At least according to this fun article by Laura Northrup. She explains in considerable detail that, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the traditional thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, a cranberry-based item, mashed potatoes, etc.) cost considerably more in 1929 than it would today.
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
Here is the text of the Third Circuit's order: ORDER at the direction of the merits panel, it is hereby ordered that the Appellants are directed to file on or before December 30, 2013 an answer to the petition for panel rehearing submitted by the Appellee and the documents submitted by proposed amici in support […]
Car-rental companies make a ton of money selling you add-ons, such as various types of insurance you may already have and high-priced "deals" for gas. It's easy to nearly double the cost of your rental on stuff that may be worthless. So, just in time for the holidays, Jim Webster has this funny article about […]
Paying a private company to test your DNA so you can learn about your health status? This article by Brady Dennis suggests you may want to think twice. Here's an excerpt: The Food and Drug Administration has ordered the maker of a popular genetic-testing kit to halt sales of its heavily marketed product, saying the […]
by Brian Wolfman Ninth Circuit chief judge Alex Kozinski and his wife, Marcy Tiffany, own a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car. Kozinski and Tiffany are absent class members in a federal class action in California in which the plaintiffs allege that the Leaf's battery is defective. (Kozinski and Tiffany seem to agree, saying that their […]
Dietary supplements often are taken for their drug-like effects, but, unlike drugs, they are subject to very little federal regulation because they are (supposed to be) made solely from "natural" substances. So, with that in mind, read this article by Alison Young. Here's an excerpt: For the second time in recent weeks, scientists have found […]
The Supreme Court has granted review in yet another class action, and this one has large implications for the future of securities-fraud litigation. In Haliburton v. Erica P. John Fund, the Court will decide whether to overrule or substantially modify the rule in Basic, Inc. v. Levinson (1988), which adopted the "fraud-on-the-market" theory of reliance […]
Jeff posted earlier about settlement of the Mt. Holly case shortly before argument in the Supreme Court. The case presented the question whether disparate impact claims may be brought under the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination (or, on the other hand, whether plaintiffs must show intentional discrimination to prevail under the Act). There […]
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., which presents the question whether a state’s parens patriae suit may be removed as a “mass action” under the Class Action Fairness Act when the state is the sole plaintiff, the claims arise under state law, and the state […]
Lawyers for consumers and other plaintiffs have long complained that the Supreme Court's cases making summary judgment and dismissal easier to obtain have had adverse effects on their clients. That's not surprising. (For instance, it is the plaintiff who will be on the losing end of a successful motion to dismiss.) Now, law professors Kevin […]