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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Ex-Judge Seeks "Sopranos" Cut from Producer Print

After more than five years of litigation, a former judge's breach-of-contract case against the creator of “The Sopranos” boils down to three days the two men spent together exploring “the world of organized crime.”

The only claim of Judge Robert V. Baer that went to trial this week in Newark, N.J., federal court involves “quasi-contractual recovery for services rendered when a party confers a benefit with a reasonable expectation of payment” -- what is known as a “quantum meruit” claim.

Baer is seeking payment for the “intensive three-day crash course on crime, criminal syndicates, and, specifically, mafia operations in New Jersey” that he gave David Chase back in October 1995 when Chase was working on the “Sopranos” pilot. His expert witness has valued those services at more than $95,000.

The last words Chase allegedly spoke to Baer before he left Jersey were: "I don't know how I could ever repay you."

Chase says he offered to pay Baer, but the former Hudson County municipal judge declined, saying the experience of working with Chase would help “jump-start” his own career as a screenwriter. Defense experts are expected to testify that consultants are usually not paid for help with pilots and writers rely on colleagues and other sources for free help.

The case, which Baer filed in May 2002, has gone through a convoluted history, with U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano twice throwing it out only to be reversed on the quantum meruit claim by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Proving to be every bit as resilient as Tony Soprano, the fictional mob boss and central figure of The Sopranos, this action returns to the Court for a third time,” Pisano said after the second appellate reversal.

Baer originally alleged among his 10 claims that Chase stole creative ideas from him for “The Sopranos.” In 2004, the 3rd Circuit held that he had no claim for misappropriation because the ideas he allegedly submitted to Chase were not sufficiently novel to warrant protection. Baer v. Chase, 392 F.3d 609.

Pisano earlier this year rejected Baer's argument that he should still be allowed to recover in quasi-contract for his ideas because his sharing of those ideas, though not novel, conferred a benefit upon Chase and the ideas were at least novel to Chase.

“It is clear from Baer’s Complaint, the evidence in the record and the previous decisions in this case that, although he did perform some services for Chase, Baer did not assist in the creation or development of The Sopranos,” Pisano concluded in an April 27 opinion.

During those three days in Jersey, Baer helped arrange for Chase to meet with Tony Spirito, a waiter who had known mobsters growing up in Peterstown, N.J. He and a police detective also escorted the writer to the locations of various waste management companies and to a meat market that allegedly inspired the Satriale's Pork Store owned by Tony Soprano.

"David Chase didn't know Jack about organized crime. He didn't even know what the 'vig' was," Spirito told the Newark Star-Ledger.

But whatever Chase learned from his “crash course,” it's hard to believe the jury will assign a value to Baer's services that will make such a protracted litigation worthwhile. In court documents, Chase has called Baer "self-delusional."

For Star-Ledger coverage of the trial, click here.

 
rc_insidestories
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    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.
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  • '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.
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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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