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 Denies Teacher's Bid to Pack Heat on Campus Print

In a narrow decision that focuses largely on the definition of the word “ordinance,” an Oregon judge has rejected a teacher's challenge to a school district policy barring employees from packing concealed weapons on campus.

Shirley Katz sued her employer in September, arguing the policy is unenforceable since, under state law, the Legislature has sole authority to regulate guns and prohibits any “civil or criminal ordinances” enacted by a "county, city or other municipal corporation or district.”

The case presented a classic conflict between Katz's desire to protect herself from her ex-husband and the Medford School District's concerns over campus safety in the post-Columbine era. Katz, 44, has a concealed weapons permit and gun rights advocates are paying her legal fees.

But Jackson County Circuit Court Judge G. Philip Arnold steered clear of the hot-button issues in an order denying Katz's motion for a preliminary injunction.

“Plaintiff’s personal problems are not a factor in deciding the case,” he ruled. “Likewise, the wisdom of the District’s policy is not a factor in the case, nor are the potential problems which might arise if the statute prohibits the policy.”

The narrow issue for Arnold was one of statutory interpretation -– whether the district's weapons policy is an “ordinance” preempted by ORS 166.170. The statute does not define the term, but the judge used Black's Law Dictionary, which says, “In its most common meaning, the term is used to designate the enactments of the legislative body of a municipal corporation.”

“In this case, it is clear the District’s prohibition on weapons is contained in a school board employee policy, and is not an ordinance,” Arnold concluded. “By the very words of the statute, ORS 166.170(2) does not apply to school board policies ... Plaintiff's effort to insert another term, 'employment policies,' in the statute is inappropriate.”

Katz attorney James E. Leuenberger plans to appeal. “You can't call a horse a dog and get away with it,” he told The Oregonian. “They are prohibiting staff members from carrying weapons on school grounds. You can call it a policy all you want, you can call it algebra, it's still a law.”

But Leuenberger is relying on an antiquated Webster's definition of “ordinance” as “an established rule, policy, or practice.” And it is certainly a stretch to equate the term to workplace rules that do not affect the general public.

Arnold also noted that “the legislature uses the word 'policy' when it intends to refer to a policy and if the legislature is addressing both policies and ordinances, it clearly states both ... In ORS 166.170 the legislature used only the word 'ordinance,' and did not mention employment policies.”

UPDATE

  • In a Nov. 18, 2009 opinion, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Arnold's order.


  • Katz Case Court Documents


    By Matthew Heller
    11/11/07


     
    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.
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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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    • 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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    RC_OnTrial

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