Fine for violating "waiting period" provision

Last night in class we discussed advertising and solicitation. The last case we talked about was Florida Bar v. Went for It, where the Supreme Court held that waiting period provisions are constitutional. Soon after that decision, a number of jurisdictions adopted similar provisions and others were enacted into specific statutes. One of these statutes is a federal law that deals with aviation accidents. In class, I argued vociferously that this decision is contrary to logic and to accepted principles of constitutional law. Justice Kennedy wrote a great dissenting opinion with which I agree.

Now, "right on cue", Law.com is reporting today that a prominent New Jersey personal injury lawyer was fined $5,000 for sending solicitation letters to families of passengers killed in the February crash of commuter jet in Buffalo, N.Y. A federal statute bars unsolicited contacts by lawyers with victims or their families within 45 days of an air-carrier accident. [See full text of letter here.] Go here for the full story.

Also note that back in February I discussed the waiting period provision in New York also in the context of the Buffalo plane crash. See here.