Lohan v. E-Trade
Actress Lindsay Lohan alleges a TV ad featuring a "milkaholic" baby named Lindsay used her name and personality for advertising purposes without her consent.
Irvin v. Mustafa
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin files a countersuit against a woman who accused him of rape, alleging she is a "morally-bankrupt individual" who is trying to ruin his career.
Robbins v. Lower Merion SD
High-school student accuses a school
district of spying on him and other students
by remotely activating webcams contained in school-supplied laptops.
Peterson v. Grisham
10th Circuit finds John Grisham did not defame three Oklahoma law enforcement officials in a book about the wrongful convictions of two men for a rape-murder.
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• Owners of Who Dat?, Inc. sue the NFL and the New Orleans Saints for trademark infringement, seeking to protect the mark that "has become one of the most recognizable in all of America and quickly became well-known around the world."
Who Dat?, Inc. v. NFL Properties

• Army bomb disposal expert sues the makers of "The Hurt Locker" for plagiarizing his life story. The film is "nothing more than the exploitation of a real life honorable, courageous, and long serving member of our country’s armed forces, by greedy multi-billion dollar 'entertainment' corporations."
Sarver v. The Hurt Locker

• Former patient sues the Cincinnati hospital where he was sexually assaulted by a transgender nurse. The nurse's "employment while masquerading as a member of the female gender in a hospital environment involved an unreasonable risk of harm to others."
Evans v. University of Cincinnati

• Federal judge enjoins the City of Phoenix from enforcing a noise ordinance against "sound generated in the course of religious expression," finding the right of churches to ring bells outweighs "the City's interest in preserving the peace and tranquility of its neighborhoods."
St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish v. City of Phoenix

• 5th Circuit says a Texas city's junked vehicle ordinance applies to a cactus planter made out of wrecked Oldsmobile 88. "Irrespective of the intentions of its creators ... the car-planter is a utilitarian device, an advertisement, and ultimately a 'junked vehicle.'"
Kleinman v. City of San Marcos

• Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols notifies a federal judge that he has gone on hunger strike, saying he is "prepared to die if necessary because he is done allowing his body to be defiled by [ ] refined and dead foods."
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

• Texas judge finds the makers of a film about Rin Tin Tin did not infringe on the trademarks of a breeder of German Shepherds. "Defendants['] title 'Finding Rin Tin Tin: The Adventure Continues" is a fair use of the term 'Rin Tin Tin.'"
Rin Tin Tin, Inc. v. First Look Studios

• Illinois appeals court says the contact sports exception to negligence liability does not apply to the case of an athletic trainer who was struck in the eye by a hockey puck while refilling water bottles. Michael Weisberg "suffered injuries as a result of alleged conduct that was not inherent to the sport of hockey."
Weisberg v. Chicago Steel




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Dirty Dancer Settles with Town -- to Tune of $275K Print

A former Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WYE) manager says she wasn't expressing racial bias when she described herself as the “head nigger in charge” in front of an African-American employee -– she just had the phrase “fresh in my mind” after seeing the movie “Lean on Me.”

In the film, a school principal played by Morgan Freeman uses the phrase to convey his authority. “When I made the statement, I was referring to myself, and I did not intend to direct my comment at anyone but myself, and further never intended to hurt anyone who may have over heard the comment,” Patricia Stalter says in a court declaration.

Wyeth attached the declaration to a motion for summary dismissal of a discrimination suit filed by the African-American employee who overheard Stalter's comment. Joseph Gibson alleges he was subjected to a hostile work environment based on his race.

“A single offensive racial remark generally is insufficient to create a hostile work environment,” Wyeth argues in the motion.

According to Stalter, who worked at a Wyeth plant in Pearl River, N.Y., she saw “Lean on Me” in early October 2004. After she spoke about it with Francine Townsend, an African-American colleague, she says, “[S]ome of my African-American colleagues, including Townsend, used the 'HNIC' phrase to refer to me in jest on numerous occasions due to my position as a manager.”

On Oct. 26, 2004, Stalter had some trouble exerting her authority over two outside contractors who were visiting the plant. “Out of frustration,” she “blurted out to the contractors that I was the 'head nigger in charge ...”

“The phrase was fresh in my mind,” Stalter declares, “after having recently seen the movie 'Lean on Me' and having heard it from my colleagues recently ... I understand that it was inappropriate, and I deeply regret it.”

Gibson, who was at his desk about 20 feet away, has said that Stalter looked at him and said “Excuse me, Joe” before she made the “HNIC” comment -- which, if true, would suggest she wasn't being entirely spontaneous. She denies saying that in her declaration.

