparked crime sprees [tongue planted firmly in cheek here].

Best New Legal Trend:  Online legal directories, such as Avvo and the consolidation of legal blogs and podcasts.  The blawg is coming of age and starting to make money.

Saddest Legal-related Event:  The departure of Heller Erhman, Thelen, Brobeck and a host of other big-firm dissolutions.  The economic shakeout hit the seemingly impervious business of law. 

Most Hopeful Legal Event:  A Nebraska State Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against God, saying he wasn't served properly.  But if God is all-knowing . . .?

Worst Government Moment:  Sarbanes-Oxley, the omnipresent reporting requirement where company lawyers and government overseerers worried about whether to report a janitor taking a roll of toilet paper, all while Wall Street lay waste to the world's economic system, starting with a 10.5 richter-scale earthquake otherwise known as the subprime crises.  Can't wait for those aftershocks.   Runners up?  Madoff, Mark Dreier, any one of the Big 3 CEOs on a private jet to Washington, D.C. to ask for bailout money, AIG executives enjoying a $440,000 spa trip at the St. Regis here in Dana Point.  I could go on, but you get the point.  Runner up?  Maybe the SEC.

Best Government Moment:  The FCC's auction of the wireless band spectrum.  Finally, we get some innovation.  Runner up in the oxymoron department?  Citified wi-fi.  Whatever happened to the promise of universal wireless coverage?  Guess there was no money in that service.

Finally, The Name Equality Act Of 2007 Goes Into Effect

Now, if you're a man and want to adopt your wife's last name, it's legal without having to pay the fees and costs to go through a name change.  It's the Name Equality Act of 2007, and while it was signed by the Governator in 2007 and went into effect in 2008, it didn't start applying to marriage licenses issued after January 1, 2009.

So now, all you Snodgrasses out there can legally adopt Smith (if that's your wife's name). 

Congratulations and best wishes.  I never know which one applies to the man.

Don't Take A Page From This Book: How To Ignore The Government In Three Easy Steps

John and Ned Roscoe owned The Customer Company in Galt, California.  The company operated an underground storage tank that leaked some 3,000 gallons of gas.  A TCC employee, John Johnson, properly notified the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department of the leak.  The SCEMD turned around and sent letters, notifing TCC that it had to clean up the fuel that leaked. 

Unfortunately, John Roscoe treated these notifications as "form letters" and simply routed them on to Johnson, but neither Roscoe nor Johnson did anything to follow up on the County's orders to clean up the fuel.

Had TCC timely cleaned up the fuel, it would have cost the company about $400,000. 

Because the "clean up" dragged on unattended for so long and without any progress, the SCEMD decided to remediate the problem itself.  Largely due to the delay, the fuel spread out over a wider area and cost more to clean up.

A total of $1,500,000. 

To recover these costs, SCEMD filed a civil case against TCC and the Roscoes individually. 

After a 12-day court trial, the judge issued a 44-page opinion, which assessed TCC and the Roscoes with $2,493,250 in penalties.

Ouch.

The Roscoes filed an appeal, seeking to avoid personal liability under the "responsible corporate officer doctrine."  They argued, essentially, that they were shielded from liability by the corporation.

The Court observed that the SCEMD had to prove three things to find the Roscoes individually liable:  (1) the individual is in a position of responsibility that allows the person to influence corporate policies or activities; (2) there must be a connection between the individual's position and the violation in question allowing the individual to influence the corporate actions which constituted the violations; and (3) the individual's actions or inactions facilitated the violations.

Here, the Court found the Roscoes neatly fit all three elements, and imposed the penalties.  Plus, they observed that the Court fined the Roscoes only $1,000 a day when the statute allowed a maximum penalty of $5,000 a day for the violations. 

Such a deal for a series of form letters.

Happy New Year! Especially If You Just Woke Up

The tame new year rolled in last night one second late, but many of us who watched the ball drop used up more than that extra second this morning.  Hope you had a safe, pleasant last night, and a healthy, prosperous new year!

Way to go Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl - 31 to 10 over South Carolina (yes, it played here on the left coast at 8:00 a.m.)  Now we just need Penn State to beat USC.

