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.




Alltop_125x125.jpg







Hula Copyright Battle Morphs into Libel Claim Print

"Makanani"

A well-known photographer of “hula” dancers may have exposed himself to defamation liability by accusing a stained glass artist of copying his work before he named her as a defendant in a copyright infringement action.

Kim Taylor Reece alleged in September 2006 that a piece of stained glass art on display at a Kailua gallery violated his copyright in an image of a hula dancer on a beach. He listed the gallery and its owner as defendants in the original complaint, only adding the artist –- Marylee Leialoha Colucci –- to the list when he amended the suit in February.

"Nohe"

In a counterclaim, Colucci now says Reece defamed her in comments he made to the press in November and December about the similarities between his “Makanani” image and her stained glass work entitled “Nohe.” Both depict a hula dancer posed with her right arm pointed skyward.

Among other things, Reece said “It's almost a perfect copy” and “A third-grader can see that they traced this thing.”

Hawaii law applies an absolute litigation privilege to words and writings that are “material and pertinent” to judicial proceedings. But Reece spoke to the press before he had specifically initiated proceedings against Colucci and, the countersuit says,

Reece's words imputed to Colucci the commission of a crime by attempting to sell a work of art that was a copy of “Makanani” and are thus per se libelous in the State of Hawaii.

Reece could argue he is still entitled to the protection of the litigation privilege because he didn't impute anything that wasn't in the original complaint. “The infringing image is at least substantially similar to the original photograph, and in fact is virtually identical to the original,” the suit said.

But the photographer's extrajudicial comments may not have been “material and pertinent” under out-of-state precedent involving “litigation in the press” by attorneys for Michael Jackson.

In Rothman v. Jackson, 49 Cal.App.4th 1134 (1996), a California appeals court ruled that a “communicative act -- be it a document filed with the court, a letter between counsel or an oral statement -- must function as a necessary or useful step in the litigation process” for the litigation privilege to apply.

“Public mudslinging” is not protectable communication, the court said, concluding that “the litigation privilege should not be extended to 'litigating in the press.'"

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Hawaii, cited Rothman in finding the privilege did not apply to a slander case against pop star George Michael. “Extending the privilege to statements made ... without a purpose in the litigation process, would not be consistent with the objectives of the litigation privilege,” it said in Rodriguez v. Panayiotou, 314 F.3d 979 (2002).

A Hawaii judge ruled in December that Reece was unlikely to prevail on the merits of his copyright case and denied his motion for injunctive relief. A jury trial is currently scheduled for Nov. 14.

UPDATE

  • The parties settled the case in October 2007.


  • By Matthew Heller
    3/15/07
     
    rc_insidestories
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    • 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.
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    • Four Loko Maker Says Users Knew of Health Dangers

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    • 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.
      Read more...
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