A man whose websites criticized Wal-Mart beat the big box in a lawsuit over his use of recognizable logos.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Rejecting Wal-Mart’s claim of trademark infringement, U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten in Atlanta ruled that Charles Smith may maintain his Web sites, www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com. Smith also may continue to sell novelty, satirical merchandise that criticizes the company, the judge said.
Meanwhile, the multi-billion-dollar behemoth successfully sued a brain-damaged former employee out of almost $500,000 in a tragic story that displays why Fortuna is flipping crazy to want this supremely greedy, communities-be-damned corporation in town. Why? So our children can be openly and predictably screwed?
Madness.
March 28, 2008 at 7:40 am
Heraldo, maybe you should become a reseller of his merchandise.
March 28, 2008 at 8:00 am
Walmart NEEDS that money far more than a brain damaged woman. They also take out life insurance policies on their employees, payable to Walmart of course. Work them to death and then collect on life insurance. Gotta love em.
March 28, 2008 at 8:06 am
Duane Rigge does’nt give a shit about local shops he is leading the charge to kill Fortuna’s economy.
March 28, 2008 at 9:18 am
The “dead peasant” insurance policies and predatory business practices may take a back seat to the huge flow of American dollars flowing to totalitarian China via this over sized pipeline.
March 28, 2008 at 9:42 am
That’s right 8:06, Duane also wants to let the air out of your tires, piss in your coffee cup and ruin your sex life.
Duane is coming for you. Mouahahahaha!
March 28, 2008 at 10:34 am
I want a Walocaust coffee mug and t-shirt.
March 28, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I suggest a contest to reward the blog commenter who uses the once-shocking word “shit” in the most effective way to communicate an idea. Any idea.
March 28, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I also think a contest should be run to find the best descriptive word to characterize the repeated use of the word “shit” on or in a blog.
For example, is “shit” hackneyed? Trite? Juvenile? Scatological? And so forth.
I am now wondering what kind of prize could be developed to reward the winner… Well, I will leave the matter of a reward to the bloggers who I hope will soon organize the contest.
March 28, 2008 at 6:23 pm
More companies see such recoveries as a way to make a dent in soaring health care costs. Daphne Moore, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said, “It’s a very sad case, and we understand that people have a very emotional and sympathetic reaction.” But the plan, she said, is obligated to act in the interest of the health benefits of its employees as a whole. The benefits are designed so that when an employee does have an accident, “the plan steps in and covers those medical expenses so our associates don’t have to worry about them being covered,” and then later to reimburse the plan if and when they receive funds for the accident from a third party, she said.
Wal-Mart originally sued for nearly $470,000 in medical expenses after the May 2000 accident, charging that the Shanks had violated the terms of the health plan by not reimbursing it. But after legal fees and some medical expenses, only $417,000 of the $700,000 that Mrs. Shank was awarded remained in a special trust set up specifically for her care.
Though the case was long shot, some health plan law specialists hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would tackle it to resolve a still murky question in the courts over the extent to which company health plans can recover from employees’ accident settlements. Many plans use language like Wal-Mart’s, which dictates that it is to be paid first out of any settlement, regardless of what remains for the injured person. Moreover, the victim is responsible for all legal costs in pursuing the suit.
March 28, 2008 at 6:24 pm
sorry, from the wall st. journal article
March 28, 2008 at 6:24 pm
So, anonymous (3:53, 3:57), you are saying that since the days when saying “shit” was totally taboo it has been thoroughly digested and rendered waste to be discharged and shunned?
March 28, 2008 at 6:37 pm
It’s just not very original. Such language conjures up imagery of stars and bars backwoods hillbilly trailer trash from the deep south.
March 28, 2008 at 11:34 pm
“…conjures up imagery…”?
perhaps you should have said “…activates my stereotypes of…”
jackass.
March 30, 2008 at 8:11 am
It is my opinion, Wal-Mart’s reasoning for depleting this poor woman’s trust fund and causing her husband to divorce her so that she could qualify for Medicaid,is bunk. Whether Wal-Mart underwrites their health plan or not, they develop rates based on risk and spread of risk. I guarantee they don’t put a negative factor in the rate for the lawsuit settlements they may be able to collect.
One thing this story has accomplished is that a nearby hospital where I live just changed health plan carriers and tried to push this collection agreement on the employees to sign. Because the Wal-Mart story is so fresh, a large number of the employees advised the Hospital that they would not sign the agreement, period. Because of this story the employees may not find themselves in this same sad situation.