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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Hollywood Hopes Cost "Sopranos" Plaintiff Print

The final episode of “The Sopranos” may have ended in ambiguity, but there was nothing uncertain about the verdict of a New Jersey jury that concluded a breach-of-contract case against the creator of the series.

After just one hour and 22 minutes of deliberations, the panel returned a defense verdict Dec. 19, finding that Robert V. Baer, a former New Jersey judge, did not show he reasonably expected to be paid for services he provided to David Chase during the development of “The Sopranos.”

Baer claimed he deserved up to $95,000 for giving Chase an “intensive three-day crash course on crime, criminal syndicates, and, specifically, mafia operations in New Jersey.” His claim was based on a “quantum meruit” theory, which allows “quasi-contractual recovery for services rendered when a party confers a benefit with a reasonable expectation of payment.”

The verdict form shows the jury believed that Baer was a Hollywood hopeful who performed his services “in the hope that he might obtain future opportunities in the entertainment business through David Chase” rather than be compensated monetarily. The jury never reached the issue of how much, if anything, his services were worth.

In what appears to have been crucial testimony, Baer conceded under cross-examination that he turned down three offers from Chase to pay him for his services and never signed a written contract.

“Listen, don't worry about it. If the show hits, you can take care of me. It's a longshot,” he recalled telling Chase. At the time, he was pursuing a career as a screenwriter.

"In show business, there are way too many cases like this," Chase said after the verdict. "I tried to help him out with his writing, but it didn't work."

Baer called the verdict a moral victory because the jury determined he had performed services for Chase. But he also said “we tried this case with our hands tied behind our backs” as a result of a pretrial ruling.

Granting a defense motion in limine, U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano precluded the plaintiff from presenting evidence relating to any creative ideas or suggestions he may have shared with Chase. The trial would be strictly limited to the “quantum meruit” claim, Baer's claim for misappropriation of his ideas having earlier been dismissed on summary judgment.

Defense co-counsel David L. Harris told the jury that Baer was just doing Chase a “favor” when he escorted him around northern New Jersey for three days.

Baer “served as a source of information at the writing stage of a pilot," Harris said. "This case was a lot about favors. Only Mr. Baer comes after the fact. He expects money for favors. ... No one in the TV industry has ever seen compensation for this kind of favor.”

But the jury specifically rejected that argument by answering “Yes” to the question, “Did Plaintiff prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Robert Baer performed services for David Chase with a reasonable expectation of compensation, and not as a favor to David Chase?”

UPDATES

  • Baer filed a notice of appeal of the jury's verdict Jan. 24, 2008.

  • Baer voluntarily dismissed his appeal Feb. 19, 2008.


  • Other Baer v. Chase Sources


    By Matthew Heller
    12/20/07

     
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