• 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.
• 11th Circuit denies a challenge to an ordinance restricting handouts of food to the homeless in Orlando parks. "[W]e are unpersuaded that the conduct of simply feeding people ... is expressive for First Amendment purposes."
First Vagabonds Church v. City of Orlando
 
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Judge Dumps Libel Suit Against Dating Gossip Site |
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 A Pittsburgh judge has dismissed an attorney's defamation suit against the Florida operator of DontDateHimGirl.com, finding that the Web site's level of interaction with computer users was insufficient to establish jurisdiction.
“DontDateHimGirl.com is a minimally interactive website,” Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick said in a decision that did not address the merits of attorney Todd Hollis's claims that derogatory postings about him on the dating gossip site were libelous.
Hollis sued DDGH operator Tasha Joseph in June 2006 after users accused him of having herpes, speculated he was gay or bisexual and described his home as “a dump.” The site allows women to submit profiles of men who allegedly cheated on them.
While Joseph is a resident of Florida and the DDGH server is also located there, Hollis claimed she has “continuous and systematic contacts” with Pennsylvania and her site “sells significant advertising” to residents of that state.
In a motion to dismiss, the defense invoked a federal law that protects Internet service providers from being sued for defamation over content posted by third parties. Courts have applied the Communications Decency Act to such Web sites as MySpace, but the jurisdictional issue was all Wettick needed to grant the motion.
Jurisdiction in Internet cases can be tricky since Web sites can be accessed from just about anywhere. Hollis cited Mar-Eco, Inc. v. T&R and Sons Towing and Recovery, 837 A.2d 512 (2003), which held that a Maryland auto dealer could be sued in Pennsylvania because of its site.
According to Wettick, however, that site “permitted the defendant to perform a significant amount of business over the Internet,” and DDHG was more like the site in Efford v. Jockey Club, 796 A.2d 370 (2002), that an appeals court found to be “general advertising with the 'added convenience of an online registry.'”
The DDHG online store, Wettick noted, has sold only $200 worth of merchandise to six Pennsylvania residents, accounting for less than five percent of total sales.
The site also carries Google click-through ads, but the judge said Google has “no way of knowing the amount of money that it has paid [Joseph] on profiles of people that are identified with Pennsylvania.”
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Hollis v. Joseph Court Documents
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Plaintiff's Expert Files Appeal in 'Popcorn Lung' Lawsuit
A controversial expert witness for plaintiffs has filed an unusual non-party appeal of a Washington state judge's decision finding his theory that snackers can contract lung disease from exposure to microwave popcorn is not scientifically sound.
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Philly School Sued Over Race Attack on Student's Mom
Taking civil rights law to what may be an extreme, an Asian-American woman is alleging a Philadelphia high school's tolerance of racism rendered her “helpless prey” to African-American students who attacked her when she picked her child up from the school.
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'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.
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Sex Harassment Claims Hit Actor Affleck, 'Bones' Star
A producer of a film about actor Joaquin Phoenix, an extra on the set of the TV show “Bones,” an assistant property master, and a makeup artist are among the plaintiffs in a recent epidemic of lurid Hollywood lawsuits.
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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
Stovell v. James
Subject: LeBron's paternity
Document: Complaint
U.S. v. Arizona
Subject: Illegal immigration
Document: Complaint
Rosenberg v. Google
Subject: Negligent navigation
Document: Complaint
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McCourt v. McCourt
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Dodgers divorce
Pom Wonderful v. Welch Foods
Court: USDC, C. Calif.
Subject: False advertising
more
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McCourt v. McCourt
Date: 8/30/10
Court: L.A. Superior
Hearing: Dodgers divorce trial
more
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