• Owners of Who Dat?, Inc. sue the NFL and the New Orleans Saints for trademark infringement, seeking to protect the mark that "has become one of the most recognizable in all of America and quickly became well-known around the world."
Who Dat?, Inc. v. NFL Properties
• Army bomb disposal expert sues the makers of "The Hurt Locker" for plagiarizing his life story. The film is "nothing more than the exploitation of a real life honorable, courageous, and long serving member of our country’s armed forces, by greedy multi-billion dollar 'entertainment' corporations."
Sarver v. The Hurt Locker
• Former patient sues the Cincinnati hospital where he was sexually assaulted by a transgender nurse. The nurse's "employment while masquerading as a member of the female gender in a hospital environment involved an unreasonable risk of harm to others."
Evans v. University of Cincinnati
• Federal judge enjoins the City of Phoenix from enforcing a noise ordinance against "sound generated in the course of religious expression," finding the right of churches to ring bells outweighs "the City's interest in preserving the peace and tranquility of its neighborhoods."
St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish v. City of Phoenix
• 5th Circuit says a Texas city's junked vehicle ordinance applies to a cactus planter made out of wrecked Oldsmobile 88. "Irrespective of the intentions of its creators ... the car-planter is a utilitarian device, an advertisement, and ultimately a 'junked vehicle.'"
Kleinman v. City of San Marcos
• Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols notifies a federal judge that he has gone on hunger strike, saying he is "prepared to die if necessary because he is done allowing his body to be defiled by [ ] refined and dead foods."
Nichols v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Texas judge finds the makers of a film about Rin Tin Tin did not infringe on the trademarks of a breeder of German Shepherds. "Defendants['] title 'Finding Rin Tin Tin: The Adventure Continues" is a fair use of the term 'Rin Tin Tin.'"
Rin Tin Tin, Inc. v. First Look Studios
• Illinois appeals court says the contact sports exception to negligence liability does not apply to the case of an athletic trainer who was struck in the eye by a hockey puck while refilling water bottles. Michael Weisberg "suffered injuries as a result of alleged conduct that was not inherent to the sport of hockey."
Weisberg v. Chicago Steel
 
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Spanking Victim Slaps Insurer for Unpaid Award |
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The California woman who won a $1.7 million jury award for being spanked at work has now slapped her former employer's liability insurer with a $5.6 million breach-of-contract suit for refusing to pay a post-verdict settlement.
“Of course I'm angry and frustrated,” Janet Orlando said of the unusual development in her legal saga. “The stress is killing me.”
A jury in May found Alarm One, Inc. liable for the spankings Orlando received from supervisors as part of a misguided effort to build camaraderie in the company's Fresno office where she worked as a saleswoman. After Alarm One appealed, Orlando agreed to a reduced award of $1.4 million.
But according to her new complaint, the company and its insurer, Carolina Casualty, have not honored the agreement, refusing to pay “in order to negotiate a lesser settlement payment and in order to gain leverage over Orlando [in] any further settlement negotiations.”
Plaintiff's counsel Nicholas “Butch” Wagner told the Fresno Bee that Alarm One wanted another $200,000 to $400,000 knocked off the award. "They tried to talk us into a lesser settlement," he said. "We said, 'You're out of your mind.'"
Orlando is seeking the $1.4 million settlement amount, 10 percent interest on the settlement and $4.2 million in punitive damages from Carolina Casualty and its claims adjuster, Monitor Liability Managers.
One attorney said attempts to renege on a settlement are "very unusual." Maybe Alarm One just wants to get the award a bit closer to $150,000 –- the amount of a pre-trial settlement offer that Orlando rejected.
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Other Spanking Case Sources
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By Matthew Heller
12/18/06
A jury should decide whether two Texas Rangers pitchers “substantially assisted or encouraged” a teammate who hurled a chair into the stands during a brawl, hitting an Oakland A's fan in the face, a California judge has ruled.
