Extortion. FWIW--I do volunteer work at the local PP clinic. The idea that anyone who comes in is there for an abortion is ludicrous.
Judy _____ From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of artspit...@aol.com Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 5:25 PM To: religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu Subject: Re: Settlement or extortion? I suspect the [Texas] Capital Area Rural Transportation System had liability insurance covering this risk and that this case was settled by the insurance company's counsel, who could care less about the principles involved, or even about the legal merits except insofar as they affect the settlement value of the case. With ACLJ representing the plaintiff, defense counsel reasonably would have anticipated having to litigate the case to judgment in the district court and then in the 5th Circuit, at a cost undoubtedly far exceeding the $21,000 settlement. You can call that extortion if you want to, but Texas does have a state RFRA, and how different is this case from the thousands of lawsuits filed every year in which one party settles despite believing that it has a meritorious claim or defense, knowing that it faces a determined opponent with a deep pocket? Opposing counsel often tell me that my clients' cases have only nuisance settlement value. (Often I prove them wrong.) By the way, I gather from the news report that this was not the driver of a bus on a fixed route that happened to go near Planned Parenthood. The story says, "The system, operated under an agreement among participating counties, offers bus service on fixed routes and through requested pickup ...." and, "After he was dispatched to take the women to Planned Parenthood in January, Graning called his supervisor "and told her that, in good conscience, he could not take someone to have an abortion." Art Spitzer In a message dated 4/25/11 5:19:05 PM, hamilto...@aol.com writes: In a word, extortion. Marci Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Sanford Levinson <slevin...@law.utexas.edu> Sender: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:41:46 To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics<religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu> Reply-To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics <religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu> Subject: Settlement or extortion? _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
_______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
