Philippe v. Wal-Mart Stores
Family of a Wal-Mart worker trampled to death in a "Black Friday" stampede sues the company for "creat[ing] an atmosphere of competition and anxiety amongst the crowd."
Mattel v. MGA Entertainment
Los Angeles judge permanently enjoins a toy company from making or selling Bratz dolls as a result of its infringement of the intellectual property of Barbie maker Mattel.
Wone v. Price
Widow of murdered attorney Robert Wone sues three men for wrongful death, alleging the knife used to stab him was "in [their] custody and control ... at all relevant times."
• New Jersey appeals court orders the unsealing of a settlement paid by a Giants Stadium vendor to a girl injured in a crash with a drunken fan. "We fail to discern the compelling interest that allows plaintiffs to shroud the amount and terms of the settlement in secrecy by settling the case prior to trial." Verni v. Lanzaro
• Michigan judge says a city of Detroit employee can sue for failure to accommodate her sensitivity to perfume. "Plaintiff may proceed [to trial] with her claim of disability based on the major life activity of breathing."
McBride v. City of Detroit
• Ex-wife of Henry Nicholas petitions to remove the co-founder of Broadcom Corp. as co-trustee of the family trust, alleging he whispered in her ear that "he was going to have [her] 'whacked.'" In the Matter of the Nicholas Family Trust
• Two National Guardsmen allege Wisconsin Dells police forced them to consume urine-soaked dirt and a plant after accusing them of public urination. Anderson v. City of Wisconsin Dells
• Los Angeles judge orders a man to pay his ex-wife $12.5 million in damages for infecting her with the HIV virus during their marriage when he knew or should have known he was HIV-positive. Bridget B v. John B
• Victoria's Secret users file another class action alleging the company's undergarments are defective, causing "allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, blistering, itching, hives, rashes, scarring, systemic reactions and other health concerns." Amaya v. Victoria's Secret Stores
• ABC asks the 2nd Circuit to overturn a $1.4 million fine for airing a woman's nude buttocks on an episode of "NYPD Blue." The FCC's "conclusion that the threshold indecency requirement was met here rested entirely on the notion that buttocks are a sexual or excretory organ. But buttocks are not a sexual or excretory organ." ABC v. FCC
• 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
Court Won't Restore Historic $2M Award in AIDS Case
In a fraud case that made legal history, the Illinois Supreme Court has refused to reinstate a $2 million award to a woman who claimed her fiancé's mother was liable for falsely assuring her that he did not have AIDS.
The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, won the award in 2004 from a Chicago jury that found Elizabeth Dilling had a duty to tell her son's fiancée the truth about his condition. Albert Dilling died of AIDS and Doe now has the disease herself.
The case was the first in which a parent was held liable for fraudulent misrepresentation in the context of a failure to disclose information about a child's health to a third party.
But an appeals court threw out the jury's verdict in December 2006, ruling that Doe's reliance on what Elizabeth Dilling told her was not justified or reasonable. And this week, the Supreme Court went even further by saying Doe had no case for fraudulent misrepresentation as a matter of law.
“[T]he tort of fraudulent misrepresentation has on occasion been extended to actions where the plaintiff has filed suit against the person who transmitted a sexually communicable disease to the plaintiff and not against third parties,” the court said, but “In the instant matter, Doe is not suing Albert, who allegedly infected her with HIV; rather, she is suing his parents.”
“It was therefore error for the appellate court to hold that the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation applied in plaintiff’s case,” Justice Charles E. Freeman wrote in the opinion.
The appeals court ruling had cited cases from Minnesota, Maryland and California in which plaintiffs sued a sexual partner for infecting them with genital herpes.
“While in the instant case Doe's fraudulent misrepresentation claim is directed not against her fiancé, Albert, who infected her with HIV, but against his parents, the Restatement [of Torts] does not make any such distinction, and neither do the cases we have cited from other jurisdictions, although they happened to be actions against the individual who infected his intimate partner,” Judge Joseph Gordon of the First District Appellate Court said.
But Freeman refused to go as far as Gordon in the absence of “a single case in the country where a court has imposed liability under the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation against the parents of a competent adult tortfeasor for their failure to disclose information about that tortfeasor to a third party.”
Doe alleged that if she had known of her fiancé's true condition earlier, she could have received anti-retroviral medicine to help prevent her HIV infection from developing into AIDS. Freeman said she “should have been fairly suspicious of the true nature of Albert’s health problems” before she even met his parents, but “ignored each and every fact that pointed to the truth.”
Albert Dilling's father died in 2003, leaving his mother as the sole defendant. “She had no reason to believe that [the parents] would lie to her about something of such grave consequence,” an attorney for Doe told the Chicago Tribune. “It's a sad case all around.”
In a quirk of legal fate, Crystal Bear won a $6 million jury award against her sister in an SUV rollover case. Now she has accepted $200,000 from her sister's insurers as payment in full to heal their wounded relationship. more
Ex-Manager Sues Hilton Hotel over Orgy Viewing
A former manager of the upscale restaurant at the Hilton Minneapolis who allegedly walked in on upper management having an orgy has filed a lawsuit that probably stretches liability for “undirected” sexual harassment beyond its limits. more
Does Anti-Plagiarism Site Benefit the Public?
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear a copyright infringement case next week that may turn on whether Turnitin, an Internet service designed to catch plagiarists, really provides a “substantial public benefit.” more
Soccer Mom Fires Gun Rights Suit at Sheriff
A pistol-packing soccer mom has sued a Pennsylvania sheriff for recklessly revoking her concealed-weapons permit after she openly wore a handgun at her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game. more
Dreadlocked Juror Case Ties S.C. Court in Knots
A divided South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered a new trial in an auto accident case because defense counsel did not offer a “race-neutral” reason for striking an African-American man with dreadlocks from the jury. more
'Douchebags' Suits Face Protection for Opinion
Two lawsuits involving the book “Hot Chicks with Douchebags” raise the novel question of whether calling someone a “douchebag” is a defamatory statement of fact or a mere vulgarity that cannot be proved true or false. more
'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
Chambers v. God Subject: Access to Courts Document: Notice of Appeal
Nelson v. American Apparel Subject: "Sham" Arbitration Document: Opinion
