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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Is Contract to Cover up Sex Assault Enforceable? Print

The enforceability of a “hush money” contract is at issue in the case of a casino host who alleges a Virginia businessman has reneged on an agreement to pay her $230,000 for not telling police that he sexually assaulted her

According to a complaint filed Dec. 23 in Los Angeles, Arnold Gale has “unequivocally stated” that he does not intend to honor the contract he made with Suzanne Le after the alleged assault at a casino hotel in Ontario, Canada. She had traveled there from California to accompany Gale on a gambling junket.

In addition to suing Gale for breach of contract, Le is seeking a court order declaring that the contract is “a valid, binding agreement” and “Mr. Gale is obligated to compensate her in the amount of $230,000.00 in accordance with the terms of the Contract.”

“Ms. Le was physically and emotionally violated by Mr. Gale's degenerate and illegal conduct at the Windsor Casino, and was further damaged financially when Mr. Gale failed to comply with the terms of the Contract,” the suit says.

Gale allegedly wrote the agreement out on Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino letterhead. But case law –- including a celebrated case involving NBA great Michael Jordan –- suggests it may not be worth the paper it was written on.

“Not all contracts for silence violate public policy,” the Illinois Appellate Court said in Knafel v. Jordan, 823 N.E.2d 1113 (2005). “... However, we also recognize that there are contracts for silence that are unenforceable. For example, they may suppress information about harmful products or information about public safety, they may conceal criminal conduct, or they may constitute extortion or blackmail.”

Karla Knafel was a longtime mistress of Jordan's when he agreed to pay her $5 million if she did not file a paternity suit against him and kept their relationship secret. By contrast, Gale and Le hardly knew each other.

They met in January 2008, the suit says, at a casino near San Diego where Le worked as a host and Gale, with Le at his side, won “an undisclosed sum of money.” Apparently considering her a “good luck” charm, he invited her to join him on the junket at Caesars Windsor in March.

“Mr. Gale assured Ms. Le ... that Ms. Le would be compensated in the amount of $3,000.00 for her platonic companionship that weekend,” Le says.

The alleged sexual assault occurred March 7 in their hotel suite after he allegedly drugged her. Le tried to call police but Gale took the phone away from her and then

proposed that they enter into a contract, whereby he would pay Ms. Le a sum of money as compensation for the physical and emotional distress he had caused and in exchange for her not contacting local law enforcement.

Gale immediately handed over $20,000 and Le, under the terms of the contract, expected to receive monthly payments of $5,000 on the additional $230,000. After contacting Gale “to inquire as to why the payments were not received,” she learned in November that he “did not intend to honor the Contract.”

Le is also claiming deceit and intentional infliction of emotional distress. But the alleged agreement for her silence with Gale certainly seems to fit the description of a contract to “conceal criminal conduct” that was recognized as unenforceable in Knafel.

A New York appeals court, moreover, found that a similar agreement was extortionate in Yao v. Bult, 666 N.Y.S. 2d (1997). The plaintiff in that case sued a “wealthy financial executive” for breaching an agreement to pay him in exchange for his promise not to publicize their “brief, intimate relationship.”

UPDATE

  • A court document shows Le and Gale reached a settlement agreement April 29, 2009.


  • By Matthew Heller
    1/4/09

     

     
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    • Guest Can Sue Motel 6 Over Attack by Woman's Pimp

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      Read more...
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