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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Pain Patient Sues Disney over Thrill-Ride Therapy Print


A Florida woman who claims the G-forces from a theme park ride relieve her chronic pain has sued Walt Disney World for breaching its contract with visitors by limiting her to four rides per visit on its Tower of Terror.

The ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando provides stomach-turning thrills for guests as they hurtle up and down a 199-foot-tall building in a “fright elevator.” In a complaint filed last month in Osceola County, Fla., Denise Mooty alleges she needs the Tower of Terror for therapy rather than thrills.

“In the four years that Plaintiff was an annual pass holder she would religiously ride the tower of terror every Saturday dozens of times to help her alleviate her medical condition, her pain associated with it, and minimize the number of surgeries she required as a result,” the suit says.

All that oscillating apparently breaks down Mooty's abdominal adhesions, which are strands of fibrous scar tissue often caused by surgery or chronic inflammation. “Literally, Ms. Mooty’s life depends on her being able to ride the ride,” her lawyers say.

But since Mooty was cited for trespassing at the park on Aug. 23, her condition has allegedly worsened. And she is now suing Disney for breach of contract, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Nothing in the contract between Plaintiff and Disney (the annual pass) limited Plaintiff as to the number of times she could ride the tower of terror,” she says.

The suit does not include a claim for disability discrimination. “Ms. Mooty's claims are without merit,” a Disney spokeswoman said. “She was trespassed for causing a disturbance within the presence of other guests and using foul language toward a Cast Member.”

Mooty is something of an abdominal adhesion activist. On her website, she has posted graphic photos of her adhesions and she once berated talk-show host Montel Williams for not responding to several letters “asking for help to stay alive.”

“My son is going to be 14 on the 28th of this month, I may not live to see him turn 15!” she said in a letter posted on the International Adhesions Society website in October 2002.

Mooty told a Florida TV station that the Tower of Terror “really does work. It's the G forces of going up and down.” Her doctor wrote Disney a letter stating that the ride broke down her adhesions, “thus relieving her of so much pain.”

But on Aug. 16, a Disney employee allegedly told her “she was only allowed to ride the tower of terror 4 times per visit” and could no longer use the back entrance to access the ride even though she had a “guest assistance card” that permitted her to do so.

A week later, things got confrontational after Mooty refused a guest service manager's “take it or leave it” offer of “fast pass” access to the ride. She “never used profanity toward anyone,” but as she was leaving the park, security guard Rodney Penson had her detained and cited for trespassing.

Perhaps Mooty's unconventional pain prescription had turned into a pain in the neck for Disney staff. While in the security office, she alleges, she overheard Penson and the guest services manager “laugh about the whole situation stating that they were finally getting rid of Plaintiff.”

In a slightly more conventional case, a British woman sued Walt Disney World this week alleging the faulty design of Tower of Terror caused her to have a disabling heart attack and stroke. Leanne Deacon rode the ride several times during a 2005 vacation.

UPDATE

  • The case was dismissed Aug. 27, 2010 after the parties reached a settlement.



  • By Matthew Heller
    2/10/09


     
    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.
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    • Four Loko Maker Says Users Knew of Health Dangers

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    • 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.
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    • '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.”
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    • 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...
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    RC_OnTrial

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    RC_OnTheDocket

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