As an update to previous entries regarding Iowa's fence law, the 2011 proposed legislative changes (Senate File 2102) failed to make it out of subcommittee. We will have to wait another year to see whether the legislature decides to modify the century-old statute, in particular limiting its application to agricultural uses. Until then, the statute will continue to operate in a gray [...]
Iowa Law Blog recently featured a post regarding the Iowa fence law found at Iowa Code Chapter 359A. That post discussed that although the fence law was historically enacted for agricultural purposes, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that its applicability extends to "serve the broader public good by mediating boundary, fence and trespass disputes." Gravert v. Nebergall, 539 N.W.2d [...]
During Jan Mickelson's (@amtalker) radio show this morning on 1040 WHO, I heard part of a story about two neighbors who had a dispute about a fence. The discussion involved Iowa Code Section 359A, which is a very old statute. Essentially, the statute sets forth the procedure under which a person can force his adjoining land neighbor [...]
The Institute for Financial Literacy, a non-profit corporation, recently published its Annual Consumer Bankruptcy Demographics Report. The findings indicate that the profile of the typical American bankruptcy filier may be changing. Among other things the report seems to indicate that the gender gap in bankruptcy filing is closing; Americans with advanced degrees are filing at [...]
Earlier I blogged about a bike lane in Prospect Park West in Brooklyn that had come under some legal fire. The plaintiffs were a number of disgruntled residents who filed a mandamus action against the City, arguing that the installation of a bike lane was aribtrary or unfair. On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, the Court [...]
A petition was filed in New York State Court on Monday against New York City's Department of Transportation, seeking declaratory relief that would, in part, remove the new bikes lanes abutting Prospect Park West in New York City. The New York Times reported on the lawsuit yesterday, noting that much of the issue has to do with politics. [...]
Back on November 5, 2010, my colleague Matt Gardner discussed the Iowa Court of Appeals' decision in Galloway v. State, where the Court held that it is against public policy to allow parents to waive the child's legal rights to sue for damages against a third party. Essentially, the Court said that when parents sign a [...]
A court in Brazil this week ruled that fast food giant McDonald's must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds while working there. The franchise manager was employed by McDonald's for twelve years and said that he felt forced to sample the food each day to ensure that quality standards remained high. Additionally, [...]
The Iowa Supreme Court released an opinion today in Feld v. Borkowski. The case centers around a slow-pitch softball practice, where the players were taking batting practice. The batter, Borkowski, was a right handed hitter. On this particular pitch, Borkowski swung too early, fouling the ball high and foul over the left field line. However, during [...]
In sports news, its common to hear about coaches who leave one program for the next, often breaking their contract to do so. This time, somebody is getting sued. In Tennessee Football, Inc. v. Lane Kiffin, University of Southern California, the Tennessee Titans sued the new USC football coach for "inducement of breach of contract" and [...]
