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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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


 
rc_insidestories
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    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.
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  • 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...
RC_OnFile

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

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RC_OnTrial

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

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RC_OnTheDocket

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

more