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.
lc_search
LC_DayByDay

 Jan   February 12   Mar

SMTWTFS
   1  2  3  4
  5  6  7  8  91011
12131415161718
19202122232425
26272829 
Julianna Willis Technology
LC_BySubject
OnTheMap

rss

LC_ExtraPoints

• Roommate referral website does not discriminate by allowing users to list their preferences for roommate characteristics. "Holding that the [Fair Housing Act] applies inside a home or apartment ... would be a serious invasion of privacy, autonomy and security."
Fair Housing Council v. Roommate.com

• 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

• 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

• 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.




Alltop_125x125.jpg







Fashion CEO Says Woody Allen Ad 'Social Comment' Print

The defense in Woody Allen's $10 million publicity rights case against a clothing company appears to be going really “Bananas,” with American Apparel arguing that it used his image to “artistically express” its CEO's thoughts on “media sensationalism.”

“Those artistic expressions contained both parody speech as well as a social statement on the harm careless members of the media can inflict upon people while simultaneously obscuring their entire collection of professional work,” the company says in a pretrial memorandum.

Allen sued American Apparel in March 2008 for “blatant misappropriation” of his likeness in a billboard advertising campaign. The billboard -- a departure from the fashion house's usual racy advertising -- featured a still photo of Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew from his Oscar-winning film “Annie Hall” and Yiddish text meaning “the holy rebbe.”

Trial in the case is set for May 18 and, in the pretrial brief, American Apparel's attorneys have reached new heights of chutzpah by portraying the billboard as a constitutionally protected expression of CEO Dov Charney's “thoughts, perceptions and comments” on matters that were “highly personal” to him “as well as socially pertinent and newsworthy.”

According to the memo, Allen's character in “'Annie Hall' felt self-conscious about being misperceived by the title character's family. “Similarly,” it continues, alluding to the disclosure of Allen's affair with Soon-Yi Previn, “Plaintiff himself had been the subject [of] public criticism and media sensationalism based upon misperceptions of Plaintiff and his personal life.”

Attorneys Stuart P. Slotnick and Kristi A. Davidson then proceed to draw a tenuous parallel with Charney, who has been accused by employees and others of bizarre sexual behavior in the workplace. Charney, the brief says, used the “Annie Hall” image to

express his frustration [at] being vilified by the press (much as Plaintiff was) and ... commence a dialogue on these issues as well as convey the message that media sensationalism too frequently overshadows the content of an individual's creative work. This is quintessential speech protected by the First Amendment.

Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, speech is protectible as parody if it “reasonably could be perceived as commenting on the original or criticizing it, to some degree.” But to say a viewer of the American Apparel ad would reasonably perceive it as commenting on media sensationalism is quintessential poppycock.

For one thing, at the time “Annie Hall” was released in 1977, Allen's reputation had yet to be sullied by the affair with Previn, which caused his estrangement from her mother, actress Mia Farrow, and a custody dispute over their children. Why didn't Charney express himself by using an image from one of Allen's post-scandal movies?

When Allen filed his suit, moreover, American Apparel provided a very different interpretation of the ad. A spokesperson said it meant that “Woody Allen is our spiritual leader.”

Ironically, the defense hasn't been shy about trying to exploit the Soon-Yi scandal to mitigate any possible damages. “Mr. Allen's professional career and the demand for his celebrity endorsement has been adversely affected by the significant bad press Mr. Allen has received since his relationship with Ms. Previn was discovered,” it said in another brief.

Allen filed a motion in limine this week seeking to bar any testimony about “the events surrounding the 1992 child custody dispute and personal life of Mr. Allen and his family.” American Apparel's witness list includes both Previn and Farrow.

Charney also twisted the First Amendment as part of a fake arbitration of a sexual harassment case against him that was aborted when plaintiff's counsel did not show up. In a press release designed to misrepresent that he had defeated the case, he announced, “I am pleased that we have been able to bring clarity to the role of the First Amendment in the American workplace.”

UPDATE

  • The parties settled for $5 million as the case was going to trial May 18.


  • By Matthew Heller
    5/5/09


     
    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
    Document: Complaint

    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

    more

    RC_OnTrial

    Doe v. Discovery Day Care
    Court: Miami-Dade Circuit
    Subject: Child molestation
    Verdict: $3,000,000

    Hoback v. City of Chattanooga
    Court: USDC, E. Tenn.
    Subject: PTSD discrimination
    Verdict: $680,000

    more


    RC_OnTheDocket

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

    more