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 Says No Beef in Burger Chain's False Ads Case Print

burgerThe parent of the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain has lost the opening round in its deceptive advertising case against a competitor who suggested the Angus beef in its burgers comes from an unappetizing part of the cow's anatomy.

U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford in Los Angeles denied CKE Restaurants' motion for an order enjoining Jack in the Box from airing two television commercials promoting its rival “100% Sirloin Burger,” saying there was no evidence they misled consumers as to the physical origin of Angus beef.

In one of the ads set in a Jack in a Box conference room, the company's clown-faced "Jack" mascot uses a diagram of a cow to point to the area which the sirloin cut comes from. When an employee asks him to identify “the Angus area,” Jack glances at the animal's rear end and replies sheepishly, “I'd rather not.”

CKE argued that the ads “create the false impression that the meat used in 100% Angus Beef Hamburgers comes from the rear end and/or anus of beef cattle by creating phonetic and aural confusion between the words 'Angus' and 'anus.'”

According to a survey commissioned by the company, a “statistically significant” number of consumers were misled by the commercials. And CKE's chief executive claims customers have actually asked why it charges $6 for a burger made from a cow's rear end.

But Guilford -- noting the “often aggressive and sometimes amusing advertising campaigns for fast food, which might be called the Burger Battles” -- found CKE had no beef deserving of injunctive relief.

“Plaintiffs' survey uses leading and suggestive questions,” he said in his order, and the “deficiencies in the survey's design weaken the relevance and credibility of the survey evidence to the point where it sheds little if any light on the issue of likelihood of deceiving consumers.”

The judge also said the survey “establishes that consumers are not as unsophisticated and gullible as Plaintiffs suggest. While Plaintiffs' survey indicates that 17% of consumers were less likely to buy hamburgers made with Angus beef, the survey also revealed that 14% of consumers were more likely to buy hamburgers made with Angus beef.”

Elsewhere in the Burger Battles, a Utah judge issued a temporary order restraining a restaurant from offering several off-menu items trademarked by In-N-Out Burgers. In-N-Out sued Chadder's of American Fork, Utah, after its general counsel visited the restaurant and had his order for an off-menu “Animal Style Double Double with Animal fries” filled.

“In-N-Out has shown that ... Chadders has used at least one of the trademarks on at least one occasion after Chadders says that it instructed its employees not to use them, and that there is likely to be consumer confusion as to the source of the products,” U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart said in his order.

UPDATE

  • Carl's Jr. filed a notice of settlement Oct. 16, 2007.

  • In-N-Out and Chadders announced a confidential settlement of all claims Oct. 31, 2007.

  • By Matthew Heller
    9/5/07

     
    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.”
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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
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    Document: Complaint

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    RC_OnTrial

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    Subject: Child molestation
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    RC_OnTheDocket

    Brown v. Herbert
    Date: 12/16/11
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