Thursday, September 26, 2002

In the public interest Hershey Suit Sours Trust Attorneys - "Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher's fight to prevent the sale of Hershey Foods Corp. has created worries for charitable trusts and their lawyers. Fisher successfully championed a  controversial interpretation of trust law that, some experts say, would radically change existing law, discourage the creation of charitable trusts and push trustees into impossible conflicts."  (Law.com and the National Law Journal) See also Slate's "How Pennsylvania officials screwed poor kids out of $1 billion by stopping the sale of the candy-maker". 8:15:16 PM     The mighty have fallen "How a malpractice insurer grew too big too fast -- When this major liability carrier got in trouble, 17,000 doctors wondered how it happened, and whether they should have seen it coming."  This article chronicles the rise and fall of New Jersey-based MIIX, reportedly the seventh largest professional liability insurer, covering physicians in 24 states.  (Medical Economics, 9-23-02) 8:11:14 PM     The emperor in new clothes Malcolm Wallop, former Senator and now head of Frontiers of Freedom, has written an article at TownHall called "Litigation: The death of democracy".  He argues that the practice of states extracting money from corporations using litigation (or sometimes just the threat of litigation) is a form of "stealth taxation".  An excerpt:   "Much of this out-of-control litigation problem is fueled by the states' voracious appetites for more and more of our money. Americans are already taxed to the hilt so new taxes are not very popular. Thus when politicians go on pork spending sprees, they are often afraid to raise taxes any higher to pay for their excesses. Therefore, free spending state governments are opting for an alternative revenue source ­ shaking down deep-pocketed industries through litigation. "Taxation through litigation is now a favorite way for states to cover large budget deficits. For example, it is no coincidence that the states that persist in suing Microsoft all have large projected budget deficits. Despite the fact that the vast majority of states either settled their claims along with the federal government or opted not to get involved in the first place, a few states spend taxpayer money pursuing continued litigation in hopes of a big payday. It's all about money." I recently learned that several states are now gathering evidence to sue auto manufacturers for reimbursement of medical expenses arising from automobile accidents.  It will go on and on. . .  for a while. 8:02:09 PM

© Copyright 2002 Franco Castalone. Last update: 10/1/2002; 7:48:13 AM.