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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Parents Win $2 for Wrongful Removal of Child Print

 

Rusty and Connie Roska

In a mystifying finale to an eight-year court battle, a Utah jury has awarded only $2 in nominal damages to the parents of an ailing 12-year-old boy who sued social workers for illegally removing the child from their home.

The caseworkers from Utah's Division of Child and Family Services, acting on suspicions of child abuse, seized Rusty Roska without a warrant or court order in May 1999. He spent a week in protective custody before a judge ordered the state to return him to his parents.

The removal was so traumatic that Rusty's mother, Connie Roska, collapsed on her front lawn as he was being driven away. While the social workers were at the home, the boy's physician warned them that they would “destroy this family emotionally and Rusty may never recover.”

Connie Roska and her husband -- who turned down a last-minute $100,000 settlement offer from the state -- were seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the violations of their parental rights. A neuropsychologist testified during the trial that they have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

But in a July 2 verdict, the federal jury somehow found that the Roskas suffered no compensable injury and deserved only $1 each. Nominal damages may be awarded when a plaintiff proves a violation of a substantive constitutional right, but is unable to show the violation caused actual injury.

The defense had portrayed the DCFS workers as caring professionals and pointed out that the plaintiffs had struggled with mental illnesses before their son's removal.

“Folks, you don't get damages just because your constitutional rights were violated,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Bates argued. “This isn't 'The Price Is Right.' [The Roskas] need to prove they were injured.”

Connie Roska has become a parental-rights advocate and, as a result of the case, the Utah legislature amended the child removal law. But the plaintiffs' attorney believes the meager monetary award will have a chilling effect on future suits.

“I can't imagine anyone wanting to go through this after this trial,” Steven Russell told the Salt Lake Tribune.

The child-welfare agency launched an investigation of the Roskas after school officials expressed concern for Rusty's health. Connie Roska had said he was suffering from kidney failure, but one of the social workers, Shirley Morrison, suspected the mother might be inducing illness in the child to attract sympathy from medical personnel -– a psychological condition known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

Morrison and a colleague, Melinda Sneddon, consulted an assistant attorney general about removing Rusty, but, accompanied by a police officer, entered his Layton home without a warrant and without knocking. He was taken away in his wheelchair.

In an account of the removal posted on a Website, Roska says Sneddon told Rusty, “We're going to take you away to make you feel better. Your mom can't handle you because she does daycare, and she doesn't want you anymore.”

The Roskas filed suit in October 1999, alleging numerous Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations, and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted them summary judgment on the issue of liability, finding Rusty's health and safety “were not in immediate danger” and the social workers failed to “provide the Roskas with preventive services to eliminate the need for removal.” Roska v. Sneddon, 437 F.3d 964 (2006).

By Matthew Heller
7/6/07

 
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Marsh v. Air Tran Airways
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