John Doe A v. Penn State
First Penn State scandal lawsuit says Coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused a boy more than 100 times and the abuse was enabled by the school's "negligent oversight."
Bradley v. Lohan
Former Betty Ford Center employee sues Lindsay Lohan for assault, alleging the actress threw a phone at her and yanked her wrist while refusing to be breathalzyed.
N.D. v. New York Post
Hotel maid allegedly raped by French politician sues the New York Post for falsely reporting that she is a prostitute who "routinely traded sex for money" with male guests.
Reinhart v. Mortenson
Two Montana residents allege the author of "Three Cups of Tea" "fabricated material about his activities and work in Pakistan and Afghanistan" to sell the book.
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• Student alleges a prank involving a bottle rocket and another student's anus backfired, causing him to fall off the deck of a frat house.
Helmburg v. Alpha Tau Omega

• 5th Circuit reinstates a jury verdict finding a man employed by an engineering firm was sexually harassed by a male supervisor. "The text message 'I want cock' could be taken as an explicit sexual proposition." 
Cherry v. Shaw Coastal

• Massachusetts appeals court says the ex-wife of a man who fatally shot himself with a gun he had stolen cannot sue the gun's owner for wrongful death. "We conclude that public policy dictates that [Charles] Milot's criminal conduct acts as a bar to recovery."
Ryan v. Hughes-Ortiz

• Pennsylvania woman alleges her former employer discriminated against her because she wore a fake penis to assist her in her female-to-male transition. "Plaintiff's use of the prosthetic device was concealed and in no way interfered with the ability of Plaintiff to do her job." Davis v. J&J Snack Foods

• Son of a woman charged with murdering her husband cannot use the proceeds from the victim's life insurance policy to fund his mother's criminal defense. "[A]llowing the distribution of these proceeds to a third party who has clear intentions to transfer part of these proceeds to her, undermines the principles underlying the Slayer’s Act and federal common law."
In Re: Estate of Michael Burkland

• Oregon judge rules that a self-proclaimed "investigative blogger" is not "considered 'media' for the purposes of applying a negligence standard in a defamation claim." Obsidian Finance v. Cox

• Seattle judge says an actress cannot proceed anonymously in her suit against the IMDb.com website for publishing her age. "[W]hile Plaintiff may face public ridicule and embarrassment if she elects to go forward under her real name, the injury she fears is not severe enough to justify permitting her to proceed anonymously."
Doe v. Amazon.com

• Family of an 11-year-old girl who was crushed by a boulder of ice says forest ranger negligence caused her death. Rangers "did not warn users of the risk of harm associated with the dangerous, unstable snow and ice" at the Big Four Ice Caves in Snohomish County, Wash. Tam v. U.S.

• 3rd Circuit dismisses a breach of data security case against a payroll-processing company. "Appellants' allegations of an increased risk of identity theft as a result of the security breach are hypothetical, future injuries."
Reilly v. Ceridian Corp.

• Oregon judge denies First Amendment protections to a blogger. "Defendant cites no cases indicating that a self-proclaimed 'investigative blogger' is considered 'media' for the purposes of applying a negligence standard in a defamation claim."
Obsidian Finance v. Cox

• A transsexual who was fired from her government job while she was in the process of becoming a woman wins her sex discrimination suit. "[A] government agent violates the Equal Protection Clause’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination when he or she fires a transgender or transsexual employee because of his or her gender non-conformity."
Glenn v. Brumby

• New York man sues a Texas fertility clinic for wrongful insemination, alleging it failed to obtain his consent before using a sample of his sperm to impregnate his ex-girlfriend.
Pressil v. Advanced Fertility

• Nebraska judge rules that school officials may have illegally disciplined students for wearing t-shirts in honor of a slain friend suspected of gang membership. "[Q]uestions of fact remain whether Plaintiffs’ speech occurred in a context likely to provoke gang violence or other disruptions of school activities."
Kuhr v. Millard Public Sch. Dist.




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$1.75M Award a Win for Repressed Memory Theory Print

In what the judge called a “unique” case, a Nebraska jury has awarded $1.75 million in damages to a woman who claimed she repressed her memories of being sexually abused as a child by her father, a former Baptist pastor.

The theory of repressed memory is still a subject of heated scientific debate. But it was the key to the jury's verdict finding Gordon Vella liable for molesting his daughter while he worked at two Baptist churches in Lincoln, Neb.

The statute of limitations, the jury ruled, did not bar the plaintiff's claims for sexual assault and emotional distress because she suffered from a “mental disorder” that prevented her from remembering her abuse until she was 29. Her witnesses included Dr. Daniel Brown, a Harvard University psychology professor who is a leading proponent of repressed memory.

