Fighting over Words

Roger Shuy is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Georgetown University. He is the author of Linguistics in the Courtroom: A Practical Guide and Creating Language Crimes: How Law Enforcement Uses (and Misuses) Language.

• Foreword Section I: Business Contract Disputes: Introduction 1.: Peter Koehn v. Continental Casuality: "Or" in a Group Insurance Policy 2.: Matrixx v. New Strategies: Exclusive Marketing Services 3.: EMC v. Jeffrey Allen: Key Employee Agreement 4.: Nevada v. Professional Escorts: Interpreting State Code Section II: Deceptive Trade Practice: Introduction 5.: Dynamic Air v. Flexicon: Competing Conveying System advertisements 6.: 11 State Attorneys Generals v. Ciba-Geigy: Nicotine Patch advertisments 7.: Ackerman v. Royal Bank of PA: Certificates of Deposit advertisements Section III: Product Liability: Introduction 8.: Lassera v. Magniflux: Brain Damage From Cleaning Product 9.: Andrews v. Generac: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 10.: Rinehart v. International Playtex: Toxic Shock from Tampons 11.: Proform v. Garrett: Toxic Gas in the Cockpit Section IV: Copyright Infringement: Introduction 12.: St. Martin's Press v. Vickers Oil: Book versus pamphlet Section V. Discrimination: Introduction 13.: HOME v. Havens Reality: Radical Steering in Real Estate 14.: Hanye v. General Electric: Age Discrimination 15.: Benekritis v. Darlington: Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Section VI: Trademarks: Introduction 16.: Woodroast Systems v. Restaurants Unlimited; and Palomino Euro-Metro Bistro: Ownership of the Word, "Wood-roasted" 17.: Warren Distribution v. Prestone Products Corp.: Battle over Antifreeze Section VII: Procurement Fraud: Introduction 18.: US v. Pratt Whitney: False Representation in a Government Contract Section VIII: How Linguists Can Help in Corporate Cases; Academic References

"More than any other scholar working at the interface of language and law, Shuy has exemplified the uses to which linguistics can be put in the legal arena. This is applied linguistics at its most practical, and Shuy, in Fighting Over Words and his six other books, models it comprehensively." --Language"Fighting Over Words is a thought-provoking beyond the particular US cases it presents. Each page is a vivid reminder of how open to interpretations language is, and how easily it can become a minefield in social relationships, including commercial transactions and negotiation. In this respect the book raises important issues not only about linguistic evidence in the courtroom but about how contemporary public communication is best managed andregulated in a period of interpretive mistrust." --Times Higher Education