Mattel v. MGA Entertainment
California jury awards $100 million to Mattel in contract and copyright infringement damages against the maker of Bratz dolls. Mattel had sought as much as $2 billion.
Grubbs v. Wal-Mart Stores
Colorado man files the first suit over the recent salmonella outbreak, alleging he fell sick after eating contaminated jalapeno peppers bought from a Wal-Mart store.
Hasbro v. RJ Softwares
Game-maker sues the creators of "Scrabulous," alleging it is an online knockoff of Scrabble which copies "the essential and original elements" of the "venerable" board game.
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• Four minors and their parents file a new challenge to the Hawaiian ancestry-only admissions policy of the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii. The plaintiffs want to have a 9th Circuit opinion denying a virtually identical claim overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Doe v. Kamehameha Schools

• Florida judge rules that ESPN did not defame promoter Don King in a documentary about his career.
"[A]lthough the program might not constitute the best example of objective journalism, ESPN's conduct does not meet the standard of actual malice." King v. Walt Disney Co.

• 8th Circuit says Missouri prison officials did not violate a Native American inmate's religious rights by denying his request for a sweat lodge. "Providing inmates at a maximum security prison access to burning fires, red hot rocks, split wood, shovels, and deer antlers alone generate a unique and obvious set of security concerns."
Fowler v. Crawford

• Santa Barbara judge finds Rob Lowe's former nanny did not defame the actor and his wife. "The Lowes ... have submitted no evidence of any defamatory statements that were not made in anticipation of this litigation."
Lowe v. Gibson

• D.C. judge orders former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify before Congress about the forced resignations of nine U.S. attorneys. "The Executive’s current claim of absolute immunity from compelled congressional process for senior presidential aides is without any support in the case law."
Committee on the Judiciary v. Miers

• Indiana Court of Appeals says an employer is not liable for negligent hiring of a traffic controller who murdered two people in their home after leaving his jobsite. Cory and Jenna Clark "were not reasonably foreseeable victims who were injured by a reasonably foreseeable harm." Clark v. Aris, Inc.

• "Lolita Lawyer" sues American Express for providing information to law enforcement about his credit card transactions which led to his arrest for statutory rape in Canada. "As a direct and proximate result of such disclosures, Plaintiff was falsely arrested."
James Colliton v. American Express

• 3rd Circuit throws out a $550,000 fine against CBS over the baring of Janet Jackson's breast. "[T]he FCC arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its prior policy excepting fleeting broadcast material from the scope of actionable indecency." CBS Corp. v. FCC

• Montana judge reinstates endangered species protections for the Northern gray wolf, which had been delisted by the Bush administration. "Congress does not intend agency decision making to be fickle. When it is, the line separating rationality from arbitrariness and capriciousness is crossed." Defenders of Wildlife v. Hall

• Dissenting 7th Circuit judge says a condo owners' association discriminated against Jewish residents by barring them from displaying a "mezuzah" on their front door. "The Association might as well hang a sign outside saying 'No observant Jews allowed.'”
Bloch v. Frischholz



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  On Point News Story of the Day

Illinois

  • Motorist Not Liable for Crash Victim's Abortion (4/18/08)

  • Court Won't Restore Historic Award in AIDS Case (4/4/08)

  • No Harassment Found in Silk-Pajama Seduction Suit (3/31/08)

  • Theatrical Throat Stunt Produces Lawsuit Reflex (2/2/08)

  • 7th Circuit Ruling Compounds Injustice to Ex-Inmate (1/28/08)

  • Priest Sued for Bashing Critic of Sermons at Mass (10/7/07)

  • Judge OKs Ex-Waitress's Suit Over Bestseller's Cover (9/20/07)

  • Squirrels Safe As Case of Attacked Shopper Fails (8/16/07)

  • Paper Countersues Judge in Historic Libel Case (6/19/07)

  • Restaurants Lay Goose Egg in Foie Gras Ban Case (6/13/07)

  • Driver Facing Liability for Crash Victim's Abortion (6/12/07)

  • School Sued over "Brokeback" Sex Scene Viewing (5/31/07)

  • Mob Book Libel Ruling Could be Chilling to Media (1/16/07)

  • Judge Tosses $6M Award to Ex-Con on Technicality (1/2/07)

  • Court Blurs Line Between "Solicit" and "Attempt" (12/03/06)

  • "Unique" Test Urged in James Brown Case (11/22/06)

  • "Chilling" $7M Verdict for Illinois Chief Justice? (11/20/06)

  • Sex Abuse Case a Test of Parent-Child Doctrine? (11/9/06)

  • Dad Wins Order Barring Son's Circumcision (10/25/06)

  • Mall Owner Blamed for Serial-Attacking Squirrel (9/17/06)

  • Chicago Restaurants Cry Foul Over Foie Gras Ban (9/10/06)

  • Officers' Silence Pays Off in Misconduct Case (8/23/06)

  • Nagging Questions in James Brown Case (8/15/06)



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    Bloch v. Frischholz
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Religious Bias
    Document: Opinion

    Lott v. Levitt
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Defamation
    Document: Opinion

    Boim v. Holy Land Foundation
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Wrongful Terrorism Death
    Document: Opinion

    Elkhatib v. Dunkin Donuts
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Anti-Muslim Discrimination
    Document: Opinion



    Nuxoll v. Indian Prairie School Dist.
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Anti-Gay Speech
    Calendar: Oral Arguments (4/4/08)

    Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich
    Court: Illinois Supreme
    Subject: Religious Freedom
    Calendar: Oral Arguments (3/18/08)

    Choose Life Illinois v. White
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Pro-Life License Plates
    Calendar: Oral Arguments (11/27/07)

    Purtell v. Mason
    Court: 7th Circuit
    Subject: Sarcastic Tombstones
    Calendar: Oral Arguments (4/4/07)