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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"Religulous" Rev Sued for $600,000 "Scheme of Lies" Print

Two former followers of Florida preacher Jeremiah Cummings may have dealt his defamation lawsuit against the makers of the documentary “Religulous” a fatal blow by alleging he conned them out of $600,000 through a “well-designed scheme of deception and lies.”

Rev. Jeremiah Cummings

Elsie Carter and Rodney Daryl-Jones say in a fraud and racketeering suit filed June 3 against Cummings that he behaved like a latter-day Elmer Gantry while serving as pastor of the Amazing Life World Outreach Church in Raleigh, N.C., deceiving them into making contributions to the church which he pocketed for himself.

Cummings built the church “on a foundation of lies, deception and greed,” the complaint says, even pretending to be married to a co-pastor “when in fact they were an unmarried couple living under circumstances of adultery.” He is married to Nancyah Cummings, the vice-president of the Amazing Life International Fellowship in Orlando, Fla.

Carter says she was defrauded of more than $400,000 in contributions to the church of money and property including a 2007 S550 Mercedes and another $151,000 she invested in Cummings' Messiah Records in the belief that it would be used to produce a CD by a singer named “Prophetess” Syvonia McCoy. Daryl-Jones alleges he lost $51,000.

The allegations could be potent ammunition for Lionsgate Corp., the distributor of “Religulous,” whom Cummings sued in January for inducing him to appear in the film under false pretenses and, yes, falsely portraying him as a charlatan.

In interview footage included in the film, host Bill Maher pokes fun at Cummings' expensive suit and lizard shoes, contrasting his attire with the humility of Jesus. The minister stutters when Maher challenges him with the Biblical quotation, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

“I am made to appear to be some money hungry preacher, which is the typical stereotype of black preachers,” Cummings told Beliefnet.

According to Carter and Daryl-Jones' suit, he was positively ravenous for money as pastor of the Raleigh church. “Defendant Cummings ... took advantage of his position as pastor in order to financially and economically better himself at the expense of Plaintiffs and other members of the church,” it says.

Female parishioners, the plaintiffs allege, were wooed into supporting Cummings' “exorbitant need for money and material things,” with Carter signing over the Mercedes to him and the church. When she demanded the return of the vehicle, he sold it “for grossly under its market value and converted the funds to his personal use.”

As for Messiah Records, Cummings has connections to the music business going back to his days as a member of the soul group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Proceeds from the McCoy CD were supposed to go toward furthering the church's ministry works, the suit says, but the funds invested by Carter and Daryl-Jones “were used personally to benefit” Cummings.

Carter also says the minister breached his fiduciary duty by engaging in a romantic relationship with her “which fostered confusion and disruption of the church” -- no doubt because he was "married" to the co-pastor.

Cummings last month turned down an offer from Lionsgate to settle his defamation suit, in which he is seeking $50 million in damages. It's probably safe to say he won't be getting another settlement offer any time soon.

This story linked by:


By Matthew Heller
6/12/09


 
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  • 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.
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    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...
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

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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

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RC_OnTheDocket

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

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