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 OKs Parents' Suit Over Spinal Tap on Infant Print

A federal judge has ruled that an Idaho couple can sue Boise police and an emergency room physician for depriving them of their right to decide whether their infant daughter should undergo a spinal tap test for meningitis.

Corissa Mueller and daughter Taige

Eric and Corissa Mueller have said they want their parental rights case to change the way medicine is practiced in Idaho. And they moved a step closer toward that goal as U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said a police detective may have illegally authorized the doctor to perform the spinal tap on five-week-old Taige Mueller.

Idaho's child protection statute allows police to “seize” a minor when “necessary to prevent serious physical or mental injury to the child.”

“[T]here are questions of fact concerning whether Detective [Dale] Rogers violated the Muellers' parental rights by not securing a judicial hearing ... before seizing Taige,” Winmill said in an order denying summary judgment to the city of Boise on the plaintiffs' civil-rights claim.

The ruling also allows the Muellers to proceed with a conspiracy claim against Dr. Richard MacDonald which alleges he induced Rogers to enforce the child protection law by deliberately overstating the case for performing the spinal tap.

Rogers has testified that MacDonald told him there was a five percent chance that “Taige Mueller could die within hours if the spinal tap was not performed and the antibiotics not given.”

Parental rights plaintiffs have often invoked religious objections to medical treatment. But religion had nothing to do with why Corissa Mueller objected to her daughter's spinal tap.

After Corissa brought Taige to St. Luke's Regional Medical Center with flu-like symptoms in August 2002, staff performed laboratory tests including urinalysis. By the time the tests came back negative, Taige's temperature had dropped from 101.3 to 98.9.

MacDonald, who had explained it was hospital policy to test infants with a temperature over 100.4 for meningitis, insisted on proceeding with the spinal tap, even though Corissa refused to consent. “[T]he risks of performing the spinal tap were at least as great as the risks of not performing it,” the Muellers said in their complaint.

Corissa alleges police confined her to another room in the hospital after Rogers informed her he was declaring Taige in imminent danger and had taken custody of the child. The spinal tap came back negative for meningitis and the Muellers had to wait more than a week before a judge returned Taige to their custody.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and a court order enjoining the seizure of a child “to effect interference with a parent's custodial rights where time permits the consultation of a judicial officer.”

According to Rogers, the process of calling the on-duty prosecutor who would then contact a judge would have taken too long. But Winmill said the officer “may have been influenced in part by a City policy discouraging the police to contact judges directly.”

The defendants have filed motions for reconsideration and indicated they will appeal if Winmill does not change his mind.

UPDATES

  • Judge Winmill denied the motions for reconsideration in a June 7 order.

  • The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Winmill in an Aug. 10, 2009 opinion, dismissing all of the claims against Detective Rogers. "Our conclusion regrettably will come as no consolation to the Mueller family, but it is required by law based upon the
    need to allow government officials to make reasonable decisions," the court said.


  • By Matthew Heller
    3/26/07

     
    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.
      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

      The maker of Four Loko has previewed its defense of a slew of product liability lawsuits, arguing that the physical effects of the energy drink's mixture of alcohol and caffeine — far from being an undisclosed risk to consumers — are precisely what made it so popular.
      Read more...
    • 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.
      Read more...
    • 'Next Friends' of Orcas Bid to Stop SeaWorld Slavery

      An animal rights lawsuit against SeaWorld for enslaving five killer whales at its aquatic theme parks in San Diego and Orlando may sink even though humans are representing the orcas as their “next friends.”
      Read more...
    • 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

    more

    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

    more


    RC_OnTheDocket

    Brown v. Herbert
    Date: 12/16/11
    Court: USDC, Utah
    Hearing: Motion to dismiss polygamy case

    more