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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• Roommate referral website does not discriminate by allowing users to list their preferences for roommate characteristics. "Holding that the [Fair Housing Act] applies inside a home or apartment ... would be a serious invasion of privacy, autonomy and security."
Fair Housing Council v. Roommate.com

• 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

• 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

• 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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Weekly Roundup: Campus Rape Case Settles Print

ASUThe Arizona Board of Regents cut their losses and agreed to an $850,000 settlement for a woman who was raped by a player on the Arizona State University football team.

The settlement agreement also provides for the appointment of a "student safety coordinator" responsible for "oversight and reform efforts in connection with the prevention of sexual harassment, violence against students, discrimination, gender, equity, and compliance with Title IX" at the three state universities.

A female student identified only as J.K. was assaulted in a campus dorm by Darnel Henderson. Going to trial would have been a huge risk for ASU -- particularly in light of evidence that school officials had allowed Henderson back on campus after he was thrown out of the school's summer program for harassing and intimidating other female students.

The settlement follows that of a similar case against the University of Colorado, which agreed in December 2007 to pay $2.85 million to two women who were gang-raped at a party for football recruits. J.K. attorney Baine P. Kerr (Hutchinson Black & Cook, Boulder, Colo.) also represented the plaintiffs in that case.

If the CU and ASU cases don't convince college athletics programs that the days of coddling predatory athletes are over, nothing will.

For an earlier On Point story on J.K. v. Arizona Bd. of Regents, click here.


Attorneys Win $1.4M Fees Award in Taser Case

taser1Plaintiffs' attorneys in a landmark wrongful-death suit against the maker of Taser stun guns have won a fees award of $1.4 million -- which is almost 10 times the net recovery of damages by the plaintiffs.

The case brought by the parents of Robert Heston was the first in which a jury has found Taser International (Nasdaq: TASR) liable in a personal injury suit. Heston died after Salinas, Calif., police repeatedly shocked him with Tasers, causing him to have a heart attack.

The "growing prevalence" of Tasers "as a law enforcement weapon makes the warnings given about their use an issue of significant societal importance," U.S. District Judge James E. Ware said in his order granting attorney fees. "Thus, the issue of whether Defendant TASER owes a duty to warn police about the risks of cardiac arrest under certain circumstances concerns an important right affecting the public interest."

A jury in June awarded a total of $6 million to Heston's parents, but Ware threw out the $5 million in punitive damages. Because Heston was found 85 percent liable for his death, that left the plaintiffs with a net recovery of $153,150 in compensatory damages.

Citing the case's "significant benefit to the public," Ware said it would not be in the interest of justice to limit the attorney fees to an amount based on the recovery.

For earlier On Point stories on Heston v. City of Salinas, click here and here.

UPDATE

  • As On Point reports here, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the attorney fees award in a May 5, 2011 opinion.


  • On Point
    2/6/09

     
    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.
      Read more...
    • Four Loko Maker Says Users Knew of Health Dangers

      The maker of Four Loko has previewed its defense of a slew of product liability lawsuits, arguing that the physical effects of the energy drink's mixture of alcohol and caffeine — far from being an undisclosed risk to consumers — are precisely what made it so popular.
      Read more...
    • 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.
      Read more...
    • '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.”
      Read more...
    • Jury Finds No Harm to Boy From Wrongful Circumcision

      In a blow to supporters of male “genital integrity,” an Indiana jury has ruled that a doctor did not injure a boy by circumcising him when he was an infant even though his mother wanted him to be left intact.
      Read more...
    • 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

    more

    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

    more


    RC_OnTheDocket

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

    more