Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Judge strikes down California's same-sex marriage ban, finding that "Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians."
U.S. v. Arizona
Arizona judge enjoins enforcement of a new immigration law's requirement that police determine the immigration status of
every person who is arrested.
McGuire v. United Airlines
Michigan woman says a United Express flight crew locked her in a plane for nearly four hours after it landed because they failed to ensure that all passengers had disembarked.
R.H. v. Schenectady Sch. Dist.
Middle school student says he was suspended for wearing rosary beads because the rosary "is considered a gang-related symbol" and cannot be worn in school.
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• Nevada man sues the Mormon church over a back injury he suffered performing baptisms for the dead. The church was negligent in not warning Daniel Dastrup that "the repetitive motion required for performing baptisms for the dead could cause serious damage to a person's back."
Dastrup v. LDS Church

• Attorney says he was harassed by his boss at a Newport Beach, Calif., law firm because refused to attend a seminar "where he would be stripped naked, not allowed to leave, be required to discuss details of his sex life, handle a wooden dildo, and potentially allow other men to touch his genitals."
Eggleston v. Bisnar/Chase

• Parents of a 10-year-old boy who witnessed a killer whale's fatal attack on a trainer sue Sea World Orlando for infliction of emotional distress. "Without question, it was reasonably foreseeable and in fact predictable that an attack such as this one by a killer whale with the tendencies of Tilikum was inevitable." Connell v. Sea World

• Denver judge dismisses Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols's civil rights claims against prison officials for denying him a high-fiber diet.
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons

• Illinois teenager with cerebral palsy sues the Special Olympics for refusing to let her play basketball with the help of a service dog.
Youngwith v. Special Olympics

• Montana judge sets aside a government decision removing protections for the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. The Endangered Species Act "was not intended to sow the dragon's teeth of strife or to plant the seeds of future conflicts that have given rise to this case."
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar

• San Francisco judge dismisses a cereal consumer's false advertising suit. "[T]here is nothing in the packaging or marketing of Cap’n Crunch that would in any way deceive a reasonable consumer into believing that the cereal contains or derives nutritional value from real fruit." Werbel v. PepsiCo

• Iowa judge says a sheriff denied the applications of a father and son for concealed weapons permits in retaliation for their political activism. "This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views." Dorr v. Weber

• 5th Circuit rules that a school district violated the religious freedom of a Native American boy by requiring him to wear his long hair in a bun on top of his head or in a braid tucked into his shirt. The boy "has a sincere religious belief in wearing his hair uncut and in plain view."
A.A. v. Needville Ind. Sch. Dist.




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Injury Claims

Jacko Sued for Turning Hospital into "Neverland" Print

 

Marian Medical Center

The family of an elderly California woman has accused Michael Jackson of outrageously abusing his celebrity status by having her kicked out of her hospital bed so he could take refuge from his child molestation trial two years ago, On Point has learned.

Jackson was admitted Feb. 15, 2005 to Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, Calif., after complaining of “flu-like symptoms.” The hospitalization caused a hiatus in jury selection at his trial – and, according to the latest addition to his litany of legal troubles, devastated the family of 74-year-old Manuela Ruiz.

“Michael Jackson’s trumped-up admission to the Trauma Room ... [was] a tragic play that allowed Michael Jackson to ease his nerves in avoiding court while forever traumatizing the Plaintiffs, watching the final hours of their mother’s life,” a complaint filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court says.

Ruiz, who had suffered a heart attack, was allegedly being treated in a two-bed trauma room –- the hospital's most acute care facility -- when Jackson and his entourage arrived. Even though she “posed no 'privacy' risk” for Jackson, her family says, nurses disconnected her from life support machines and “hustled” her out of the room.

“[T]he Hospital's covert 'VIP' policy efficiently and swiftly clear-cut the way for Michael Jackson's need for 'privacy',” the plaintiffs allege.

Amid “confusion and chaos,” Ruiz allegedly ended up in a small examination room, where she had another heart attack. She died later that day –- by which time Jackson had been moved to the empty pediatric unit.

The plaintiffs are not suing for wrongful death or medical malpractice. But they are claiming unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, which requires them to prove the defendants' conduct was “unacceptable and intolerable ... in a civilized society.”

Jackson met that high standard, the suit contends, by “transforming the Hospital, purportedly caring for the sick and dying, into an extension of [his] Neverland carnival park.” The hospital, meanwhile, is liable for "abandoning its obligations to a critically ill patient."

The severity of Jackson's symptoms could be a key issue in the case. At the time of his admission, a hospital official said he was tested for “a flu-like illness with some vomiting.”

The Ruiz family claims that medical records will show he not only did not require placement in the trauma room, but that “he should not have been admitted to the Hospital at all … having been told during admission that he could just as well go home!”

2/16/07

 
rc_insidestories
  • Court Raps Judge Over 'Moral' Views in Adoption Case

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has rejected the reactionary views of a family court judge who ruled that a foster parent could not adopt a child because her out-of-wedlock relationship with a man was “immoral.”
    Read more...
  • Off With His Head! Woman Sues 'Mad Hatter' Actor

    Experimental theater clashes with premises liability law in the case of a Kentucky woman who claims she was injured while watching a performance of a circus-inspired play when one of the actors balanced his knee on her head.
    Read more...
  • Charity Worker Accuses CEO of Hypnotic Seduction

    A former charity worker may be pushing the limits of sexual harassment law by alleging that her boss required her to participate in “relaxation sessions” on his “magic couch” during which he hypnotized and molested her.
    Read more...
  • Appeal is Expert's Latest Challenge to Judges

    Expert witness Dr. David Egilman was previously successful in showing he had standing to appeal a judicial order in a case in which he was not a party — but that case may not help him in his latest challenge to a trial judge.
    Read more...
  • Plaintiff's Expert Files Appeal in 'Popcorn Lung' Lawsuit

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    Read more...
  • Philly School Sued Over Race Attack on Student's Mom

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    Read more...
  • 'McSteamy' Sex Tape Suit Cools off With Settlement

    Acting couple Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart have dropped a $1 million lawsuit against Gawker.com for publishing a videotape featuring them in a nude threesome with a friend after the gossip website agreed to take down the much-viewed posting.
    Read more...
RC_OnFile

LaRocco v. McDonald's
Subject: Hot chocolate scalding
Document: Complaint

Stovell v. James
Subject: LeBron's paternity
Document: Motion to dismiss

Arnaout v. Warden
Subject: Muslim inmate prayer
Document: John Walker Lindh declaration

Marriage of J.B. and H.B.
Subject: Same-sex divorce
Document: Opinion

Rosenberg v. Google
Subject: Negligent navigation
Document: Complaint

more

RC_OnTrial

McCourt v. McCourt
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Dodgers divorce

Pom Wonderful v. Welch Foods
Court: USDC, C. Calif.
Subject: False advertising

more


RC_OnTheDocket

McCourt v. McCourt
Date: 8/30/10
Court: L.A. Superior
Hearing: Dodgers divorce trial

more