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.




Alltop_125x125.jpg







Law Firm Uses Preemptive Defense Against Rape Claim Print

A New York law firm has taken a leaf out of the legal playbook of celebrities by filing a preemptive suit against a secretary who allegedly demanded $9 million in return for not going public with a rape allegation.

Windy Richards has claimed she suffered “relentless” sexual harassment by Joseph V. Figliolo, a partner at Bivona & Cohen, culminating in the rape in November 2007. Her lawyer notified the firm in March that she was prepared to file suit.

But Bivona & Cohen beat her to the courthouse, filing a complaint last month which is much like that of talk-show host Bill O'Reilly, who alleged in 2004 that a Fox producer had threatened to sue him for sexual harassment as part of a $60 million extortion scheme.

Richards allegedly demanded a more modest $9 million as the price for her silence. “There was no rape or harassment," the suit says, and

Defendant's claims are false and are intended to publicly sully the reputations of an established successful law firm and a partner in the Firm if her unlawful demand is not met.

Figliolo is no celebrity and, judging from the complaint, no paragon of virtue either. But Bivona & Cohen's lawyer, Ronald M. Green, knows the territory well, having previously represented O'Reilly in his suit against Andrea Mackris.

"So-called 'preemptive' litigation is not the appropriate response to all threatened employment lawsuits and there are risks, but ... under the right circumstances, going on the offensive can be a highly effective way to protect a company’s legitimate business interests," Green wrote in a Bloomberg Law Reports article.

According to its suit, Bivona & Cohen hired Richards as a probationary employee in August 2007. She knew Figliolo had a drinking problem, it alleges, and entered his office in the early afternoon of Nov. 16 “to proposition him as part of a scheme to exploit his vulnerability.”

As Figliolo sat at his desk, Richards allegedly performed a lap dance, causing him to ejaculate. She did not claim she was raped, the suit says, until a Feb. 12 meeting called by an office manager to discuss her frequent absences from work.

The March 26 letter from Richards' attorney was followed, the suit says, by the demand for $9 million to settle the matter and avoid publicity. Bivona & Cohen is now seeking “affirmative action and relief, including a declaration that her threatened claims under the 'state and local anti-discrimination and human rights laws' have no factual and legal merit.”

Green has said that a preemptive strike can, among other things, “minimiz[e] the potentially serious damage to a party’s reputation that can result from an attempted shakedown.” O'Reilly's case settled for an undisclosed amount before the parties even got into discovery.

But one employment plaintiffs' lawyer has called the tactic “thuggish,” warning that preemptive suits “subject the employer to more liability for retaliation.”

Richards, apparently, is ready for a fight. “This is a lawsuit brought by a firm that according to its Web site prides itself on the tactic of filing what it describes as 'preemptive' lawsuits,” her lawyer said. “We look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law.”

COMMENT

  • "Are they kidding? Anyone who has ever been in a law firm environment knows that staff members are considered and are treated as inferior to the attorneys, particularly partners of the firm. In the complaint, Bivona attempts to portray their 50+ something year-old partner who engaged in this behavior as a victim [of] this calculating and manipulative secretary. Is this a joke? Bivona should be ashamed of itself." -- M.G.


  • By Matthew Heller
    5/14/08


     
    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.
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    • '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...
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    RC_OnTrial

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