• 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.
 
|
|
Skier's Suit Against Boy, 8, Gets Frosty Reception |
 |
A 60-year-old man's suit against an 8-year-old boy over a skiing accident has triggered an avalanche of indignation. But Colorado law appears to allow minors of any age to be sued for negligence on the slopes.
David Pfahler, a Pennsylvania resident, filed suit Sept. 6, claiming Scott Swimm is liable under the Colorado Ski Safety Act for the “massive” rotator cuff tear he suffered while skiing on Arrowhead Mountain in the Vail Valley area. Swimm, who was 7 at the time, collided with Pfahler in January 2007 as he allegedly tried to overtake the older skier.
“As the uphill and overtaking skier, defendant Swimm had the primary duty to avoid collision with any person in front of him,” the complaint, which seeks at least $75,000 in damages, says. The boy's father is named as a co-defendant.
The case did not receive any publicity, however, until the Vail Daily newspaper published a story Dec. 20 that quoted Swimm's mother. “Who in the world sues a child?” Susan Swimm protested. “It just boggles my mind every day.”
The story also quoted a law professor as saying that a minor cannot be sued directly in Colorado. And Pfahler, a former teacher who now works for Reader's Digest, was soon being reviled in Internet postings as a “bully,” “leach” and “loser.”
“Pfahler needs to 'get a life' and leave this kid alone,” wrote one Denver Post reader, while another said that “suing an 8-year-old is a new record low for our society.”
Pfahler attorney James H. Chalat (Chalat Hatten, Denver) says his office has received angry phone calls and e-mails. But he insists that “There is nothing unusual about this case.”
“The settled law in Colorado is that children have co-equal rights and duties as adults under the Colorado Ski Safety Act,” he tells On Point. “Because Scott is by law responsible, the proper procedural technique is to sue him.”
In Doering v. Copper Mountain, 259 F.3d 1202 (2001), the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that two children, ages 4 and 6, who were injured in a sledding accident could be found contributorily negligent.
The Ski Safety Act applies to “any person,” the court noted, and the Legislature clearly intended “to abrogate the common law when it conflicts with the Act.” Common law considers children under the age of 7 incapable of contributory negligence.
“Our experience is that most matters such as this are settled by the family of the involved child without involvement of counsel,” Chalat says.
The Swimms have filed an answer to the complaint, saying Scott “was faced with a sudden emergency and is therefore not liable” for Pfahler's injuries and any recovery must be reduced by the plaintiff's own negligence.
Robb Swimm, who witnessed the collision, has said his son was skiing slowly and in control when Pfahler, who was a few feet in front of him, turned and stopped. As Scott's skis passed over Pfahler's, the two got tangled up and fell.
“If he [Pfahler] gets anything, I'm going to be pretty upset,” the elder Swimm told the Denver Post. Scott is scheduled to testify at a deposition Jan. 7.
By Matthew Heller
12/28/07 
|
|
-
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...
|
Marsh v. Air Tran Airways
Subject: Roaches on a plane
Document: Complaint
Classic Media v. J.G. Wentworth
Subject: "Lassie" copyright
Document: Complaint
Kardashian v. Old Navy
Subject: Publicity rights
Document: Complaint
McKee v. Laurion
Subject: Doctor defamation
Document: Opinion
Francis v. U.S.
Subject: Bear attack
Document: Decision
more
|
|
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.
Subject: PTSD discrimination
Verdict: $680,000
more
|
|
Brown v. Herbert
Date: 12/16/11
Court: USDC, Utah
Hearing: Motion to dismiss polygamy case
more
|
|
|
