Maine Dairy Company Settles Lawsuit Over Oxford Comma (bostonmagazine.com)

Daniel Victor reports via The New York Times: Ending a case that electrified punctuation pedants, grammar goons and comma connoisseurs, Oakhurst Dairy settled an overtime dispute with its drivers that hinged entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma in state law. The dairy company in Portland, Me., agreed to pay $5 million to the drivers (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source), according to court documents filed on Thursday. The relatively small-scale dispute gained international notoriety last year when the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the missing comma created enough uncertainty to side with the drivers, granting those who love the Oxford comma a chance to run a victory lap across the internet. But the resolution means there will be no ruling from the land's highest courts on whether the Oxford comma -- the often-skipped second comma in a series like "A, B, and C" -- is an unnecessary nuisance or a sacred defender of clarity, as its fans and detractors endlessly debate.

The case began in 2014, when three truck drivers sued the dairy for what they said was four years' worth of overtime pay they had been denied. Maine law requires time-and-a-half pay for each hour worked after 40 hours, but it carved out exemptions for: The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: agricultural produce; meat and fish products; and perishable foods. What followed the last comma in the first sentence was the crux of the matter: "packing for shipment or distribution of." The court ruled that it was not clear whether the law exempted the distribution of the three categories that followed, or if it exempted packing for the shipment or distribution of them. Had there been a comma after "shipment," the meaning would have been clear.

Comments

Oh come on!

[dirk]

Ending a case that electrified punctuation pedants, grammar goons and comma connoisseurs,

You're just trolling us now, right?

Re: Oh come on!

[Anonymous Coward]

We prefer to be called 'Alt-Write.'

Summary of the debate - what Oxford comma is

[raymorris]

For those who could use a reminder, here's a quick description of the Oxford comma debate, with a couple examples.

In a sentence with a list, you can use a comma before the last item or not:
The flag is red, white and blue.
The flag is red, white, and blue.

Some people say it reads better without the "extra" comma. They also point out that not having the comma can sometimes lead to ambiguity, because it looks like an appositive:

The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.

Nelson Mandela is a demigod and dildo collector?! Adding a comma clarifies that "dildo collector" is a separate item:
The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod, and a dildo collector.

On the other hand, using the comma can create ambiguity:

To my mother, Ayn Rand, and God.

Your mother is Ayn Rand? Better without the comma:
To my mother, Ayn Rand and God.

Some sentences are indeed more clear without the comma, some are more clear with the comma. Should you use it? Not when it makes the sentence unclear, I say. When adding the comma makes it sound like your mom is Ayn Rand, don't add the comma. When leaving the comma out makes Mandela a dildo collector, don't leave it out. Write for clarity, using the comma where it's needed, I say.

The party included the strippers, Bill Clinton and Al Franken.

The party included the strippers, Bill Clinton, and Al Franken.

The first form sounds like Bill and Al are the strippers. The Oxford comma makes this sentence more clear. Use the second form to indicate they party with strippers in this case.

The party included the serial sexual harassers, Bill Clinton, and Al Franken.

Never an Oxford comma when it IS supposed to be an appositive.

Re:Summary of the debate - what Oxford comma is

[demonlapin]

The mother-Rand-God sentence is to three entities, and it’s better with the comma. If Ayn Rand is actually your mother, dedicate your book to “to Ayn Rand, my mother, and to God”. Which, if you insist upon such a shorthand way of thanking people, is probably about as clear as you’ll get. However, since you’re publishing a book and they’ll let you have a whole page for your dedication, just put every individual on a separate line.

Re:Summary of the debate - what Oxford comma is

[Kjella]

And your examples make it abundantly clear that in law you should turn lists into actual lists not run-on sentences.

"The acitivites

a) canning
b) processing
c) preserving
d) freezing
e) drying
f) marketing
g) storing
h) packaging for shipment
i) distribution

of the product groups

a) agricultural produce
b) meat and fish products
c) perishable foods

are exempt."

Granted, it eats up a lot of vertical space. But it's dead simple for anyone to read and leaves no ambiguity that you really mean an x*y matrix of exceptions. Because even with the Oxford comma there's still doubt in my mind that you can interpret it as general exceptions for activities a)-g) and "packaging for shipment and distribution of agricultural produce; meat and fish products; and perishable foods;" For example a sentence like "buses, trucks and cars over 3500kg" is that "buses, trucks and (cars over 3500kg)" or "(buses, trucks and cars) over 3500kg". It doesn't get clearer by an Oxford comma.