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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• Maryland appeals court says dog owners can be held strictly liable for pit bull attacks. "Because of its aggressive and vicious nature and its capability to inflict serious and sometimes fatal injuries, pit bulls and cross-bred pit bulls are inherently dangerous." Tracey v. Solesky

• Woman who has been diagnosed as a sex addict sues a school district for failing to prevent her from having sex with male students on the school bus when she was in 11th grade.
Barksdale v. Egg Harbor Township Bd. of Ed.

• Civil rights activist challenges Georgia's "stand your ground law." "By not defining what actions create a reasonable perception justifying the use of deadly force, the Act[] potentially deprives all Georgia[n]s of the right to life without due process of law." Hutchins v. Deal

• Former patient of a Rhode Island doctor sues him for featuring her in a book about drug addiction. "Plaintiff had expected, as any reasonable patient would, that her private conversations during her treatment sessions with the Defendant would remain private and confidential."
Lisnoff v. Stein

• Class action alleges the YMCA deceives consumers by representing that it practices "Christian" values while allowing its gyms to be used for gay sex trysts. "YMCAs around the country ... are currently being used as brothels for cruising, with the YMCA's knowledge and implicit consent."
Keister v. YMCA

• Social workers are not liable for a sexual assault on a 5-year-old boy by a 16-year-old male placed in an adoptive home. "To rule against the individual defendants in this case would definitely break new ground."
Doe v. Braddy

• Student sues college for refusing to grant her the "reasonable accommodation" of a single room after she complained about her roommate's exhibitionist behavior.
Blankmeyer v. Stonehill College

• School district can be sued over a guidance counselor's sexual relationship with a student who was over the age of consent. "The inherent imbalance of power between a guidance counselor in a public school and a student may render opportunistic sexual predation sufficiently shocking, even with a 'consenting' student over sixteen, to form the basis of a substantive due process claim."
Doe v. Fournier

• Utah judge finds a "credible threat" that Utah County officials will prosecute a polygamist and his wives for bigamy. The officials' acts "suggest that an actual prosecution of Plaintiffs is forthcoming."
Brown v. Herbert

• Louisville, Ky., strip club sues a competitor for displaying an electronic sign outside a convention center that said "Don't go to Godfathers, their girls are ugly and have crabs."
The Godfather v. Trixie's Lounge

• A lawyer cannot sue two women he dated for posting derogatory comments about him on liarscheatersrus.com. "[W]hen viewed within the larger context of the website on which they were posted, there can be no doubt that a reasonable reader would understand the comments to be opinion." Coulotte v. Ryncarz

• Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer makers and Whiteclay, Neb., bars for enabling alcohol abuse on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The illegal trade in alcohol has "caused devastating injuries to the Lakota people and massive financial damages to the [tribe]."
Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Schwarting




Alltop_125x125.jpg







Teacher, Nurse Blame Others for Mindless Acts Print

Marie Jarry with husband

Lawsuits filed by a Connecticut teacher who appeared on the “Howard Stern Show” and an Ohio nurse who sent a homophobic e-mail to a gossip website are both examples of using the courts to avoid the consequences of unprofessional behavior.

In the Connecticut case, second-grade teacher Marie Jarry took a sick day to compete with her husband in the Stern show's “Ugliest Guy, Hottest Wife" contest. She regaled listeners with comments about her sex life and, clad in a bikini, posed for photos that were posted on the show's website.

Four days later, the principal at Thalberg Elementary School in Southington ordered Jarry not to go to her classroom. After meeting with the school board superintendent, she followed the advice of teachers' union attorneys and resigned.

“The Board of Education holds all staff to a very high standard,” Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi told the Meriden Record-Journal. All teachers' contracts have a morality clause.

But Jarry is now suing the board and the union for violation of due process and infliction of emotional distress. “Plaintiff's constructive discharge was orchestrated by [defendants], who working together, intimidated and coerced Plaintiff ... to resign in lieu of termination,” the complaint says.

Meanwhile in Ohio, Diane Wargo is blaming gossip columnist Perez Hilton for getting her fired from her job at a Cleveland nursing home. Using her work e-mail address, she had posted a comment on PerezHilton.com in which she called Hilton “a FAT GAY PIG” and also slurred Angelina Jolie.

The posting included Wargo's name and the email address and Hilton highlighted it as his “Email of the Day.” The Menorah Park Center for Senior Living terminated Wargo later the same day after receiving irate emails from PerezHilton.com readers.

“Mrs. Wargo accepted and justifiably relied on Defendants' promise that her email address and private information would not appear on the website,” Wargo says in her complaint, and Hilton “knew, or reasonably should have known, the harmful results that would follow the publication of Mrs. Wargo's personal information.”

The suit cites the website's Conditions of Use, which “specifically only reserve the right to use and disclose a commenter's screen name.” It seeks $25 million in damages for breach of contract, fraud, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

Courts have protected the privacy of anonymous online commenters from defamation plaintiffs seeking their identity. But Wargo personally insulted the website operator –- enough surely to waive any expectation of privacy.

“If Diane Wargo wants to take a look at who is to blame ... she ought to start by looking in the mirror,” Hilton's attorney told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Jarry also has only herself to blame for losing her job after appearing on the show of radio's king of raunch when she should have been teaching second-graders. She complains she was not afforded “the due process safeguards provided for tenured teachers,” but if she had not resigned, she would almost certainly have been fired.

“You know you're in trouble when your union's attorneys won't go to bat for you,” observed a Hartford Courant reader.

By Matthew Heller
7/21/08


 

Editor's note: On Point's RSS feed has moved to this link.

rc_insidestories
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RC_OnFile

U.S. v. Arpaio
Subject: Civil rights
Document: Complaint

Schultz v. Medina Valley
Subject: School prayer
Document: Non-Kumbaya order

Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare
Subject: Sexual harassment
Document: Verdict

Jackson v. Paula Deen
Subject: Sexual harassment
Document: Complaint

Marsh v. Air Tran Airways
Subject: Roaches on a plane
Document: Complaint

more

RC_OnTrial

Peterson/Pryde v. Thyden
Court: Montgomery (Va.) Circuit
Subject: Virginia Tech shootings
Verdict: $8 million

Sheridan v. Cherry
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Wrongful termination

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RC_OnTheDocket

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

more