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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Cop's Widow Wants More Than $5 Million Award Print

A day after winning a $5 million award in a civil-rights case, the widow of a Tennessee police officer slain by a colleague took the unusual step of asking the trial judge to refer the case to a criminal grand jury.

Sgt. Yancey

State prosecutors concluded in 2003 that the death of Scott County Sheriff's Sgt. Hubert "John-John" Yancey was accidental. He was shot by former Deputy Marty Carson during a raid on a suspected methamphetamine lab.

But last week, a federal jury in Knoxville, Tenn., found Carson liable for violating Yancey's right to life and awarded $5 million in damages to the sergeant's widow. And now Lori Yancey has filed a motion under a law which says federal crimes “may be brought to the attention of the grand jury by the court or by any attorney appearing on behalf of the United States.”

The civil verdict of liability against Carson “exceeds the probable cause standard for a criminal indictment,” the motion says. Lori Yancey wants him to be prosecuted for deprivation of rights under color of law.

John Yancey was shot Nov. 28, 2003 in a trailer home where he believed a meth lab was being operated. According to court testimony, two of the residents had been up doing meth for 20 straight days without sleep.

Carson testified he was approaching the back bedroom in the trailer when he saw through the partially open door the outline of a figure who appeared to be holding a gun. He then retreated into the bathroom and fired one shot at what he thought was a shotgun-wielding suspect advancing on him from the bedroom.

No one in the trailer was armed and Lori Yancey originally alleged that Carson lured her husband into a fatal trap for political reasons -– both John Yancey and Carson were candidates to succeed Carson's father as sheriff.

After Jim Carson was booted out of office in August 2006, two former Scott County jail inmates came forward to claim that Marty Carson killed Yancey because the sergeant was investigating allegations that he was involved in meth dealing.

In key trial testimony, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper corroborated those witnesses. “John-John and I spoke to an informant about Marty Carson being involved in the drug trade and accepting bribes," Mark Chitwood told the jury.

The statute of limitations on a criminal charge of civil-rights violations will expire in November 2008. “While ample time presently remains for a complete investigation, it is important that the Grand Jury have the opportunity to conduct such an investigation as soon as possible,” Lori Yancey says in her motion.

Carson has filed a response brief which contends U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan would intrude on the authority of the executive branch if he granted the “extraordinary request of a private, civil litigant to intervene in the grand jury process.”

Lori Yancey, he also argues, “is judicially estopped to assert any interest she may have to seek a criminal prosecution” because, among other things, she repeatedly emphasized to the trial jury the distinction between the civil burden of proof –- a preponderance of the evidence –- and the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases.

UPDATE

  • Judge Varlan denied the motion in a Dec. 14, 2007 order, citing precedent holding that “[t]he decision whether to prosecute and what charge to file or bring before a grand jury are decisions that lay within a prosecutor’s discretion.”



  • By Matthew Heller
    11/18/07

     
    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.”
      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