• Boston judge refuses to require Massachusetts to include materials that deny the Armenian genocide in the public school curriculum.
"[T]he decision as to what to teach about ... the Armenian genocide must be made by elected officials, educators, and teachers rather than by federal judges."
Griswold v. Driscoll
• Kentucky Court of Appeals upholds a $3.7 million jury award against a school board for ignoring a student's complaints that several teachers had molested her. Plaintiff Lynne Maner "presented sufficient evidence that the Board was deliberately indifferen[t] in its failure to act." Maner v. Fayette County Board of Education
• 6th Circuit revives the racial bias case of an African-American couple who sued a hotel for refusing to host their wedding reception. "There is a genuine issue of material fact in this case as to whether ... the Hotel denied them the right to enter into a contract because of their race." Keck v. Graham Hotel Systems
• San Francisco judge rules that a city did not violate a hiker's rights by failing to protect her from an attack on public land by a rancher's cattle. "[P]laintiffs have not alleged facts supporting a claim that the City was deliberately indifferent to a known or obvious danger" to Jo Dee Schmidt. Schmidt v. Hoover
• Divided New York appellate court says a golfer is not liable for striking another golfer in the eye with an errant drive. The defendant's failure to yell "Fore" before hitting the ball "does not rise to the level of creating a dangerous condition over and above the usual dangers inherent in participating in the sport of golf." Anand v. Kapoor
• Sioux tribal members file a class action seeking their share of as much as $900 million held in trust by the federal government as compensation for the "taking" of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The plaintiffs have split from other Sioux who refuse to take the money, insisting on the return of the land.
Different Horse v. Salazar
• Texas Court of Appeals says a gas station owner is not liable for the negligence of an attendant who accidentally shot a customer while showing him a gun. The attendant's "actions were not merely a misuse of his authority; they were utterly unrelated to his duties."
Glass v. Williams
• San Francisco judge denies Chevron Corp.'s request for $485,159 in court costs from impoverished Nigerian villagers who sued the company for human rights violations. "The economic disparity between plaintiffs, who are Nigerian villagers, and defendants, international oil companies, cannot be more stark."
Bowoto v. Chevron
  
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Unsafe Undies? Thongs Ain't What They Used to Be |
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Macrida Patterson (right) with attorney Jason Buccat
It may be a bit early to add intimate clothing to the list of health hazards for women, but a rash of product liability lawsuits has hit Victoria's Secret, with plaintiffs alleging they were injured by defectively designed underwear.
At least four cases, including a proposed class action, have been filed over the past six months and one plaintiff, Macrida Patterson, appeared on national TV this week to describe her harrowing encounter with a Victoria's Secret thong –- a Sexy Little Thing low-rise v-string, to be precise.
Patterson's barebones complaint, filed June 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court, provides few details. But the L.A. traffic cop told the "Today Show" that a decorative metallic piece flew off the thong and struck her in the eye while she was changing in the locker room at work after her shift.
“I was putting on my underwear from Victoria’s Secret, and the metal popped into my eye,” she said. “It happened really quickly. I was in excruciating pain. I screamed. That’s what happened.”
Patterson attorney Jason J. Buccat said she suffered “three actual cuts to her cornea” and denied the case was one of those “crazy lawsuits” that tort reformers like to complain about.
"Victoria’s Secret does have its angels, but as we say, the devil is in the details," he said. "And the details here will definitely show there is a defective product, both in its design and its manufacture."
In Greenville, S.C., meanwhile, aspiring model Jessica Lang alleged in a state court complaint filed Jan. 25 that her Victoria's Secret bra was, in effect, a “booby trap.”
After feeling “discomfort in her breast,” she tried to take the bra off, but it “malfunctioned, lacerating Plaintiff's chest and left breast, nearly 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep.”
The case is now in federal court, with Lang correcting the extent of her alleged injury. The wound, she said in an amended complaint, was “3 inches x 1/4 inch deep, resulting in scarring.”
In the other recent cases,
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A Parma, Ohio, woman is seeking to represent a class of plaintiffs who have suffered “adverse physical effects” from Victoria's Secret undergarments and intimate apparel including “allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, blistering, itching, hives, rashes, scarring, systemic reactions and other health concerns.” Ritter v. Victoria's Secret Stores.
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A Bronx, N.Y., woman alleges that while wearing a Victoria's Secret bra, she “suffered severe personal injuries” attributable to the “defective nature” of the product. Ramos v. Victoria's Secret Stores.
By Matthew Heller
6/21/08 
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No Prayer Now for Preacher's Suit Over "Religulous"
Less than three weeks after being sued for defrauding two former parishioners of $600,000, a Florida preacher dropped his $50 million lawsuit alleging the Bill Maher documentary “Religulous” falsely portrayed him as a charlatan, On Point has learned.
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Man Burned at Burning Man Assumed Risk
Get too close to the Burning Man fire and you assume the “obvious and inherent” risk of being burned, a California appeals court has ruled in dismissing a personal injury lawsuit against the operators of the iconic countercultural arts festival.
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Lawyer's 'Prove Me Wrong' Offer No Joke to Student
A Texas law student may have taken a $1 million “prove me wrong” challenge seriously, but the criminal defense lawyer who made the challenge on a TV news show appears to have done so with enough tongue in cheek to avoid liability for not paying up.
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Jury Chills Rights in Strip Search Case
A jury has reached a chilling decision in the civil rights case of a Southampton, N.Y., woman, clearing four police officers in the exclusive resort community of liability for performing a strip search on her after a minor marijuana bust.
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Toxic Bra Suits Won't be Combined in Ohio
A rash of lawsuits against Victoria's Secret alleging defectively manufactured underwear is continuing with eight new cases filed in the past two months. But in a setback for plaintiffs, a judicial panel has refused to consolidate all the litigation in Ohio.
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Wedding Fiasco Suit Really Takes Cake
Sandra Newsom's wedding disaster lawsuit may -– literally –- take the cake. The New York woman has sued a cruise ship operator for ruining her wedding reception by serving a coconut-containing cake to which she had an allergic reaction.
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Woody Allen Got $5M After Judge Shredded Defense
A week before American Apparel agreed to pay Woody Allen $5 million for misappropriating his image, a judge had shredded the clothing company's First Amendment defense based on its CEO's “mental processes,” On Point has learned.
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Capitol Records v. Thomas
Court: USDC, Minn.
Subject: Digital music downloading
Verdict: $1.92 million
ASPCA v. Ringling Bros.
Court: USDC, D. Col.
Subject: Illegal "taking" of elephants by circus
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Howard K. Stern v. Rita Cosby
Date: 7/7/09
Court: USDC, S. N.Y.
Hearing: Motions for summary judgment in defamation case.
Goldberg v. Paris Hilton Entertainment
Date: 7/9/09
Court: USDC, S. Fla.
Hearing: Jury trial in breach-of-contract case.
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