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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School Cites Racial Tension for Dixie Clothing Ban Print

The "volatile circumstances" of an educational environment “permeated with racial tension” justify a Missouri school district's decision to discipline a student for wearing Confederate clothing, the district contends in court papers.

A summary judgment motion describes three incidents of racial violence that preceded the suspension of Bryce Archambo in September 2006. The Farmington High School student, who sued the district for violating his free-speech rights, wore a belt buckle and t-shirt that featured the Confederate flag and the words “Dixie Classics.”

In one incident, the motion says, a white student urinated on a black student, saying “that’s what black people deserve.” The other incidents involved a racial fight outside of school and alleged racial harassment by Farmington High basketball players during a tournament at a neighboring school district.

Under Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969), school officials may forbid student speech that they reasonably believe would “substantially interfere with the work of the school or impinge upon the rights of other students.”

“[T]he District's educational environment was permeated with racial tension,” the district says, and

These incidents fully satisfied the [Tinker] threshold for prohibiting certain symbols on student clothing in public school districts and made the District’s actions both appropriate and necessary.

Archambo, the original plaintiff in the case against the Farmington R-7 School District, has been joined by two other students who were also suspended for wearing clothing depicting the Confederate flag.

In their opposition to the district's motion, the students say none of the prior racial incidents occurred at the high school and “there is not testimony or fact that establishes that [the urination] incident was racially motivated.”

“Defendants have not proved that there was any substantial disorder to the educational environment caused by Plaintiffs’ wearing of the Confederate flag upon their clothing [and] no fight occurred because the Confederate flag was worn at school by one of the Plaintiffs,” the brief argues.

The Supreme Court recently found that Tinker did not protect the speech of a student who displayed a banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” But the Farmington students say Morse v. Frederick “is not applicable to Plaintiffs’ case because they were not disciplined for wearing clothing that depicted drug use or illegal activity.”

On Point previously suggested the district did not have enough evidence of racial tension to meet the Tinker standard. It now looks like a closer case –- and one that can only add to the controversy over student speech.

UPDATES

  • U.S. District Judge Jean C. Hamilton granted the summary judgment motion Aug. 10. "Defendants ... had reason to believe that students displaying the Confederate flag would cause a substantial and material disruption," she said in her order.

  • The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal Aug. 31 with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • By Peyton Burgess
    7/20/07

     
    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.
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    • Four Loko Maker Says Users Knew of Health Dangers

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    • 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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