Courts have found the “routine” use of the word “nigger” in the workplace is evidence of discrimination, but Wyeth argues that Stalter uttered the type of “stray remark” which is not considered to be “severe or pervasive” enough to support a hostile work environment claim.

The company cited three cases (see table) in which courts found that “the use of the HNIC phrase is insufficient to demonstrate that a work environment is objectively hostile.”

Stalter got a written warning from Wyeth because of the “HNIC” incident and retired last April after nearly 36 years with the company. A Wyeth spokesman told the Journal News of White Plains, N.Y., that her retirement was not related to the lawsuit.

By Matthew Heller
11/13/08



After a six-year legal battle over dirty dancing, a North Carolina town has agreed to pay $275,000 to a woman whom it had banned from its community center because of her “sexual gyrations.”

The settlement will come from the Town of Marshall's insurance fund in return for Rebecca Willis dropping her civil-rights suit, which had twice been reinstated by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I am very happy with this settlement and relieved that the lawsuit is finally over,” Willis said in a statement released by the ACLU. “Although I personally no longer desire to attend dances at the Town Depot, today’s $275,000 settlement should send a message to the Town that in the future, any government-sponsored events should allow for diversity and free expression by members of the community.”

The town could ill afford to risk a trial after the recent pasting it got from the 4th Circuit, which ruled in April that Willis had a triable equal protection claim against the town for treating her differently than other patrons of Friday night concerts at its community center who danced and dressed similarly.

“[A] reasonable jury could conclude that the Town’s actions, rather than being guided by concern for the public welfare, were actually motivated by a conscious desire to single her out for undeserved punishment,” the opinion said.

By Matthew Heller
11/13/08

 
rc_insidestories
  • "Upskirting" Victim Loses Privacy Suit Against Store

    A customer at a T.J. Maxx store in upstate New York has lost her lawsuit against the retailer for allowing a man to take photos up her skirt by using her as “human bait” in a sting operation.
    Read more...
  • Perfume Allergy Case Settles for $100,000

    A Detroit city planner with an allergy to perfume is savoring the sweet smell of legal success after the city agreed to pay her $100,000 and be more sensitive to the chemically sensitive.
    Read more...
  • Teen's Suit Puts Mug-Shot Publisher Against the Wall

    A new publication in Lincoln, Neb., milks mug shots for humor. But a teenager whose arrest photo appeared in Cuffed doesn't see the funny side of it and has sued the publisher for misappropriating his image.
    Read more...
  • BA Settles 'Reckless' Baggage Handling Suit

    Limiting its liability to a group of only 13 airline passengers, British Airways (NYSE: BAY) has settled a first-of-its kind lawsuit that accused the airline of being “inexcusably reckless” in its handling of passengers' baggage.
    Read more...
  • Judge Says "Gay" Still Defamatory in Texas

    What one court has called “a veritable sea change in social attitudes about homosexuality” has evidently not reached Texas where a judge ruled that an airport security guard can sue a radio show host for calling him “gay” on the air.
    Read more...
  • Mom Says Hospital Gave Her Wrong
    Baby to Nurse


    Because of a hospital's error, Jennifer Spiegel became an involuntary wet nurse to another woman's newborn son. Now she is suing the hospital for its malpractice in providing her with the wrong baby to breastfeed.
    Read more...
  • Case Over MySpace Page Chills Student Speech

    Several recent court rulings have been protective of off-campus student speech -– with the exception of a very shaky decision that a dissenting judge said “vests school officials with dangerously overbroad censorship discretion.”
    Read more...
RC_OnFile

Newdow v. Rio Lindo Union Sch. Dist.
Subject: Pledge of allegiance
Document: Opinion

Vance v. Rumsfeld
Subject: Detainee abuse
Document: Opinion

Stern v. Sony Corp.
Subject: Disabled gamers
Document: Opinion

Churchill v. Univ. of Colorado
Subject: Academic freedom
Document: ACLU amicus brief

KBR/Halliburton v. Jones
Subject: Sexual assault
Document: Petition for review

more

RC_OnTrial

Spears v. Allergan, Inc.
Court: Orange County (Calif.) Superior
Subject: Botox death
Verdict: Defense

Patterson v. Hudson Area Schools
Court: USDC, E. Mich.
Subject: Student harassment

more


RC_OnTheDocket

McClain v. Pfizer, Inc.
Date: 3/2/10
Court: USDC, Conn.
Hearing: Jury trial in case over unsafe lab conditions.

Sherman v. McDonald's Corp.
Date: 3/23/10
Court: Washington County (Ark.) Circuit
Hearing: Jury trial in case over nude photos.

more