• 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
• Boston judge slashes a jury award in an illegal music downloading case from $675,000 to $67,500. "The award in this case ... lacks any rational foundation and smacks of arbitrariness." Sony v. Tenenbaum
• Iowa Supreme Court suspends a voyeuristic attorney indefinitely for peeping on women through windows. "[W]e cannot overlook the serious, egregious, and persistent nature of [Mark] Templeton’s misconduct and the effect it had on his victims."
Disciplinary Board v. Templeton
• Pennsylvania judge strikes down the state's blasphemy law in a case brought by a film producer who wanted to name his company "I Choose Hell Productions." "'Choosing hell' may be an irreverent choice for a corporate name, but under the Constitution, this fact alone cannot be the basis for its suppression from the public debate." Kalman v. Cortes
• Cancer patient sues Wal-Mart for firing him after discovering that he uses medical marijuana for pain relief. "[N]o corporation doing business in Michigan should be permitted to flout state laws protecting patients who use medical marihuana in accordance with state law." Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores
• 11th Circuit rules that the operator of an Internet porn dorm was engaged in illegally operating a business in a residential zone. "Business objectives are the sole reason individuals are paid to live and engage in sexual activities at the 27th Street residence."
Flava Works v. City of Miami
 
|
|
Toxic Bras Update: Suits Won't Be Combined in Ohio |
 |
 A rash of lawsuits against Victoria's Secret alleging defectively manufactured underwear is continuing with eight new cases filed in the past two months. But in a setback for plaintiffs, a judicial panel has refused to consolidate all the litigation in Ohio.
The decision of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) may be the catalyst for yet more litigation. Plaintiffs' lawyers have said they were prepared to file more than 600 other suits once the seven-member panel ruled.
With the recent addition of six cases in Ohio and two in Florida, at least 17 have been filed in six states since January 2008. They are all variations on the theme that some “chemical, toxin, or allergen” in Victoria's Secret bras is causing women to break out in a severe rash.
“This is not a little clothing rash,” a toxicologist has said. “The extent and severity of it is just unbelievable. Many of them have scars that seem to be permanent.”
Plaintiffs' attorneys petitioned in April to have the litigation consolidated in the federal court of Columbus, Ohio, where Victoria's Secret is based. The consolidation “will prevent duplicative and potentially conflicting pretrial rulings, will reduce the costs of litigation and allow cases to proceed more efficiently to trial,” the petition said.
But the JPML last week rejected the petition, finding the common allegation of defective underwear in the various cases “may be overshadowed by factual issues unique to each action.”
“Victoria’s Secret sells a vast array of brands, styles, and colors of undergarments, and they are manufactured by various factories with components from various suppliers,” it said. “Therefore, it is likely that discovery will vary among the actions.”
One possible culprit for the rashes has been identified as the chemical formaldehyde. "When you heat the bras by putting it in the dryer, it releases the resins embedded in the fabric," the attorney for a plaintiff in Baton Rouge, La., said.
Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, says independent tests show the bras either have no formaldehyde or have only traces of the chemical that are too small to cause any skin problems.
The case of Macrida Patterson, a California woman who sued Victoria's Secret after a metallic piece allegedly flew off her thong and struck her in the eye, was settled in March. A suit in which a South Carolina woman alleged a Victoria's Secret bra malfunctioned, lacerating her breast, is set for trial in December.
By Matthew Heller
6/21/09 
|
|
-
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...
-
Jury Goes 'Wild' in Woman's Privacy Case Over Video
A Missouri jury has gone wild in a case of involuntary nudity, finding that a woman consented to appearing topless in a “Girls Gone Wild” video by playing to the camera before another person pulled her top down.
Read more...
-
Actress Facing $750K Award to Therapist
Soap opera star Hunter Tylo may have to pay more than $750,000 in damages and attorney fees to a psychotherapist whom she sued more than four years ago for negligent treatment of her children, On Point has learned.
Read more...
-
Reporter Sues Hotels Over Peephole Videos
In an unusual premises liability case, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has sued the operators of three hotels for allowing a stalker to surreptitiously videotape her naked through peepholes in the doors to her rooms.
Read more...
-
Students Challenge Rubber Fetus Ban
The suspensions of seven pro-life students at two Roswell, N.M., high schools for distributing rubber fetuses have given birth to a lawsuit that takes the First Amendment protections for student speech into uncharted territory.
Read more...
-
Distress Claim Barred in Hotel 'Ménâge à Trois' Case
A former employee of a luxury Miami Beach hotel who says her billionaire boss invited her to join him in a “ménâge à trois” cannot sue him for infliction of emotional distress, a judge has ruled, finding his alleged behavior, while “obnoxious,” was not “objectively outrageous.”
Read more...
-
Chuck E. Cheese Settles Molesting Mascot Suit
A Missouri woman who claimed a Chuck E. Cheese mascot groped her breast has settled her lawsuit against the operator of the restaurant chain, On Point has learned.
Read more...
|
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
Smith v. Hooters
Subject: Weight discrimination
Document: Complaint
City of Ontario v. Quon
Subject: Text-message privacy
Document: Opinion
more
|
|
Rosenberg v. Musical Arts Assn.
Court: Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Common Pleas
Subject: Defamation, age bias
Mecozzi v. City of Los Angeles
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Police brutality
Verdict: $1.7 million
more
|
|
Jose Padilla v. John Yoo
Date: 6/14/10
Court: 9th Circuit
Hearing: Oral arguments in human rights case.
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Date: 6/16/10
Court: USDC, N. Calif.
Hearing: Closing arguments in trial of challenge to gay marriage ban.
more
|
|
|
