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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Brando Aide Renews Attack on Authenticity of Will Print

Marlon Brando's former caregiver is taking another legal swing at his executors and the authenticity of the will that gave them control over his $22 million estate.

The three executors appeared to have put questions about the will behind them in December 2006 by settling the fraud lawsuit of Angela Borlaza for $243,750 and having her sign a confidentiality agreement. She had alleged that Brando was “incapacitated” when he signed a codicil to his will less than two weeks before his death in July 2004.

The original will appointed Brando retainers JoAn Corrales and Alice Marchak to administer his estate; the codicil replaced them with former Hollywood studio chief Mike Medavoy, accountant Larry Dressler, and Avra Douglas (a friend of Brando's daughter Rebecca).

But now Borlaza has resurfaced, filing a new suit last week in Los Angeles Superior Court in which she claims she was duped into signing the confidentiality agreement.

The agreement “is void because it was signed by individuals ... [whose] purported authority stems from a forged codicil to the true will and amendment to the trust of Marlon Brando,” the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages and declaratory relief, says.

Corrales and Marchak also accepted settlements last year of suits they filed against the estate. According to Borlaza, they were also “unlawfully defrauded and coerced” into signing confidentiality agreements and, as a result,

Plaintiff is unable to collaborate with [them] to develop and market a memoir, book, movie or mini-series, spanning approximately 40 years of the life of Marlon Brando.

Borlaza started working for Brando as a cook in 1995 and, as his caregiver, may know more about his final days than anyone else. She says she was present at his Beverly Hills home on June 18, 2004, when he purportedly signed the codicil to his will.

Plaintiff's counsel Greg J. Venturi of Santa Monica –- who has replaced the attorneys who negotiated the settlement for Borlaza -– did not respond to a request for comment about her new legal offensive. But he may have a hard time explaining why she is only now challenging the authority of the executors.

The new suit says Borlaza “did not discover the forgery [of the codicil] until on or about July 28, 2007” -- which would put her fraud claim within the statute of limitations. That seems curious since, in her earlier complaint, she said Brando was “incapacitated, confused, medicated and non-communicative at the time of the alleged signing ceremony.”

Moreover, having been trained by Brando to recognize his signature, Borlaza “is informed and believes” that he did not sign the codicil, the suit filed in June 2006 said.

Since Brando's death, the executors have sold off many of his assets. Most controversially, they made a $2-million deal with a Tahiti-based businessman who plans to develop Brando's beloved South Pacific island, Tetiaroa, as an "eco-resort."

In addition to the executors, the defendants named in Borlaza's new complaint include David J. Seeley, a Seattle attorney who worked for Brando.

Other Borlaza Case Sources

By Matthew Heller
9/3/07

 
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.”
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  • 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

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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

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RC_OnTheDocket

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

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