• Parents of a 10-year-old boy who witnessed a killer whale's fatal attack on a trainer sue Sea World Orlando for infliction of emotional distress. "Without question, it was reasonably foreseeable and in fact predictable that an attack such as this one by a killer whale with the tendencies of Tilikum was inevitable." Connell v. Sea World
• Denver judge dismisses Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols's civil rights claims against prison officials for denying him a high-fiber diet.
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Illinois teenager with cerebral palsy sues the Special Olympics for refusing to let her play basketball with the help of a service dog.
Youngwith v. Special Olympics
• Montana judge sets aside a government decision removing protections for the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. The Endangered Species Act "was not intended to sow the dragon's teeth of strife or to plant the seeds of future conflicts that have given rise to this case."
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar
• San Francisco judge dismisses a cereal consumer's false advertising suit. "[T]here is nothing in the packaging or marketing of Cap’n Crunch that would in any way deceive a reasonable consumer into believing that the cereal contains or derives nutritional value from real fruit." Werbel v. PepsiCo
• 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
 
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Cable Company Sued for Exposing Family to Porn |
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 For five months, the Bourne family of Warwick, R.I., allegedly had an unwelcome intruder in their home –- the hardcore porn programming of the Playboy Channel. Now they are suing their cable provider for trespassing on their property.
The law of trespass has been used to combat computer viruses and spam e-mail, but the Bournes' suit against Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) appears to ignore what distinguishes their case –- they could have avoided any exposure to “sexually explicit hardcore pornography” by simply not viewing the Playboy Channel.
The “unauthorized transmissions” into the Bournes' home allegedly began in March. The family did not subscribe to the Playboy Channel and, the complaint says, repeatedly notified Verizon of “the harm that was being caused.”
“The Defendant, Verizon, continually broadcast and transmitted sexually explicit hardcore pornography into the premises after it had received notice of the prior unauthorized entries,” Robert Bourne, his wife and two children allege.
The suit also includes claims for negligence, nuisance and invasion of privacy, alleging that Verizon failed to maintain “reasonable and proper control over its equipment” and unreasonably intruded on the plaintiffs' “right to physical solitude or seclusion.”
“Premium” channels such as Playboy are scrambled so only those cable subscribers who pay an additional fee may access the programming. “Signal bleed,” however, can allow audio and video portions of shows to escape scrambling for brief periods.
In a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000, Playboy successfully challenged a provision of the 1996 Cable Act that required cable TV operators to restrict adult programming to overnight hours if they did not fully scramble their signal to nonsubscribers. U.S. v. Playboy Entertainment Group, 529 U.S. 803.
The Bournes don't say whether they got the Playboy Channel through signal bleed or the programming was completely unscrambled. Verizon “failed to use due care and failed to make use of its training, equipment and technical expertise as a prudent cable provider,” the complaint alleges.
But computer owners have a duty to take reasonable precautions against the intrusion of hackers such as installing anti-virus software. And it would be absurd to hold a cable provider liable for unauthorized transmission of programming when a “prudent” subscriber can so easily control what programming they actually see -– or even not watch anything at all.
By Matthew Heller
12/17/08 
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Off With His Head! Woman Sues 'Mad Hatter' Actor
Experimental theater clashes with premises liability law in the case of a Kentucky woman who claims she was injured while watching a performance of a circus-inspired play when one of the actors balanced his knee on her head.
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Charity Worker Accuses CEO of Hypnotic Seduction
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Philly School Sued Over Race Attack on Student's Mom
Taking civil rights law to what may be an extreme, an Asian-American woman is alleging a Philadelphia high school's tolerance of racism rendered her “helpless prey” to African-American students who attacked her when she picked her child up from the school.
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'McSteamy' Sex Tape Suit Cools off With Settlement
Acting couple Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart have dropped a $1 million lawsuit against Gawker.com for publishing a videotape featuring them in a nude threesome with a friend after the gossip website agreed to take down the much-viewed posting.
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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.
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Arnaout v. Warden
Subject: Muslim inmate prayer
Document: John Walker Lindh declaration
Marriage of J.B. and H.B.
Subject: Same-sex divorce
Document: Opinion
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
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McCourt v. McCourt
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Dodgers divorce
Pom Wonderful v. Welch Foods
Court: USDC, C. Calif.
Subject: False advertising
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McCourt v. McCourt
Date: 8/30/10
Court: L.A. Superior
Hearing: Dodgers divorce trial
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