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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Restaurants Lay Goose Egg in Foie Gras Ban Case Print

foiegrasDeclining to question the wisdom of Chicago's ban on foie gras sales, a federal judge has upheld the first municipal ordinance of its kind against a constitutional challenge by restaurant owners.

“[T]he Ordinance’s constitutionality does not depend on whether the court or the parties agree as to its wisdom,” U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning said in granting the city's motion to dismiss. “The plaintiffs’ numerous arguments regarding the desirability of a foie gras ban are, therefore, beside the point.”

Manning quoted a 19th-century Frenchman as describing foie gras as “the supreme fruit of gastronomy.” But the Chicago law, she concluded in her order, is “a valid exercise of Chicago’s home rule powers under the Illinois Constitution because it is aimed at a sufficiently local problem.”

Illinois broadly allows “home rule” municipalities to “exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare.”

In an injunctive relief action, the Illinois Restaurant Association claimed the Chicago City Council exceeded that authority in April 2006 when it became the first city in the nation to ban on foie gras, the fattened liver of a force-fed duck or goose. California has enacted a similar statewide ban that will take effect in 2012.

According to the plaintiffs, foie gras production is not a problem “in which Chicago has a legitimate and substantial local interest” -- no birds are raised anywhere near the city –- and officials had failed to offer any justification for the ban on health or any other grounds.

The ordinance is a “moral statement” which was passed “because of the purportedly inhumane manner in which foie gras is produced,” the plaintiffs argued.

But Manning held that the city could legitimately “use a foie gras ban to make a statement about the methods used to produce foie gras ... since local political bodies traditionally enact legislation reflecting the perceived desires of their constituency.”

“The Ordinance thus reflects the City Council’s judgment that banning the sale of foie gras would benefit the City and advance the morals of the community,” she said. “The court cannot sit as a superlegislature and determine if, in its judgment, the City Council was correct.”

The restaurant association is considering an appeal. "We feel that foie gras is a legal product and the ban is infringing on our owner's right to sell it," a spokesman said.

Elsewhere on the foie gras front, a Humane Society suit that seeks to declare the delicacy an “adulterated product” unfit for human consumption is pending in Albany County, N.Y.

UPDATES

  • The restaurant association filed a notice of appeal July 10, 2007.

  • The Chicago City Council repealed the ordinance in May 2008, making the restaurant association's appeal moot.


  • Foie Gras Ban Court Documents


    By Matthew Heller
    6/13/07

     
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