Strauss v. Horton
Gay couples sue to block enforcement of California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, saying it "strike[s] directly" at constitutional rights of equal protection.
Authors Guild v. Google
Google agrees to pay authors and publishers $125 million as part of a "historic" settlement of class action suits involving online access to books through Google Book Search.
Steele v. TBS
Boston-area musician sues Jon Bon Jovi and others for $400 billion, alleging the rocker's song "I Love This Town" is a ripoff of a "love song" he wrote for "his beloved Red Sox."
• Cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine, allegedly slandered by Jerry Seinfeld, says she has "never felt so frightened and vulnerable as the day my daughter, 7 years old, came home from school and asked, "Mom, what is an assassin?" Seinfeld had joked on the "David Letterman Show" that "if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins.” Lapine v. Seinfeld
• North Carolina Court of Appeals refuses to issue an injunction requiring pop singer Clay Aiken to endorse a book about him. "Our courts cannot be used to force celebrities or their family or friends into making endorsements for another person's profit." Holleman v. Aiken
• Iowa Court of Appeals affirms the liability of a school district for failing to take adequate steps to prevent the physically aggressive behavior of a high-school basketball player. Andrew McSorley struck an opposing player in the head with his elbow during a game in 2004.
Brokaw v. Winfield-Mt. Union Community
Sch. Dist.
• Illinois middle school student wants the termination of a teacher who allegedly told other students to slap her for being inattentive "and, in fact, the other students slapped the minor plaintiff in the head."
Torres v. Valley View Community Sch. Dist. 365U
• Florida Supreme Court declines to recognize the tort of false light invasion of privacy. "[T]he benefit of recognizing the tort, which only offers a distinct remedy in relatively few unique situations, is outweighed by the danger of unreasonably impeding constitutionally protected speech ..." Jews for Jesus v. Rapp
• Actor David Duchovny denies having any Californication with a tennis instructor and sues a British newspaper for saying he did. "Daily Mail has caused substantial harm to Duchovny, in complete disregard of the truth and of even a semblance of journalistic integrity." Duchovny v. Daily Mail
• Kentucky settles a political blogger's free-speech suit, agreeing to only block access to blogs on state-owned computers "if pursuant to a reasonable, viewpoint-neutral standard that applies equally to all websites, whether or not those websites can be described as 'blogs.'" Nickolas v. Fletcher
• News service researching a 1964 auto accident involving John McCain files a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking U.S. Navy hospital records. "The personal history and military career of a Presidential candidate are matters of high importance to the American public." National Security News Service v. U.S. Dept. of the Navy
• Civil liberties group challenges the new federal law shielding phone companies from liability for cooperating in warrantless wiretapping. "At stake are the privacy rights of every American ..." In re NSA Telecom Records Litigation
• Louisiana appeals court rules that a marriage between first cousins in Iran "is valid in Louisiana and is not a violation of a strong public policy." Ghassemi v. Ghassemi
Private Panel May Get Iraq Contractors' Death Case
After nearly 2-1/2 years of litigation, a U.S. contractor sued over the deaths of four security guards in Iraq has still not addressed the merits of the landmark case –- and now may have avoided ever doing so in a public proceeding.
A mob in Fallujah shot and dismembered the guards working for Blackwater USA in March 2004, hanging two of the bodies from a bridge. The guards' families allege the company sent them into hostile territory without the proper equipment and the wrongful-death case could shed light on the private military industry which has profited so handsomely from the “War on Terror.”
Blackwater, whose legal team includes Kenneth Starr, has bogged the case down in procedural maneuvers (see table). As the plaintiffs noted in a recent court brief, those tactics
have resulted [in] the filing of two state court actions, multiple attempts at removal [to federal court], a federal court action, and two arbitration proceedings, all of which have proceeded without the Defendant having filed a single Answer or responsive pleading to any Complaint filed against them.
After an appeals court ruled against Blackwater in a jurisdictional dispute, a state court judge in North Carolina lifted a stay on discovery in November. But Blackwater quickly petitioned a federal judge to compel arbitration.
Arbitration proceedings are conducted behind closed doors and the guards' employment contract provided for “arbitration of any dispute regarding interpretation or enforcement of any of the parties' rights or obligations under this Agreement.”
