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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Judge Allows Rare Appeal in "Borat" Privacy Case Print

In an unusual procedural move, a Mississippi judge has ruled that the makers of “Borat” can appeal his decision finding a woman briefly depicted in the “mockumentary” has actionable privacy claims.

Ellen Johnston appears for only three seconds in a “Borat” scene filmed at a Pentecostal camp but alleges the filmmakers portrayed her in a false light and misappropriated her image. She is shown among a crowd of worshippers who ecstatically witness the title character's apparent conversion to their faith.

U.S. District Judge W. Allen Pepper brushed aside “Borat's” First Amendment protections and denied a motion to dismiss in August. The defense then moved for reconsideration or, alternatively, an order certifying the case for interlocutory appeal.

It is highly unusual for appellate courts to intervene before completion of a case and hear interlocutory appeals. But in an Oct. 2 order, Pepper said such an appeal was warranted in Johnston's case “because there is 'a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion.'”

In particular, he continued, the “court agrees that there is an open question in Mississippi whether an invasion of privacy/misappropriation claim is confined to commercial advertising.”

According to the defense, Mississippi limits the tort of misappropriation to publications that used the plaintiff's image in connection with proposing a commercial transaction and the fact that the makers of “Borat” hoped to profit from the movie does not make it a commercial enterprise.

“The First Amendment fully protects the use of this footage in an expressive work,” the defense said in a brief.

But Pepper said that “it seems a matter of common sense to conclude that a motion picture is a commercial enterprise and has a commercial purpose. The purposes of a major motion picture may include intangibles such as providing entertainment or social satire, but they certainly are not free to produce nor are they free to watch.”

Another appellate issue is whether “Borat” is immune from liability under Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 (1952), in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that “expression by means of motion pictures is included within the free speech and free press guaranty of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”

“Borat's” “unique mixture of documentary and fiction ... does not bring it squarely in the realm of Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson,” Pepper said.

The judge also commented that “There are indeed many reasonable Americans, especially those who are of an older generation, who are not familiar with the type of humor/satire that is depicted in the film Borat.” Pepper is in his mid-60s.

Johnston v. One America Productions is the first "Borat"-related privacy case to survive a motion to dismiss. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has 10 days in which to decide whether to hear the filmmakers' appeal.

UPDATE

  • The 5th Circuit denied leave to appeal in a Nov. 13, 2007 order.

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    rc_insidestories
    • Jurors' Comments Fuel New Trial Bid in Bullying Case

      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

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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

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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...
    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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