Mattel v. MGA Entertainment
California jury awards $100 million to Mattel in contract and copyright infringement damages against the maker of Bratz dolls. Mattel had sought as much as $2 billion.
Grubbs v. Wal-Mart Stores
Colorado man files the first suit over the recent salmonella outbreak, alleging he fell sick after eating contaminated jalapeno peppers bought from a Wal-Mart store.
Hasbro v. RJ Softwares
Game-maker sues the creators of "Scrabulous," alleging it is an online knockoff of Scrabble which copies "the essential and original elements" of the "venerable" board game.
• Four minors and their parents file a new challenge to the Hawaiian ancestry-only admissions policy of the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii. The plaintiffs want to have a 9th Circuit opinion denying a virtually identical claim overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Doe v. Kamehameha Schools
• Florida judge rules that ESPN did not defame promoter Don King in a documentary about his career. "[A]lthough the program might not constitute the best example of objective journalism, ESPN's conduct does not meet the standard of actual malice." King v. Walt Disney Co.
• 8th Circuit says Missouri prison officials did not violate a Native American inmate's religious rights by denying his request for a sweat lodge. "Providing inmates at a maximum security prison access to burning fires, red hot rocks, split wood, shovels, and deer antlers alone generate a unique and obvious set of security concerns." Fowler v. Crawford
• Santa Barbara judge finds Rob Lowe's former nanny did not defame the actor and his wife. "The Lowes ... have submitted no evidence of any defamatory statements that were not made in anticipation of this litigation." Lowe v. Gibson
• D.C. judge orders former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify before Congress about the forced resignations of nine U.S. attorneys. "The Executive’s current claim of absolute immunity from compelled
congressional process for senior presidential aides is without any support in the case law." Committee on the Judiciary v. Miers
• Indiana Court of Appeals says an employer is not liable for negligent hiring of a traffic controller who murdered two people in their home after leaving his jobsite. Cory and Jenna Clark "were not reasonably foreseeable victims who were injured by a reasonably foreseeable harm." Clark v. Aris, Inc.
• "Lolita Lawyer" sues American Express for providing information to law enforcement about his credit card transactions which led to his arrest for statutory rape in Canada. "As a direct and proximate result of such disclosures, Plaintiff was falsely arrested." James Colliton v. American Express
• 3rd Circuit throws out a $550,000 fine against CBS over the baring of Janet Jackson's breast. "[T]he FCC arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its prior policy excepting fleeting broadcast material from the scope of actionable indecency." CBS Corp. v. FCC
• Montana judge reinstates endangered species protections for the Northern gray wolf, which had been delisted by the Bush administration.
"Congress does not intend agency decision making to be fickle. When it is, the line separating rationality from arbitrariness and capriciousness is crossed." Defenders of Wildlife v. Hall
• Dissenting 7th Circuit judge says a condo owners' association discriminated against Jewish residents by barring them from displaying a "mezuzah" on their front door. "The Association might as well hang a sign outside saying 'No observant Jews allowed.'” Bloch v. Frischholz
Pants Plaintiff Faults Judge for Clearing Cleaner
Soo and Jin Nam Chung
Indefatigable lost suit pants plaintiff Roy C. Pearson has returned to the legal fray, arguing that the trial judge mistakenly cleared his dry cleaners of liability for “the plain meaning” of their “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign.
“The court effectively substituted a guarantee of satisfaction with 'reasonable' limits and preconditions for the unconditional and unambiguous guarantee of satisfaction the defendant-merchants chose to advertise for seven years,” Pearson says in a motion for reconsideration. “That was a fundamental legal error.”
Pearson, an administrative law judge, also seeks $425,000 in fees for his “excellent legal work under trying circumstances” -- which indicates his unbridled chutzpah since the defense has requested only $83,000 in attorney's fees.
After a two-day trial, D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff last month rejected Pearson's $54 million suit for unfair trade practices and fraud, finding that a “reasonable consumer” would not interpret “Satisfaction Guaranteed” to mean Custom Cleaners should have compensated him for his pants in any way he saw fit.
“Nothing in the law supports [the] position” that the sign is an unconditional guarantee, she said in her decision awarding judgment to the owners of Custom Cleaners, Soo and Jin Nam Chung.
