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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Porn Star Sued for Damaging "Dolce Vita" Luster Print

No matter how tawdry the gay porn remake of “La Dolce Vita” may be, its producer appears to have some strong defenses to a trademark infringement case filed by the owner of the rights to the original Fellini classic.

“This case presents a paradigm of willfull trademark and coyright infringement,” International Media Films (IMF) says in a motion that requests a court order enjoining distribution of “Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita.”

Lucas, a Russian immigrant formerly known as Andrei Treivas Bregman, produced and stars in the film, which has transposed the original from Rome to New York and allegedly features “numerous, extended, graphic depictions of sexual activity.” It was released in November 2006 as a two-DVD set.

IMF claims the title “La Dolce Vita” is a protectable trademark under common law and Lucas's film will damage the mark irreparably by “tarnishing the luster of the title.”

But courts have generally avoided applying trademark law protections to titles because of free-speech concerns. And Lucas contends he has sufficiently distinguished his work from Fellini's by, among other things, adding his own name to the original title.

“[T]here simply is no likelihood that anyone will be confused between our client's gay pornography and your client's 1960's art film,” Lucas lawyer Raymond R. Castello wrote counsel for IMF in a Jan. 18, 2007 letter.

IMF filed suit in February after Lucas refused to stop distributing his film. The complaint includes a “false designation of origin” claim alleging consumers will be deceived into believing IMF originated, sponsored or approved Lucas's remake.

In arguing for injunctive relief, the company's lawyers cite Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders v. Pussycat Cinema, 604 F.2d 200 (1979), in which the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction on the distribution of the porn classic “Debbie Does Dallas.”

“Courts have recognized that tarnishment may occur when a mark's likeness is placed in the context of sexual activity,” IMF says.

But Dallas Cowboys is distinguishable since the NFL team objected not to the film's title, but to a scene in which Debbie engages in various sex acts while clothed or partially clothed in the cheerleaders' trademarked uniform.

Lucas should also be shielded from false origin liability since he is undeniably the producer of the remake and the U.S. Supreme Court has recently held that the phrase “origin of goods”

refers to the producer of the tangible goods that are offered for sale, and not to the author of any idea, concept, or communication embodied in those goods. Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film, 39 U.S. 23 (2003)

As for copyright infringement, IMF alleges Lucas has copied protected material including the famous Trevi Fountain scene from Fellini's original. But Lucas says he is “entitled to quote from [the original], as doing so constitutes fair use under [the Copyright Act], and to transform and/or parody that work directly.”

UPDATE

  • U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl denied IMF's motion for a preliminary injunction May 30, 2008.

  • Koeltl summarily dismissed the case in a March 31, 2010 opinion, finding IMF had failed to prove it was the rightful owner of the copyright to "La Dolce Vita."


  • Ironically, the distributors of another Fellini movie -- “Ginger and Fred” -- were the defendants in a seminal trademark case. Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F.2d 994 (1989), held that the title did not violate the rights of Ginger Rogers.

    By Matthew Heller
    3/31/07

     
    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
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    Document: Complaint

    Classic Media v. J.G. Wentworth
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    Subject: Publicity rights
    Document: Complaint

    McKee v. Laurion
    Subject: Doctor defamation
    Document: Opinion

    Francis v. U.S.
    Subject: Bear attack
    Document: Decision

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    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.
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    RC_OnTheDocket

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

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