Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The sole Big Dig legal case

Can't anybody do anything right when it comes to that black hole in Boston? As I predicted, Massachusetts won't recoup $1000 after spending $1 million in state taxes. The lawyers for Power Fasteners are arguing that the case against them has no liability basis:

In their motion to dismiss, lawyers for Powers Fasteners denied the allegations, saying the company did nothing wrong and briefed state highway department officials that fast-set epoxy was not safe for overhead use long before the tunnel ceiling was built.
And the state attorney general has a conflict of interest that invalidates legal action:

Because she was also seeking civil damages, she [AG Martha Coakley] could not be a "disinterested prosecutor," a right guaranteed by the US Constitution and federal and state law, lawyers for the company wrote in a 32-page memorandum filed last week. They argued that Coakley ignored evidence of errors made by state officials because indicting someone would help her chances of recovering millions in the civil case.
So, except for the lack of a factual or legal case, this has been a swell use of $1 million in tax money.

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