The abuse allegedly began when the plaintiff, identified only as “Anonymous” in court papers, was three and continued until she was 12. In 1985, she reported to police in Springfield, Mo., that Vella had molested her on numerous occasions.

No charges were filed and, according to a court document, the plaintiff resolved “to not relay information about the abuse to anyone again” and “completely blocked the memory of the abuse” until a January 2003 counseling session. She sued her father and the two churches in 2004.

In Nebraska, the statute of limitations for sexual assault is seven years or within seven years of the victim's 21st birthday, whichever is later. But the statute is tolled if “at the time the cause of action accrues,” the plaintiff was a “person with a mental disorder.”

Applying that law, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf ruled in May 2006 that Vella's daughter had a triable case.

“In my opinion, the 'repressed memory' illness described by Dr. Brown, a type of amnesia, is a mental disorder of the type contemplated by the Nebraska statute,” he said in denying summary judgment. “Such an illness truly precludes one from suing since one cannot elect to bring suit if one cannot remember that one has been injured.”

Other Nebraska cases, Kopf noted, involved “very weak evidence of 'repressed' and 'recovered' memories,” but Brown had presented an “extremely detailed affidavit” and conducted “extensive testing and examination” of Vella's daughter.

“I am aware of no cases applying Nebraska law that contain focused expert testimony (such as that presented by Dr. Brown) on the question of repressed memory. Thus, this case appears to be unique,” the judge said.

The expert testimony, obviously, was strong enough for the jury. And Vella, who no longer works as a pastor, only avoided what could have been a higher award because Nebraska does not allow punitive damages.

Kopf summarily dismissed separate claims against the churches, finding that the “secret” abuse of the plaintiff was causally unrelated to any negligent supervision of Vella. Counsel for Vella said he would appeal the verdict.

UPDATE

  • The plaintiff filed a motion to vacate the judgment and verdict which a Nebraska judge granted Dec. 14, 2007. “It is further ordered that the [case] is hereby dismissed with prejudice, with each party to bear its own costs,” U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf said.


  • By Matthew Heller
    5/6/07


     
    rc_insidestories
    • Jurors' Comments Fuel New Trial Bid in Bullying Case

      Jurors may have opened the door to a new trial in a Maryland school bullying case by saying they returned a verdict for the defense because they were afraid of setting a bad precedent for school systems throughout the country.
      Read more...
    • Abuse Victim Can Sue Ex-DA Over 'Sexting' Messages

      A Wisconsin judge has protected a domestic violence victim from a rogue prosecutor, finding that she can sue him for sending her text messages in which he pressured her to have sex with him.
      Read more...
    • Four Loko Maker Says Users Knew of Health Dangers

      The maker of Four Loko has previewed its defense of a slew of product liability lawsuits, arguing that the physical effects of the energy drink's mixture of alcohol and caffeine — far from being an undisclosed risk to consumers — are precisely what made it so popular.
      Read more...
    • Mortician Sued for Speaking Ill of the Dead

      In a first-of-its-kind unprofessional conduct lawsuit, a woman has sued her former boss at a Michigan funeral home for making an indecent comment about the body of a dead man in front of her.
      Read more...
    • 'Next Friends' of Orcas Bid to Stop SeaWorld Slavery

      An animal rights lawsuit against SeaWorld for enslaving five killer whales at its aquatic theme parks in San Diego and Orlando may sink even though humans are representing the orcas as their “next friends.”
      Read more...
    • Jury Finds No Harm to Boy From Wrongful Circumcision

      In a blow to supporters of male “genital integrity,” an Indiana jury has ruled that a doctor did not injure a boy by circumcising him when he was an infant even though his mother wanted him to be left intact.
      Read more...
    • Guest Can Sue Motel 6 Over Attack by Woman's Pimp

      A guest who paid for sex with a prostitute at a Motel 6 did not assume the risk of being attacked several hours later by the prostitute's pimp, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled in an unusual premises liability lawsuit against the motel operator.
      Read more...
    RC_OnFile

    Marsh v. Air Tran Airways
    Subject: Roaches on a plane
    Document: Complaint

    Classic Media v. J.G. Wentworth
    Subject: "Lassie" copyright
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    Kardashian v. Old Navy
    Subject: Publicity rights
    Document: Complaint

    McKee v. Laurion
    Subject: Doctor defamation
    Document: Opinion

    Francis v. U.S.
    Subject: Bear attack
    Document: Decision

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    RC_OnTrial

    Doe v. Discovery Day Care
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    Subject: Child molestation
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    Hoback v. City of Chattanooga
    Court: USDC, E. Tenn.
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    RC_OnTheDocket

    Brown v. Herbert
    Date: 12/16/11
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    Hearing: Motion to dismiss polygamy case

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