Lawyer2Lawyer Internet Radio Gazes Into The 2009 Crystal Ball

What a year it has been!  From the economic crisis, to the auto industry bailout, foreclosures, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the election of Barack Obama and many important court decisions. Please join me and my fellow Law.com blogger and co-host, Robert Ambrogi, as we welcome returning guest and prediction guru, Stephen L. Kaplan, partner in the Orange County, California office of Hicks, Mims, Kaplan and Burns to discuss his 2009 predictions and you'll find out his track record!

Give a listen and send in your own predictions!

Shameless Self-promotion: Vote For Lawyer2Lawyer Podcast

Just in case you haven't voted yet (yes, it's way past November), here's your chance.  The American Bar Association Blawg 100 nominated Bob Ambrogi and my podcast, LawyerLawyer for the top podcast for 2008.

So hustle on over to the ABA Blawg 100 vote-for-your-favorite-podcast site, and click on Lawyer2Lawyer as your favorite podcast.  It's the most fun you can have with a vest on.

Thanks for checking the box!

Put That Cell Phone Down And Drive

No Texting, Either

It'll cost you (at current prices) just over 10 gallons of gas ($20.00) if you get caught driving California roads violating this law:  "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication." 

Just in case you're trying to parse the definitions, write, send, or read a text-based communication "means using an electronic wireless communications device to manually communicate with any person using a text-based communication, including, but not limited to, communications referred to as a text message, instant message, or electronic mail."

Now don't go into a panic here.  There's an exception to almost every rule:  you can still "read, select, or enter a telephone number or name in an electronic wireless communications device for the purpose of making or receiving a telephone call."

Whew!

But don't get caught twice - the fine goes up to $50.00 for a second offense.  Neither the first, second or following offenses, however, will result in adding a point to your driver's record.  Since July, California drivers (except emergency personnel) have been prohibited from holding a cell phone and talking while driving, and this ban on texting amends that law.  This amendment extends the same ban on texting while driving.

If you haven't gotten enough finger-wagging from the California State Legislature, then you can always listen to the Mom Song.

Congrats To The Top 40 Mediators

My good friend, Alex Polsky, and another stellar mediator, Gig Kyriacou, were included in the Daily Journal's list of Top 40 Neutrals.  Congrats to them both, along with the other 38 recipients. 

You can wander on over to Alex Polsky's webpage. Plus, he's available worldwide. 

Merry Christmas

Not A Creature Is Stirring, Not Even The Blogger

My Favorite Christmas Card

This time of year, my mailbox fills up with family Christmas and Hanukkah letters.  I also get  the politically correct "Seasons Greetings," which I have to admit I send out on occasion, even though I more enjoy receiving Christmas cards, since that's the holiday I celebrate.  There are the ones with the beautiful pictures of snow scenes, small towns and the ubiquitous Kinkade drawings.  But one type of card holds a special place for me.

As I reach the point where I've celebrated more Christmases than I would like to remember, I relish the cards I get from old friends, even if it is once a year.  My father, a Congregational minister, used to rail privately at those members of his parish who came only at Christmas, but I used to think - and still do - that some is better than none. 

When I was a small kid, I had the fortunate happenstance to be on Cape Cod in the summer of my twelfth year, building sand castles on the beach with my brothers and wearing my Boy Scout hooded sweatshirt.

Yes, sand castles and the summer beach is a long way from Christmas, but stick with me here.

Raycroft Beach in Dennis adjoins Massachusetts State Senator Bowers' summer cottage, a fact I was soon to learn in my twelfth year.  Early in the morning Senator Bowers came over to the public beach, and asked me and my brothers if we were willing to cut the grass at his cottage for a small sum of money, which was more than acceptable to us given that we only had our $.25 allowance money in our pockets.

We went over to his cottage and got not only the keys to the garden shed with instructions to cut the grass, weed the lawn and flower beds and generally act as gardeners for the remaining weeks of the summer, but we also got a bit more.  We got the key to his cottage (on the beach), along with his invitation to use it during the week while he and his family were in Boston, since they generally only came down on the weekends.  Plus, we got a substantia