
• Boston judge refuses to require Massachusetts to include materials that deny the Armenian genocide in the public school curriculum. "[T]he decision as to what to teach about ... the Armenian genocide must be made by elected officials, educators, and teachers rather than by federal judges." Griswold v. Driscoll
• Kentucky Court of Appeals upholds a $3.7 million jury award against a school board for ignoring a student's complaints that several teachers had molested her. Plaintiff Lynne Maner "presented sufficient evidence that the Board was deliberately indifferen[t] in its failure to act." Maner v. Fayette County Board of Education
• 6th Circuit revives the racial bias case of an African-American couple who sued a hotel for refusing to host their wedding reception. "There is a genuine issue of material fact in this case as to whether ... the Hotel denied them the right to enter into a contract because of their race." Keck v. Graham Hotel Systems
• San Francisco judge rules that a city did not violate a hiker's rights by failing to protect her from an attack on public land by a rancher's cattle. "[P]laintiffs have not alleged facts supporting a claim that the City was deliberately indifferent to a known or obvious danger" to Jo Dee Schmidt. Schmidt v. Hoover
• Divided New York appellate court says a golfer is not liable for striking another golfer in the eye with an errant drive. The defendant's failure to yell "Fore" before hitting the ball "does not rise to the level of creating a dangerous condition over and above the usual dangers inherent in participating in the sport of golf." Anand v. Kapoor
• Sioux tribal members file a class action seeking their share of as much as $900 million held in trust by the federal government as compensation for the "taking" of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The plaintiffs have split from other Sioux who refuse to take the money, insisting on the return of the land. Different Horse v. Salazar
• Texas Court of Appeals says a gas station owner is not liable for the negligence of an attendant who accidentally shot a customer while showing him a gun. The attendant's "actions were not merely a misuse of his authority; they were utterly unrelated to his duties." Glass v. Williams
• San Francisco judge denies Chevron Corp.'s request for $485,159 in court costs from impoverished Nigerian villagers who sued the company for human rights violations. "The economic disparity between plaintiffs, who are Nigerian villagers, and defendants, international oil companies, cannot be more stark." Bowoto v. Chevron

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Bar Exam Flunker Sues over Gay Marriage Question |
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A law student who narrowly failed the Massachusetts bar exam is suing the state for $9.75 million, claiming he only flunked because he refused to answer a question about the breakup of a same-sex marriage.
“Defendants purposely compelled Plaintiff to accept Defendants' irreligion/religion of 'Secular Humanism,'” Stephen Dunne, 30, says in a pro se complaint that is not likely to pass even a threshold legal test.
Dunne scored a 268.866 on the bar exam, just below a passing grade of 270. The exam included a question which presented the hypothetical of Jane and Mary, two lesbian attorneys who share their home with two children and signed a prenup agreeing to divide any marital property equally if they divorced.
Applicants were told that after Jane found out Mary was having an affair with Lisa, Mary decided to end the marriage in order to live in her house with the children and Lisa. "What are the rights of Mary and Jane?" the exam asked.
According to Dunne, a former infantryman in the U.S. Army, he only failed the exam because his faith-based views on homosexuality compelled him not to answer the question.
"Plaintiff reasonably believes that the Defendants have denied his bar application based on his refusal to support and promote homosexual marriage and parenting," the suit says.
The question, of course, required Dunne to do no such thing, only testing his knowledge of domestic relations law in the only state in the nation where same-sex marriage is legal. Dunne seeks a court order declaring the question an "invidious violation of all applicants' constitutional rights," but a judge should declare the suit an invidious waste of the court's time.
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UPDATE ... Dunne has amended his complaint to reduce his damages claim to $9.75. “The lawsuit is not about money,” he told the Boston Herald. “It’s about equity and justice, and I wanted to be very clear about that.”
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By Matthew Heller 7/7/07
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No Prayer Now for Preacher's Suit Over "Religulous"
Less than three weeks after being sued for defrauding two former parishioners of $600,000, a Florida preacher dropped his $50 million lawsuit alleging the Bill Maher documentary “Religulous” falsely portrayed him as a charlatan, On Point has learned.
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Man Burned at Burning Man Assumed Risk
Get too close to the Burning Man fire and you assume the “obvious and inherent” risk of being burned, a California appeals court has ruled in dismissing a personal injury lawsuit against the operators of the iconic countercultural arts festival.
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Lawyer's 'Prove Me Wrong' Offer No Joke to Student
A Texas law student may have taken a $1 million “prove me wrong” challenge seriously, but the criminal defense lawyer who made the challenge on a TV news show appears to have done so with enough tongue in cheek to avoid liability for not paying up.
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Jury Chills Rights in Strip Search Case
A jury has reached a chilling decision in the civil rights case of a Southampton, N.Y., woman, clearing four police officers in the exclusive resort community of liability for performing a strip search on her after a minor marijuana bust.
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Toxic Bra 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.
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Wedding Fiasco Suit Really Takes Cake
Sandra Newsom's wedding disaster lawsuit may -– literally –- take the cake. The New York woman has sued a cruise ship operator for ruining her wedding reception by serving a coconut-containing cake to which she had an allergic reaction.
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Woody Allen Got $5M After Judge Shredded Defense
A week before American Apparel agreed to pay Woody Allen $5 million for misappropriating his image, a judge had shredded the clothing company's First Amendment defense based on its CEO's “mental processes,” On Point has learned.
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Capitol Records v. Thomas Court: USDC, Minn. Subject: Digital music downloading Verdict: $1.92 million
ASPCA v. Ringling Bros. Court: USDC, D. Col. Subject: Illegal "taking" of elephants by circus
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Howard K. Stern v. Rita Cosby Date: 7/7/09 Court: USDC, S. N.Y. Hearing: Motions for summary judgment in defamation case.
Goldberg v. Paris Hilton Entertainment Date: 7/9/09 Court: USDC, S. Fla. Hearing: Jury trial in breach-of-contract case.
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