• Parents of a 10-year-old boy who witnessed a killer whale's fatal attack on a trainer sue Sea World Orlando for infliction of emotional distress. "Without question, it was reasonably foreseeable and in fact predictable that an attack such as this one by a killer whale with the tendencies of Tilikum was inevitable." Connell v. Sea World
• Denver judge dismisses Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols's civil rights claims against prison officials for denying him a high-fiber diet.
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Illinois teenager with cerebral palsy sues the Special Olympics for refusing to let her play basketball with the help of a service dog.
Youngwith v. Special Olympics
• Montana judge sets aside a government decision removing protections for the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. The Endangered Species Act "was not intended to sow the dragon's teeth of strife or to plant the seeds of future conflicts that have given rise to this case."
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar
• San Francisco judge dismisses a cereal consumer's false advertising suit. "[T]here is nothing in the packaging or marketing of Cap’n Crunch that would in any way deceive a reasonable consumer into believing that the cereal contains or derives nutritional value from real fruit." Werbel v. PepsiCo
• Iowa judge says a sheriff denied the applications of a father and son for concealed weapons permits in retaliation for their political activism. "This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views." Dorr v. Weber
• 5th Circuit rules that a school district violated the religious freedom of a Native American boy by requiring him to wear his long hair in a bun on top of his head or in a braid tucked into his shirt. The boy "has a sincere religious belief in wearing his hair uncut and in plain view."
A.A. v. Needville Ind. Sch. Dist.
• 11th Circuit denies a challenge to an ordinance restricting handouts of food to the homeless in Orlando parks. "[W]e are unpersuaded that the conduct of simply feeding people ... is expressive for First Amendment purposes."
First Vagabonds Church v. City of Orlando
 
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"Hedonistic" Hotel Exec Settles Drug Death Case |
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The former CEO of a luxury hotel operator has quickly settled a lawsuit accusing him of causing the drug overdose death of his girlfriend, On Point has learned –- even though he describes the allegations as “slanderous and bogus.”
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Michelle Hatchel
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Ed Scheetz
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Michelle Hatchel, 23, died Aug. 29, 2007 while staying at a Las Vegas condominium with Ed Scheetz, who was then the chief executive officer of Morgans Hotel Group (NASDAQ: MHG). Members of Hatchel's family sued both Scheetz and Morgans for wrongful death in August, alleging his “hedonistic” behavior mirrored the raunchy “image” of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which Morgans owns.
Earlier this month, the plaintiffs agreed to a settlement with Scheetz and dropped their claims against Morgans. Scheetz admitted no liability in a statement released by his attorneys.
“In August 2007 Michelle Hatchel died of a drug overdose,” attorneys Stanley S. Arkin and Peter B. Pope said. “Her life and death were tragic." They continued:
Even though our client was never served with legal papers and three of the four plaintiffs had no legal standing to bring a wrongful death suit, our client and his business associates decided to settle the lawsuit to bring closure to the Hatchel family and to end the slanderous and bogus accusations against Ed Scheetz by the plaintiffs’ attorney and consultant.
Hatchel family attorney Michael J. Amador of Las Vegas did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the wrongful-death complaint, Scheetz flew Hatchel to Las Vegas from New York on Morgans' private jet for a weekend of cocaine and sex. She was killed, it said, “as a proximate result of the Defendants' ... wrongful and/or negligent acts or omissions” in the three-bedroom penthouse suite leased by Morgans.
Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for an employee’s torts committed within the scope of employment. The Hatchel family gave a novel twist to that theory by arguing that since Scheetz's hedonistic lifestyle was a “living example of [the] 'Hardrock' image ... all of his actions, inactions, and/or omissions [at the time of Hatchel's death] were within the course and scope of his employment.”
That argument would probably not have prevailed in court since Nevada has limited employer liability for the intentional conduct of an employee. There also seemed to be no connection between Hatchel's death and Scheetz's duties as a CEO.
Scheetz resigned as CEO of Morgans three weeks after Hatchel's death. He settled an earlier wrongful-death suit filed by her father, reportedly for a “substantial sum.”
By Matthew Heller
1/22/10 
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Off With His Head! Woman Sues 'Mad Hatter' Actor
Experimental theater clashes with premises liability law in the case of a Kentucky woman who claims she was injured while watching a performance of a circus-inspired play when one of the actors balanced his knee on her head.
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Charity Worker Accuses CEO of Hypnotic Seduction
A former charity worker may be pushing the limits of sexual harassment law by alleging that her boss required her to participate in “relaxation sessions” on his “magic couch” during which he hypnotized and molested her.
Read more...
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Appeal is Expert's Latest Challenge to Judges
Expert witness Dr. David Egilman was previously successful in showing he had standing to appeal a judicial order in a case in which he was not a party — but that case may not help him in his latest challenge to a trial judge.
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Plaintiff's Expert Files Appeal in 'Popcorn Lung' Lawsuit
A controversial expert witness for plaintiffs has filed an unusual non-party appeal of a Washington state judge's decision finding his theory that snackers can contract lung disease from exposure to microwave popcorn is not scientifically sound.
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Philly School Sued Over Race Attack on Student's Mom
Taking civil rights law to what may be an extreme, an Asian-American woman is alleging a Philadelphia high school's tolerance of racism rendered her “helpless prey” to African-American students who attacked her when she picked her child up from the school.
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'McSteamy' Sex Tape Suit Cools off With Settlement
Acting couple Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart have dropped a $1 million lawsuit against Gawker.com for publishing a videotape featuring them in a nude threesome with a friend after the gossip website agreed to take down the much-viewed posting.
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Sex Harassment Claims Hit Actor Affleck, 'Bones' Star
A producer of a film about actor Joaquin Phoenix, an extra on the set of the TV show “Bones,” an assistant property master, and a makeup artist are among the plaintiffs in a recent epidemic of lurid Hollywood lawsuits.
Read more...
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Arnaout v. Warden
Subject: Muslim inmate prayer
Document: John Walker Lindh declaration
Marriage of J.B. and H.B.
Subject: Same-sex divorce
Document: Opinion
Stovell v. James
Subject: LeBron's paternity
Document: Complaint
U.S. v. Arizona
Subject: Illegal immigration
Document: Complaint
Rosenberg v. Google
Subject: Negligent navigation
Document: Complaint
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McCourt v. McCourt
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Dodgers divorce
Pom Wonderful v. Welch Foods
Court: USDC, C. Calif.
Subject: False advertising
more
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McCourt v. McCourt
Date: 8/30/10
Court: L.A. Superior
Hearing: Dodgers divorce trial
more
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