Saturday, September 28, 2002
Dale: Busy week.
I've been working on filing an answer to a summary judgment motion in an age discrimination case. Actually, it's my second such motion response over the past three weeks (different cases, different judges, even different time zones--seriously).
Translating from Lawyer, summary judgment motions essentially ask the Court to dismiss the case because there isn't sufficient evidence produced by the other side to merit submitting the case to the jury. In other words, if you submitted the opponent's case to the jury, a reasonable jury would have no other choice than to reject the opponent's case. SJ motions are the last major step before trial. If you are a plaintiff and survive the defendant's motion, serious settlement offers tend to follow quickly.
Because of their obvious importance, the motions and responses are long in the preparation and review. You don't want to miss an important fact. Especially with a judge who tends to be skeptical of plaintiffs' employment cases. It doesn't make him a bad judge, just a tough one to practice in front of--dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s.
Anyway, it meant a couple of long shifts at the legal factory this week. Thursday was the longest, and I walked out to my car in the middle of the evening. I work in Detroit, which has a deserved, but often wildly exaggerated, reputation for crime. The area I work in isn't all that bad, being entirely commercial (with the exception of a couple of bar and grill restaurants). I can see the new Comerica Park and Ford Field from there, and it's an easy walk to both. I walked up to the third floor where the mirthmobile (a/k/a a 1995 Buick Skylark) was parked, and discovered that someone really wanted the shortwave radio sitting on the floor of the passenger side. Enough to shatter a window into a couple of thousand pieces. Of course, it was the wrong window--I'm having trouble with the driver's side....The radio was somewhat expensive, but he may be disappointed with the performance. It was rained on a few months ago, and I think only the AM/FM part works now. Happy pawning, old chap.
I went downstairs to find the security guard (one of two for a four story garage run by the City of Detroit) already at work on the incident report. He saw the mess on his patrol. He was friendly and sympathetic, but the only solution he could offer was advice--park on the first floor, where there's better coverage (at least they can hear glass shatter on the ground floor). He promised to give me a copy of the report Friday morning (which he did). When I gave him my address, he asked if I saw ever saw Eminem. I told him no, Eminem lives in the north part of the city and I live in the south, although I occasionally drove past his house. Now that I think about it, I believe he moved out of town since his divorce (hey, he's the East Side's only internationally known celebrity, so you hear about him whether you want to or not). After the report was complete, I enjoyed the breezy ride home. Thanks to an insurance miracle (no deductible for window damage), I now have a new window and an all-weather vehicle.
I have managed to keep up with things at St. Blog's during the week, though. Do I have an opinion on the Gerard Serafin imbroglio? Sure do!
I've been working on filing an answer to a summary judgment motion in an age discrimination case. Actually, it's my second such motion response over the past three weeks (different cases, different judges, even different time zones--seriously).
Translating from Lawyer, summary judgment motions essentially ask the Court to dismiss the case because there isn't sufficient evidence produced by the other side to merit submitting the case to the jury. In other words, if you submitted the opponent's case to the jury, a reasonable jury would have no other choice than to reject the opponent's case. SJ motions are the last major step before trial. If you are a plaintiff and survive the defendant's motion, serious settlement offers tend to follow quickly.
Because of their obvious importance, the motions and responses are long in the preparation and review. You don't want to miss an important fact. Especially with a judge who tends to be skeptical of plaintiffs' employment cases. It doesn't make him a bad judge, just a tough one to practice in front of--dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s.
Anyway, it meant a couple of long shifts at the legal factory this week. Thursday was the longest, and I walked out to my car in the middle of the evening. I work in Detroit, which has a deserved, but often wildly exaggerated, reputation for crime. The area I work in isn't all that bad, being entirely commercial (with the exception of a couple of bar and grill restaurants). I can see the new Comerica Park and Ford Field from there, and it's an easy walk to both. I walked up to the third floor where the mirthmobile (a/k/a a 1995 Buick Skylark) was parked, and discovered that someone really wanted the shortwave radio sitting on the floor of the passenger side. Enough to shatter a window into a couple of thousand pieces. Of course, it was the wrong window--I'm having trouble with the driver's side....The radio was somewhat expensive, but he may be disappointed with the performance. It was rained on a few months ago, and I think only the AM/FM part works now. Happy pawning, old chap.
I went downstairs to find the security guard (one of two for a four story garage run by the City of Detroit) already at work on the incident report. He saw the mess on his patrol. He was friendly and sympathetic, but the only solution he could offer was advice--park on the first floor, where there's better coverage (at least they can hear glass shatter on the ground floor). He promised to give me a copy of the report Friday morning (which he did). When I gave him my address, he asked if I saw ever saw Eminem. I told him no, Eminem lives in the north part of the city and I live in the south, although I occasionally drove past his house. Now that I think about it, I believe he moved out of town since his divorce (hey, he's the East Side's only internationally known celebrity, so you hear about him whether you want to or not). After the report was complete, I enjoyed the breezy ride home. Thanks to an insurance miracle (no deductible for window damage), I now have a new window and an all-weather vehicle.
I have managed to keep up with things at St. Blog's during the week, though. Do I have an opinion on the Gerard Serafin imbroglio? Sure do!