The injured fan, Jennifer Bueno, sued alleged chair thrower Frank Francisco and the two other players for battery and assault after the Sept. 13, 2004 melee at the Oakland Coliseum. Bueno's husband, who was sitting in a field box, had been heckling a Rangers relief pitcher.
Doug Brocail and Carlos Almanzar claim they cannot be held liable as aiders and abettors because they had no idea Francisco was going to throw a chair and did not assist or encourage him in doing so.
But in a Dec. 7 order, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch found a triable issue of fact and denied the players' motion for summary judgment. The case is set for trial Jan. 12.
Brocail, now with the San Diego Padres, allegedly charged into the stands and, within a few feet of Bueno, cocked his fist “as if he were going to throw a punch, only to be restrained by others from completing his assault.”
“The end result was that Francisco accomplished what Brocail set out to do,” Bueno's lawyers argue in a brief.
Roache also allowed co-plaintiff Andre Vernan, who claims he injured his back trying to dodge the flying chair, to proceed to trial.
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UPDATE ... The parties announced a settlement of all claims Jan. 12, the day set for trial. Terms are confidential.
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By Matthew Heller
12/18/06
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"Upskirting" Victim Loses Privacy Suit Against Store
A customer at a T.J. Maxx store in upstate New York has lost her lawsuit against the retailer for allowing a man to take photos up her skirt by using her as “human bait” in a sting operation.
Read more...
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Perfume Allergy Case Settles for $100,000
A Detroit city planner with an allergy to perfume is savoring the sweet smell of legal success after the city agreed to pay her $100,000 and be more sensitive to the chemically sensitive.
Read more...
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Teen's Suit Puts Mug-Shot Publisher Against the Wall
A new publication in Lincoln, Neb., milks mug shots for humor. But a teenager whose arrest photo appeared in Cuffed doesn't see the funny side of it and has sued the publisher for misappropriating his image.
Read more...
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BA Settles 'Reckless' Baggage Handling Suit
Limiting its liability to a group of only 13 airline passengers, British Airways (NYSE: BAY) has settled a first-of-its kind lawsuit that accused the airline of being “inexcusably reckless” in its handling of passengers' baggage.
Read more...
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Judge Says "Gay" Still Defamatory in Texas
What one court has called “a veritable sea change in social attitudes about homosexuality” has evidently not reached Texas where a judge ruled that an airport security guard can sue a radio show host for calling him “gay” on the air.
Read more...
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Mom Says Hospital Gave Her Wrong
Baby to Nurse
Because of a hospital's error, Jennifer Spiegel became an involuntary wet nurse to another woman's newborn son. Now she is suing the hospital for its malpractice in providing her with the wrong baby to breastfeed.
Read more...
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Case Over MySpace Page Chills Student Speech
Several recent court rulings have been protective of off-campus student speech -– with the exception of a very shaky decision that a dissenting judge said “vests school officials with dangerously overbroad censorship discretion.”
Read more...
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Newdow v. Rio Lindo Union Sch. Dist.
Subject: Pledge of allegiance
Document: Opinion
Vance v. Rumsfeld
Subject: Detainee abuse
Document: Opinion
Stern v. Sony Corp.
Subject: Disabled gamers
Document: Opinion
Churchill v. Univ. of Colorado
Subject: Academic freedom
Document: ACLU amicus brief
KBR/Halliburton v. Jones
Subject: Sexual assault
Document: Petition for review
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Spears v. Allergan, Inc.
Court: Orange County (Calif.) Superior
Subject: Botox death
Verdict: Defense
Patterson v. Hudson Area Schools
Court: USDC, E. Mich.
Subject: Student harassment
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McClain v. Pfizer, Inc.
Date: 3/2/10
Court: USDC, Conn.
Hearing: Jury trial in case over unsafe lab conditions.
Sherman v. McDonald's Corp.
Date: 3/23/10
Court: Washington County (Ark.) Circuit
Hearing: Jury trial in case over nude photos.
more
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