Monthly Archives: May 2012

Fatal Philadelphia Duckboat Crash Settled for $17 Million

Though it walks two worlds, it is a master of none

A duckboat is a particular kind of bus that can travel by both land and sea.  Typically seen in cities like Philadelphia and Boston, which have prominent and accessible rivers, the boat/bus hybrid is particularly useful for tour companies, the novelty of amphibious sightseeing being extremely attractive to tourists.  Rarely do these duckboats cause a problem.  Their pre-planned and short water routes don’t get in the way of bigger ships, and on land they operate just like normal buses.  Back in July 2010, however, bad luck and negligence conspired conspired to end this reputation of relative safety.  A duckboat stalled in the water.  A tugboat captain pushing a barge turned down his emergency radio and looked away to answer a phone call.  The two vessels — one helpless, one aimless — collided.  The duck boat tumbled underneath the barge, bringing two Hungarian tourists to a watery grave.  Yesterday, after two years of negotiations and court maneuvering, lawyers associated with the case announced that they had reached a settlement with the tug- and duckboat companies.

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Restaurant Builds a Noise Wall as Part of Settlement

Bar upgrade

A unique legal settlement has gone down just across town from Lawyer.com headquarters here in Basking Ridge, NJ.  Apparently, a combo bar/restaurant called the Bamboo Grille had its liquor license suspended because of noise complaints from two neighbors.  Not, of course, the rowdy roadhouse kinds of noises like bar fights and hollers, but that of amplified live music.  Each spring prior to 2011, the bar opened up its mezzanine to the likes of acoustic duo 3 West and the Ed Fleischman Jazz trio.  Clearly, raucous and disruptive young punks.  These performances, from 7-10 pm Thursday through Saturday (what I like to call “bedtime for boring people”), were enough to rile up a couple of families across the way, who filed numerous complaints with the township over the course of three years.  In 2011, the township suspended Bamboo Grille’s liquor license, later returning it on the condition that the bar no longer use electricity for outdoor music.  Since then, the bar has been embroiled in a fight for their right to party.

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Business v. Class Action

How much are you signing away to get that sweet, sweet 1994 Toyota Tercel?

An article in the New York Times caught my attention today.  It’s about the fallout from the 2011 Supreme Court decision in AT&T v. Concepcion, which stated that corporations can write clauses into contracts to prevent class action lawsuits.  To do this, the clauses require customers to settle disputes through arbitration (instead of in an actual court of law) and to relinquish their right to litigate as a class.  In effect, the contracts waive the customers’ right to due process.  Since that decision, the legal world has changed.  For the better or for worse?

Keep reading the full post to see what’s up with these clauses and to learn a tip on how to get around them.

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A pregnant woman in a blue dress holds her belly with both hands. She stands against a dark background, partially facing sideways. Her long, wavy hair cascades over her shoulder.

Maternity Leave No Reason to Discriminate for Mortgage Insurer

Maternity v. Mortgage

The mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Group has settled a federal lawsuit alleging that they refused to sell mortgage insurance to women on maternity leave.  The suit claimed that the company required 70 women to return to work before they would sell them the insurance, which “allows homebuyers to take out loans with down payments of less than 20%”, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Yesterday, the company settled for $550,000, with $511,000 to be compensation for the women and $39,000 as a civil penalty to the government.  In addition, MGIC will have to train its employees on discrimination law and revamp its policies concerning customers on maternity leave.  The company has also entered a preliminary settlement in a related class action suit in order to avoid spending any more money on a lawsuit they will likely lose.

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Mojave Cross Will Rise Again

Cross to bear

There was something about the Mojave Desert for the Lost Generation.  Maybe it was the cool sand-crested wind, the emptiness, an unspoken communion with a greater peace.  Those disillusioned soldiers of World War I, still shellshocked, went out there to find quiet — to forget, maybe, or to remember in silence only the stars overhead could provide.  In 1934, perhaps because of these troubled men, the Veterans of Foreign Wars built a wooden cross and raised it on a quiet parcel of land there.  It was both memorial to the soldiers lost and a reminder to those still living of the enormous cost of the war.  The veterans gathered at the cross for barbecues and dances, to come together and share their burdens in the cross’s shadow.  It stood there for 67 years, rebuilt with steel at one point, becoming a defining monument for veterans everywhere — separate, in a way, from the religious connotations inherent in the cross’s image.  Henry and Wanda Sandoz looked after it, on a promise to the previous caretaker on his deathbed.  The cross remained, stoic and silent, until 2001 when a church-and-state lawsuit threatened to take it down.

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