Pothole Map No Longer All That Useful

The NYT has a fascinating piece (h/t Overlawyered) on a phenomenon I'd never heard about -- maps purporting to detail thousands of sidewalk defects throughout New York City, used in lawsuits to show that the city had notice of dangerous situations.  Walter Olson wrote about it back in '93.  The New York Court of Appeals ruled last month [PDF] that, in two cases, the maps did not identify the defect with sufficient specificity to put the city on notice of the danger.

Update: You can see more about the case at The New York Medical Malpractice Blog.

--BC