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.




Alltop_125x125.jpg







Stripper's DUI Case Survives Club's Latest Attack Print

An Alabama judge today refused for a second time to dismiss a former stripper's unusual negligence lawsuit, ruling that a strip club may be liable for allowing her to drive home from work “in a highly intoxicated state.”

The decision paves the way for a trial next month in Patsy Hamaker's case over the injuries she sustained when she wrecked her car after working at The Furnace club in Birmingham, Ala., on Oct. 18, 2007, leaving her disfigured and with a broken back. She has sued the club's owners, BIT, Inc., for negligent supervision and training.

Denying BIT's second motion for summary judgment, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Caryl P. Privett agreed with Hamaker that an employer who permits or encourages on-the-job alcohol consumption can be sued for failing to properly or adequately supervise employees.

Hamaker contends The Furnace “created an environment in which the consumption of alcohol by dancers was encouraged.” According to court documents, its dancers earn commissions ranging from $5 to $900 on sales of “Dancer Drinks” to customers that cost from $12 to $2,500.

“The Court finds that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether permitting or encouraging performers to drink alcoholic beverages imposes a duty on the employer: (1) to train its employees differently with regard to those it permits or encourages to drink, and/or (2) to exercise more intense supervision of those it permits or encourages to drink,” Privett said in her order.

In January, she denied an earlier summary judgment motion but did so without giving any explanation.

Hamaker's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when she had her accident. BIT contends she sold only one dancer's drink, a $22 half-bottle of wine, that night and broke club rules by surreptitiously drinking at least one shot of liquor.

The Furnace also has a policy of having dancers surrender their car keys when they show up for work. At the end of their shift, they must pass a breathalyzer test in order for their keys to be returned.

According to BIT, Hamaker was able to leave the club because she “was in possession of two sets of automobile keys, one of which was in Defendant’s possession and one of which remained in Defendant’s possession.”

BIT compares the case to Mohacsy v. Holiday Inns, 603 So. 2d 956 (1992), in which the Alabama Supreme Court said a man injured in a one-car accident after getting drunk at a company Christmas party could not sue his employer for negligence and outrage. “[T]he ultimate responsibility for his intoxication must rest with [Plaintiff],” the court held.

But a manager at The Furnace has testified that the policy for surrendering keys was only instituted the day after Hamaker's accident. And Privett ruled that a jury should decide whether Hamaker

had a second set of car keys and left the premises of The Furnace against the orders of Defendant's management, or whether there was only one set of car keys. If there were only one set of car keys, a question exists as to whether the actions of Defendant in allowing Plaintiff to have her keys despite her intoxicated state was wanton conduct on behalf of the Defendant.

Hamaker is seeking compensation of more than $95,000 in medical and vehicle-repair bills and lost income of $2,500 per month.

UPDATE

  • As On Point reports here, a jury found BIT liable for wantonness and awarded Hamaker $100,000 in a Feb. 2, 2010 verdict.



  • This story linked by:


    By Matthew Heller
    12/8/09


     
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