On Point - A New Take On Legal News

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

Featured in Alltop

Hotel Guests' Bedbug Claim Has Enough Bite for Trial

A New York hotel where two guests were allegedly bitten by bedbugs is not liable for punitive damages, but may have been negligent in failing to investigate the full extent of a bedbug infestation, a judge has ruled.

The Milford Plaza Hotel was seeking to avoid any liability for the alleged bites suffered by Debra Grogan and her daughter during a two-night stay in January 2003. Since it had no prior complaints of bedbugs in that room, the hotel argued, it did not have any notice of an unsafe condition.

But Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Judith J. Gische said the Grogans could go to trial on a claim for compensatory damages because the report of the hotel's exterminator for the end of December 2002 showed bedbugs had infested two other rooms on the same floor.

“Even assuming that no guests complained about bedbugs in Room 1540 prior to the date of plaintiffs' stay in that room, plaintiffs have raised issues of fact whether defendants had constructive notice that bedbugs might have or could spread to Room 1540,” Gische wrote in a March 26 opinion.

Gische cited the testimony of Professor Robert J. Novak, an entomologist retained by the Grogans, who said bedbugs travel easily and proper eradication techniques required an inspection beyond the immediate site where they were observed on the 15th floor.

“The affidavit of Novak sets forth genuine issues of fact about the life span of bedbugs, how they migrate, and whether these factors should have been (or were) taken into consideration by the defendants in how rooms were treated following bedbug complaints by other guests,” she concluded.

The issue of liability for punitive damages was one of first impression in New York. But Gische distinguished the Grogans' case from one in which the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an award of punitives against a hotel operator who made a deliberate business decision to conceal a bedbug infestation from guests. Mathias v. Accor Economy Lodging, 347 F.3d 672 (2003).

“At bar, the issues of culpability relate to negligence only,” she said, going on to find that the Milford Plaza's actions “do not rise to the level of being a recklessness or a conscious disregard of the rights of others.”

By Matthew Heller
4/1/08

'Known Risk' Makes U.S. Liable for Bear Attack?

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.
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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

Ernie Chambers v. God
Subject: Frivolous Lawsuits
Document: Order to Formalize Dismissal

Privette v. Booby Trap
Subject: Stripclub Injury
Document: Complaint

Peacock v. City Press
Subject: Stripper Defamation
Document: Complaint

Kerrigan v. Comm'r of Public Health
Subject: Same-Sex Marriage
Document: Opinion

Gruver v. Hensley
Court: Meade County (Ky.) Circuit
Subject: Ku Klux Klan assault
Verdict: $2.5 million

Bowoto v. Chevron
Court: USDC, N. Calif.
Subject: Human rights

more

Francis v. U.S.
Date: 11/19/08
Court: USDC, Utah
Hearing: Motion to dismiss fatal bear attack case.

Jose Padilla v. John Yoo
Date: 12/5/08
Court: USDC, N. Calif.
Hearing: Motion to dismiss terror suspect torture case.