But according to Pearson, the “reasonable consumer” test “is of no relevance when considering a term that is as clearly defined in the law as 'Satisfaction Guaranteed.'” If the Chungs' guarantee was conditional, he says, the sign should have said something like, "Satisfaction Guaranteed, IF we agree your dissatisfaction is legitimate and we agree to the compensation you demand."
By not including such limitations, the motion concludes,
The defendants guaranteed ... that there would be no debate on the question of their liability or plaintiff’s satisfaction – i.e., the plaintiff-customer would always be right.”
UPDATE ... Judge Bartnoff denied the motion for reconsideration July 16.
The case has turned Pearson into something of a legal pariah, with critics calling for him not to be reappointed to the bench or to be disbarred. “Plaintiff attempted to turn a case most appropriately brought in small claims court into a multi-million dollar nightmare,” defense counsel Christopher Manning said in his motion for attorney's fees.
All the signs are, however, that Pearson is intent on continuing his quixotic fight no matter what. He turned down a request from Manning last week that he consider giving up, for the Chungs' sake and his own.
A Texas auto dealership has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit involving its “Hands on a Hardbody” fatigue endurance contest after a judge ruled that it owed a duty to prevent sleep-deprived contestants from harming themselves. more
Woman Wins $1.5M in STD Transmission Case
In what may be one of the larger verdicts of its kind, an Iowa jury has awarded $1.5 million to a woman who sued a man for infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease after telling her he was disease-free. more
Judge OKs "Ambush" Interview Case vs. CNN
A Florida judge's ruling in a wrongful-death suit against CNN and talk-show host Nancy Grace is the second defeat for a TV network this year in a case involving a suicide that allegedly resulted from “ambush” journalism. more
Porn Star Name Suit Heading for Dismissal?
A Houston woman who alleges an actress in a porn film stole her name has admitted she has no “ownership interest” in the name Syvette Wimberly, perhaps dooming her hopes of winning an unusual privacy case. more
$6M Reverse Religious Bias Award Cut to $1M
A California judge has reduced a $6.5 million jury verdict to $1.3 million in the “reverse” religious discrimination case of a former employee of a temporary agency who claimed she was denied a promotion because of favoritism toward members of a religious group. more
8th Circuit Throws Out Switched-at-Birth Case
The medical malpractice case of two women who were switched at birth was thrown out by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after an oral argument in which the plaintiffs' attorney never really recovered from an early blunder. more
Reporter Sues Prankster for Poaching His Byline
A sports writer has good reason to be aggrieved with a Nebraska football fan who put his name on a hoax Internet story. But Oklahoma's publicity rights law may not support his claim for misappropriation of a byline. more
Disabled Woman Sues Over Drive-Thru Access
A discrimination suit filed by a hearing-impaired Nebraska woman against McDonald's may hinge on whether it is reasonable for the fast-food chain to slow down the processing of drive-through orders to accommodate the disabled. more
Skier's Suit Against Boy, 8, Settles for $25,000
A Pennsylvania man who became a lightning rod for anti-plaintiff hysteria after he sued an 8-year-old boy over a skiing accident has won a measure of vindication as the boy's parents agreed to a $25,000 settlement. more
Teacher, Nurse Blame Others for Mindless Acts
Lawsuits filed by a Connecticut teacher who appeared on the “Howard Stern Show” and an Ohio nurse who sent a homophobic e-mail to a gossip website are both examples of using the courts to avoid the consequences of unprofessional behavior. more
Cop Wins $40,000 Award Over Tainted Coleslaw
A Nebraska jury has served up a $40,000 award to a police officer and his family whose fast-food meal at a KFC/Taco Bell combo restaurant included a “special” coleslaw that an employee had contaminated with his urine and saliva. more
Kramer v. Allergan, Inc. Subject: Botox Liability Document: Verdict Form
Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Subject: Bratz Doll Rights Document: Verdict Form
Amnesty Int'l v. McConnell Subject: Warrantless Wiretapping Document: Complaint
Troyer v. TMZ Productions Subject: Invasion of Privacy Document: Permanent Injunction
Rodriguez v. Rodriguez Subject: Celebrity Divorce Document: Petition
