Evidence for the hypothesis that modern life in the USA is increasingly Dickensian: Big Retail Chains Dun Mere Suspects in Theft. Incredible. And right here in Florida…
A Personal Blog
by Michael Froomkin
Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Miami School of Law
My Publications | e-mail
All opinions on this blog are those of the author(s) and not their employer(s) unelss otherwise specified.
Who Reads Discourse.net?
Readers describe themselves.
Please join in.Reader Map
Recent Bluessky Posts- Ugh. And I really liked the guy. April 17, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- So the media is a bunch of villainous Jews and Trump is Jesus. I fully expect the NYT to sanewash this antisemitic lunacy. So far, they’re ignoring it. April 16, 2026 Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
- My long-time colleague Stephen Urice has announced he's retiring. He is a major national figure in art law and related subjects. A big loss for us, but he's certainly earned it. news.miami.edu/law/stories/... April 16, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- AMOC in crisis: "A collapse would shift the tropical rainfall belt on which many millions of people rely to grow their food, plunge western Europe into extreme cold winters and summer droughts, and add 50-100cm to already rising sea levels around the Atlantic." www.theguardian.com/environment/... April 16, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- Jotwell T&E: Allison Anna Tait, Less Freedom and More Equality, JOTWELL (April 16, 2026) (reviewing Carla Spivack & Deborah Gordon, Donative Freedom, Disrupted, 91 Brook. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2026), available at SSRN (Feb. 5, 2025)), trustest.jotwell.com/less-freedom.... April 16, 2026 Jotwell
Recent Comments
- KK Ho on Introduction
- Michael on Robot Law II is Now Available! (In Hardback)
- Mulalira Faisal Umar on Robot Law II is Now Available! (In Hardback)
- Michael on Vince Lago Campaign Has No Shame
- Just me on Vince Lago Campaign Has No Shame
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Join 51 other subscribers
When the law is a tool used by the wealthy to control and hurt the poor.
We as consumers have been been sliced up into tranches and sold off. Its really as simple as that.
Does this kind of predatory legal practice appear on the ethics exam? (I thought not).
As the article makes clear the Florida Bar Association has yet to take any of the complaints about predatory lawyering, including harassing telephone calls, seriously. Zealous advocacy is one thing, but this type of behavior goes beyond the norms sanctioned by the rules of professional conduct.
Down in the WSJ story we read that several of those who were wrongly accused and threatened later won suits against the retailers. Great, but what bugs me is that the settlements are secret. Big contradiction to the ideal of transparency, and it’s all over the place.
Well… I understand the concept of zealous representation, but this is pretty over the top. The FL Bar really needs to address this.
@ Joe— Good point!!
In the UK the handyman could sue Home Depot for slander by deed. The precedent is a case involving W.H.Smith. Accuse a person of theft and get it wrong and you stand to loose rather more than the $3000 being demanded by Home Despot.
I don’t see why the same principle should not apply here. I have no problem with the stores being able to sue rather than bring criminal charges. But they have to be accountable for errors.