The families contend the arbitration clause is not enforceable because Blackwater fraudulently induced the guards to sign the contract. But Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Fox granted the petition in an April 20 order.
The fraud claim is “no bar to arbitration proceedings,” he reasoned, since the complaint “does not allege fraudulent inducement of the arbitration clause itself.”
With a preliminary hearing before a three-member arbitration panel set for May 25, the plaintiffs have appealed the order to the 4th Circuit. One of the panel members, former FBI and CIA director William Webster, has personal and business ties to several Blackwater lawyers including Starr.
Blackwater is also seeking to arbitrate a $10 million counterclaim against the lawyer who filed the original complaint as administrator of the guards' estates. Richard Nordan, it alleges, breached the guards' employment agreement by failing to honor the arbitration clause.
The counterclaim is questionable, to say the least, since Nordan was not a party to the contract and his lawyers filed a declaratory relief action May 4 in state court. In yet another maneuver, Blackwater has petitioned to remove that case to federal court.
Going after Nordan in an arbitration proceeding, bypassing the courts, "greatly offends me," the state court judge told Blackwater's lawyers at a hearing in Raleigh, N.C., last week. "There are some fundamental due-process rights, including right to trial by jury ... They may not exist necessarily in other courts, but they exist in this court."
The failure of wildlife officials in Utah to warn campers of the “known risk” of a specific bear makes them liable for the fatal mauling of an 11-year-old boy, the parents of Samuel Ives argue in court papers. more
Is There Room on Web for Two "Funky" Chicks?
In a colorful legal battle between “personal” bloggers, “Funky Brown Chick” will have to show more than surface similarities between her eponymous website and “funkyblackchick.com” to prevail on her trademark infringement claims. more
Manager Blames Movie for Use of Racial Slur
A former Wyeth Pharmaceuticals manager says she wasn't expressing racial bias when she described herself as the “head nigger in charge” in front of an African-American employee -– she just had the phrase “fresh in my mind” after seeing the movie “Lean on Me.”
more
Dirty Dancer Settles with Town -- to Tune of $275K
After a six-year legal battle over dirty dancing, a North Carolina town has agreed to pay $275,000 to a woman whom it had banned from its community center because of her “sexual gyrations.”
more
Careless Cart Loading Alleged in Death Case
Florida premises liability law appears to be generous enough toward plaintiffs that Home Depot could be held liable for the death of a customer who was allegedly struck by an overloaded shopping cart being pushed by another customer.
more
Parents, Hospital Clash over Meaning of Death
A legal showdown over the meaning of death pits an ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple who believe there is life while the heart still beats against the Washington, D.C., hospital which wants to remove their brain-dead son from life support.
more
Plaintiff in God Lawsuit Appeals to Higher Power
Despite having no earthly hope of prevailing, Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers has appealed to a higher legal power in his lawsuit against God, which was dismissed because he has not served the defendant. more
Staring at Breasts Not Harassment, Says Jury
The former administrator of Grafton, Mass., did not sexually harass his secretary by staring at her breasts, a jury has ruled, apparently agreeing with the defense that his eye movements were “normal mannerisms” caused by a medical condition. more
Penis Pump Judge's Staff Settle Claims for $340K
The misconduct of former Creek County District Judge Donald Thompson, who masturbated with a penis pump while presiding over trials, has ended up costing Oklahoma taxpayers $340,000 in settlements of lawsuits filed by two of his employees. more
No Coddling for Colleges That Coddle Athletes?
Civil rights plaintiffs have won another victory in a case involving the coddling of college athletes as a judge ruled that a rape victim can sue former Arizona State University football coach Dirk Koetter for putting her in danger she would otherwise not have faced. more
Priest's Affair Said to Breach Duty as Confessor
As pickup lines go, “Your presence struck me like a thunderbolt” is passably original. But it was allegedly uttered by a priest who, according to a $125 million lawsuit, exploited the power of the confessional to seduce a female parishioner. more
Nelson v. American Apparel Subject: "Sham" Arbitration Document: Opinion
After nearly 2-1/2 years of litigation, a U.S. contractor sued over the deaths of four security guards in Iraq has still not addressed the merits of the landmark case –- and now may have avoided ever doing so in a public proceeding.
