Canadian Lawyer

www.lawtimesnews.com 35 BIZARRE BRIEFS French court allows ducks to quack A court in France rejected a neighbourhood noise complaint, deciding the noise from a flock of 60 ducks and geese was within ac- ceptable limits, Reuters reported. The November case concerned the estate of a retired farmer in the town of Dax, located in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, said Reuters' report. The plaintiff, who lived 50 metres away from the duck enclosure, said the noise exceeded permissible levels and prevented them from enjoying their garden or sleeping with their house windows open, a lawyer told Reuters. The case follows a similar one in September, when the court al- lowed a rooster named Maurice to continue his dawn crowing. "The ducks have won," the de- fendant, retired farmer Dominique Douthe, told Reuters after the court decision. Lawsuit says Madonna concert starts too late Madonna's late arrival times amount to a breach of contract with concertgoers, said a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County court. Nate Hollander spent more than US$1,000 in August on tickets to a Dec. 17 Madonna concert scheduled for 8:30 p.m., reported CNN. But at the end of October, the concert's start time was moved back to 10:30 p.m., CNN said. "For those like Hollander, who bought tickets and now don't want to attend a concert that late, a refund has not been offered," CNN reported of the allegations. Lawyer must pay US$280K for calling former client 'total a-hole' A New York lawyer's online com- ments about a former client resulted in US$10,000 for breach of contract, US$20,000 for mal- practice and US$250,000 in puni- tive damages, reported the New York Post. Lawyer Robert Feldman called his former client a "tragedy," "total a-hole," "dangerous jerk" and a "scary person" with "severe emotional and mental problems" including Asperger's syndrome, the Post reported. Feldman also referred to his client's previous rape conviction "without clarify- ing that he was later exonerated, instead claiming he 'freaked out' other women," said the Post's report. The comments were made in re- sponse to a report about Feldman on RipoffReport.com. The former client, Donald Glassman, is now also a lawyer. "Awarding a quarter of a million in punitive damages sends a loud and clear message to any other lawyer that would consider mak- ing a defamatory post … about a former client," civil rights lawyer Jon Norinsberg, who represented Glassman, told the New York Law Journal of the case. Licence plate that reads 'IM GOD' is protected speech, court rules A U.S. District Court judge ruled "vanity plates" are speech pro- tected by the First Amendment, the Associated Press reported in November. The three-year legal battle stemmed from a licence plate that read "IM GOD," request- ed by a Kentucky atheist. The state transportation department denied the plate on the basis it violated anti-discrimination guidelines, according to the AP. Kentucky's American Civil Liber- ties Union and the Freedom From Religion Foundation supported the approval of the plate. Court to consider lighter sentence for 'polite' bank robber A robber who used notes ending in "Thanks" to communicate with tellers will be re-sentenced, ac- cording to Bloomberg Law. The Eleventh Circuit ruled Nov. 26 that Roberto Arturo Perez shouldn't have received a sentence enhancement for making threats of death, according to Bloomberg. Perez gave the teller a note with instructions to put US$5,000 in an envelope, according to Bloomberg. "Do this and no one will get hurt," said the note, which added he had "kids to feed" and ended, "Thanks." At a second bank, Perez followed a similar procedure, asking for US$20,000, but police arrived. He pleaded guilty without a plea agreement and received a two-lev- el threat-of-death sentencing en- hancement, Bloomberg reported. "He threatened harm, but he didn't wear clothes that suggest- ed he might have a gun or make threatening gestures, the court said," according to Bloomberg. "His reference to his children 'suggested that he was not devoid of empathy,' it said. And the tellers' reactions showed they weren't acting in fear of death, it said."

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