The case began simply enough. A bar in Scranton served beer to a minor. The minor took the beer out to the parking lot and used the glass to gash out our client’s eye. Under Dram Shop law and cases, a bar is liable if it serves a minor or a drunk and that person hurts someone.
The popular travel website Orbitz.com has announced that it discovered evidence of a data breach in which an unauthorized third party accessed personal information for consumers who booked travel between:
As the Olympics have just ended, we have celebrated the wonder of sports and their power to spread joy. The Olympics are an awesome event that brings together people and countries in unparalleled ways.
But one thing that shouldn't get lost in this process is that preparing for the Olympics often involves large construction jobs and cut corners that can lead to environmental harm suffered by individuals and properties. New facilities are built, sometimes without regard to previous customs and law, and so we often see a violent reshaping of landscapes.
As an example, for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, in constructing the Olympic downhill tract in Jeongseon, tens of thousands of trees had to cut down. These trees included Wangasre birches that had been there for 500+ years and served as a refuge for protected animal species. Organizers ended up destroying a portion of Mount Gariwang, the location of the 500-year-old forest. It had been designated a national protected forest in 2008, but that designation was lifted in 2013 for the Olympics construction.
The International Olympics Committee has nominally announced a strong concern for the environment. Ever since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the IOC has held that sport can play a positive role in promoting sustainability. That is what forms the foundation for the incorporation of environmental responsibility into the Olympics. However, that hasn't always addressed the ultimate issues, with recent Olympics plagued by excessive smog (Beijing 2008), rubble accumulation (Sochi 2014), and pathogenic water (Rio 2016).
Large construction projects similar to the ones described above are often allowed without enough attention given to the negative environmental consequences of the projects and the harms that result therefore. But fortunately, there are still laws that affected individuals can take advantage of to hold companies responsible. If you or someone you know has been harmed by negligent or reckless act toward the environment, you should contact a lawyer to determine if there are any remedies.
So many of my blog entries have to do with very serious issues, such as riding mower rollover deaths, asbestos disease, complex regional pain syndrome, and other life-threatening matters. This month, I thought it might be fun to lighten up the subject matter.
Technological innovation has improved the safety of motor vehicles over the last thirty years. The mandatory use of seat belts has been accompanied by the development of harness belts and sensor technology. Airbags have become sophisticated to the extent that their deployment depends upon the location of vehicle impact during a crash. But for all of the advancements in vehicle safety, individuals still suffer serious injuries when cars collide. Among those injuries, brain trauma can be among the most complex to address.
I have written before on this page about the Trump Administration's vendetta against the agencies that are tasked to protect our environment and Americans from toxic substances by gutting their budgets and closing departments responsible for the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.
On February 13, 2018, the Court of Appeals weighed in on an important issue relating to the discoverability of private social media content. In a unanimous decision, New York’s highest court reversed the First Department’s application of a heightened threshold for the production of social media records where the account holder has chosen to share posts on a private setting only.
Last week the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in CareFirst, Inc. v. Attias, No: 17-241. The denial of certiorari leaves in place the D.C. Circuit’s August 1, 2017 decision which found that victims of the 2014 CareFirst Data Breach had standing to sue the company for the increased risk of harm associated with the disclosure of their private information.
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