For punctuation geeks, an interesting decision by the U.S. 2nd Circuit

Does a modifying phrase following a list of nouns or phrases modify each item on the entire list, or only the last item? That depends on whether the modifying phrase is separated from the last item by a comma. So concluded the U.S. Second Circuit in AIG v. Bank of America, decided April 19. Writing for the court, Judge Leval gave this example:

[T]he statement, “This basketball team has a seven-foot center, a huge power forward, and two large guards, who do spectacular dunks,” differs from the statement, “This basketball team has a seven-foot center, a huge power forward, and two large guards who do spectacular dunks.” The first statement conveys that all four players do spectacular dunks. The latter statement conveys that only the guards do so.

Hat tip to Aseal F. Morghem for this item.