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

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Ryan v. Hughes-Ortiz

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• 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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$185K Award More Than Peanuts for Restaurant Print

peanutsA slip-and-fall case alleging a restaurant created an “extremely dangerous condition” by having customers and employees throw peanut shells on the floor has turned out to be worth a lot more than peanuts as a jury awarded $185,000 to a Texas woman and her husband.

Angela Bishoff appears to be the first plaintiff ever to win a slip-and-fall case involving a restaurant's peanut shell-throwing policy. She broke her kneecap after slipping on “peanuts and peanut debris” at the Temple, Texas, location of the Texas Roadhouse (Nasdaq: TXRH) chain.

The verdict includes $50,000 for Bishoff's pain and mental anguish and $58,000 for past and future medical expenses. The Bell County District Court Jury also awarded her husband $10,000 for loss of consortium.

“Defendants breached their duty to Plaintiff by employing a dangerous practice of throwing, and encouraging others to throw, peanut shells and debris on the floor when they knew or should have known that such activity was likely to cause people to slip and fall,” Bishoff alleged in her complaint.

Texas Roadhouse argued during the trial that the peanut shells were an “open and obvious” condition and a plaintiff's verdict would mean circuses, carnivals and sports stadiums would have to stop selling peanuts.

But under Texas law, a condition is not open and obvious if a plaintiff does not have “knowledge and appreciation thereof.”

“Even though the shells may have been open and obvious, [Bishoff] did not have an appreciation that they could be dangerous,” Bishoff attorney Vic Feazell of Austin, Texas, tells On Point. “Also, the few shells that may still contain a peanut in them are not 'open and obvious' and are more dangerous.”

Bishoff fell in an area of the restaurant with a hardwood floor, which, unlike a concrete floor, would not absorb the oil from peanuts and peanut shells. “If this had happened on the concrete section of the restaurant, I don't think we would have won,” Feazell admits.

The plaintiff did not win a complete victory since the jury found her 50 percent to blame for her injuries, agreeing to some extent with the defense that Bishoff, who was wearing high heels, failed to exercise ordinary care when she walked across the restaurant floor.

The finding of comparative negligence reduces the jury's award to $92,500. In Texas, a plaintiff whose fault is more than 50 percent is not entitled to any damages.

Feazell doubts the verdict will deter peanut sales since he has “never seen a carnival or circus held on a hardwood floor and the seats in Texas Stadium certainly aren't on hardwood.” He does suggest that restaurants with a peanut shell-throwing policy “should post a warning sign or sweep more often or [not] use hardwood floors.”

A similar case against Texas Roadhouse in Texarkana is scheduled for trial in January. “Peanut shells, if any, on the floor ... would be an open, obvious and unconcealed condition, and therefore, Defendant did not owe Plaintiff a duty to warn,” the company argued in a motion for summary judgment.

UPDATE

  • Texas Roadhouse said in a statement that "we strongly disagree with the verdict ... We believe the law in Texas, as it pertains specifically to premises liability causes of action and 'open and obvious" conditions, is clear and supports our position that Texas Roadhouse had no duty to warn the plaintiff of this open and obvious condition. We are currently weighing our options regarding appeal and will make our decision in the very near future."

  • Texas Roadhouse settled the case in Texarkana rather than go to trial.


  • Other Bishoff v. Texas Roadhouse Sources



    By Matthew Heller
    10/27/08

     
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