• 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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Cheating Husband's Suit Against Florist Wilts |
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 There will be no justice in Texas for a Houston man who wants 1-800-Flowers to pay for the anguish it allegedly caused him by providing proof of an extramarital affair to his wife, a federal judge has ruled.
Granting a motion to dismiss Leroy Greer's unusual breach of contract case, U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas said the Terms of Use that apply to those who access 1-800-Flowers.com required the case to be filed in New York -– even though Greer ordered a dozen red roses for his girlfriend over the telephone, not through the website.
The Terms of Use include a forum selection clause under which New York courts are the exclusive venue for “all claims and disputes arising under the Terms of Use or in connection with this Web Site.” 1-800-Flowers is based on Long Island, N.Y.
Greer argued that enforcement of the forum selection clause would be “unfair and outside of good business practice specifically when related to a purchase of nominal gifts such as flowers versus an oil-related overseas transaction[ ].”
But Atlas found the clause applies to Greer because he accessed the 1-800-Flowers privacy policy online after being referred to it by a customer service agent and the privacy policy is part of the Terms of Use.
“Accessing the website constitutes the agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use, including its forum selection clause,” she said in her ruling.
Greer sued 1-800-Flowers in August, claiming the company breached its privacy policy by sending a card to his home address thanking him for his purchase and then, after his wife saw the card, faxing her a copy of his order. “Defendants' misrepresentation [of privacy] damaged Plaintiff by leading to a contested divorce with his wife,” the complaint alleges.
Atlas's decision may seem somewhat unfair since Greer's use of 1-800-Flowers.com was only incidental to his telephone contact with the sales agent.
“The Privacy Policy that refers to the Terms of Use Policy for 1-800-FLOWERS.com customers is only applicable and actionable in this instance because defendant directed Leroy Greer to the online policy as an assurance that 1-800-FLOWERS 'recognizes and respects the importance of maintaining the privacy of our customers ... and established this Privacy Policy as a result,'” he said in his opposition to the motion to dismiss.
But if Greer had not been directed to the privacy policy, he would not have a case -– however flimsy -- in the first place. So there's an element of sophistry in his argument that he should not be bound by the forum selection clause in that same contract.
Greer's attorney, Kennitra Foote, said she disagreed with the ruling, but "we will not be appealing. Instead, we have decided that New York is probably the better venue for this case so we will be filing there in the next couple of weeks."
By Matthew Heller
10/13/07 
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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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