Looseleaf Litigation

Slaw readers might be interested in a recent judgement from the US District Court, in which two law professors, editors of a looseleaf service, sued the publisher for issuing a release under their names when they were not involved in its production. The release consisted of just 3 new case references and subscribers were charged $50 for it. Brief but briliant expert testimony on the nature of pocket parts was provided by a local law librarian to enlightened jurors, who awarded the plaintiffs $2.5 million in damages. The verdict was reported in the Philadelphia Enquirer yesterday (Dec. 21) and has also been reported in the ABA Journal, and the decision can be read in full in a Legal Research Plus post. For me, the action highlights the pointless nature of so much law book supplementation which carries a direct and immediate cost to the subscriber regardless of merit, quality or need.