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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Sisters' Bond Prevails over $6M SUV Crash Judgment Print

bronco1

In a quirk of legal fate, Crystal Bear won a $6 million jury award against her sister in an SUV rollover case. Now she has accepted $200,000 from her sister's insurers as payment in full to heal their wounded relationship.

The October 1999 rollover of a 1984 Ford Bronco II which Marla Bear Motteshead was driving near her Rice, Wash., home left Crystal, who was 13 at the time, a quadriplegic and with a permanent brain injury. Crystal sued Ford Motor (NYSE: F), alleging defective design of the Bronco, but under Washington state law had to name her sister as a co-defendant.

In March, a jury in Spokane found Marla 100 percent at fault for losing control of the SUV -– even though Ford’s lead attorney said in his closing argument that if jurors found any liability, they should blame his client –- and awarded Crystal $5.9 million in economic damages and $115,200 for pain and suffering.

Marla had only $200,000 in auto insurance coverage but after the insurers paid the policy limit, Crystal agreed last month to have that amount satisfy the judgment. She also dropped her appeal of the verdict, which she had called “retarded.”

Crystal attorney Richard C. Eymann (Eymann Allison Hunter Jones, Spokane) explained that the guardian ad litem appointed by the court to represent her interests did not “want the sibling relationship with Marla to completely disintegrate over this tragedy.”

If Crystal had not cancelled the debt, he said, the judgment would have remained on Marla's credit report, jeopardizing her ability to obtain loans and provide for her two children. “It made sense [for their relationship] to satisfy the judgment with $200,000,” he told On Point.

In a May 28 order denying a new trial, U.S. District Judge Edward F. Shea referred to the “subtle undercurrents” of the case and the attorneys' efforts to minimize the damage to the sisters' relationship.

“The jury was acutely aware of the delicate situation and responded with a verdict that adequately compensated Plaintiff for her economic damages considering Defendant Motteshard’s admitted negligence, but modestly compensated Plaintiff with a non-economic damage award that would not burden Defendant Motteshard with overwhelming psychological guilt for Plaintiff’s plight,” he said.

“In sum," he concluded, "the jury did precisely what counsel asked of them concerning preserving the sisters’ already fragile bond.”

Crystal's appeal focused mostly on juror misconduct issues. Eymann said she dropped it in return for Ford agreeing not to seek its legal costs from her.

“The real tragedy was Ford's escape from any liability and especially the defective rear seat belt system in the Bronco ll,” he said. “No matter whether the rollover was Marla's sole fault or Ford's, or a combination of their fault, if Crystal's seat belt had not had its multiple defects, which were well known for years to Ford, Crystal's injuries would never have been catastrophic.”

Other Bear v. Ford Motor Sources


This story linked by:

By Matthew Heller
12/2/08

 
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Marsh v. Air Tran Airways
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Document: Complaint

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Kardashian v. Old Navy
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RC_OnTrial

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Court: USDC, Utah
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