The case involving actor Rob Lowe now has a countersuit by one of the three former employees sued by Lowe and his wife. Former nanny Jessica Gibson charges Lowe with exposing himself and touching her inappropriately several times between September 2005 and January 2008. It is a good thing that Mary Poppins was written before nannies became litigation magnets. Continue reading “So Much For a Spoon Full of Sugar: Nanny Accuses Rob Lowe of Sexual Misconduct”
Category: Courts
Israel is in the midst of an interesting struggle over separation of temple and state. An Israeli court ruled that stores could sell bread and religiously forbidden foods during Passover. This has led to an uproar in the Knesset over its authority to dictate such religious-based practices. It is a debate and has elements of an early debate in the United States over the role of Congress on constitutional questions. Continue reading “Separation of Temple and State: Special Session of the Knesset Called Over Passover Food Controversy”
In an interesting twist in the judicial misconduct case against Florida First District Court of Appeal Judge Michael Allen, the Florida Supreme Court issued an order asking the Judicial Qualifications Commission to explain why it filed an ethics complaint against Allen, signaling a possible move toward dismissal in the controversy over his attacking a fellow judge in an opinion. Continue reading “Florida Supreme Court Reviews Judicial Misconduct Case Against Judge Allen”
Jose Merced, a Santeria Oba or priest, has appealed his challenge to a city ban on animal slaughtering in the home as a violation of his free exercise rights under the First Amendment. At issue is the refusal of the city of Euless, Texas to allow his religious practice. Continue reading “Fifth Circuit to Review Santeria Animal Slaughter Case”
Kynesha Dhanoolal, the widow of a soldier killed in Iraq this week, has had to go to court to secure a restraining order against her mother-in-law to prevent the embalming of her husband’s body before she can harvest her husband sperm. This posthumous insemination is becoming more common with the advancement of science and the law. Continue reading “Wife and Mother Go to Court Over Dead Soldier’s Sperm”
It appears that the final battle from Star Wars will happen in an English court. In this legal sequel, Andrew Ainsworth, a prop designer, is up against the empire headed by director George Lucas and his massive company, Lucasfilm. The dispute is over the rights to the stormtrooper costumes. It seems that Ainsworth may be making costumes from the original mold from the film. “Obi-Wan has taught you well,'” young Ainsworth, but the courts may have different plans for you and your stormtroopers. Continue reading “Obi-Won, Lucas Zero: English Court Faces Financial Demand Over Stormtroopers”
You are only allowed to swear once in deposition — at the start and to God. This is a lesson being taught to New York mortgage company owner, Aaron Wider. Federal Trial Judge Eduardo Robreno hit Wider with a $29,323 fine for swearing 73 times in the deposition, shown in an excerpted video below. This is however not unique as the other video below from a different case indicates. Continue reading “Swear Once and Only Once So Help You God: New Yorker Fined for Swearing in Deposition”
This week, Michael Gableman celebrated a considerable victory: the first defeat of an incumbent judge in 40 years for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His opponent Louis Butler was also the first African American on the Court. Yet, the $5 million race shows the steady trend toward high-priced campaigns to change the make-up of courts by legal and corporate interests. Continue reading “The $5 Million Judge: Wisconsin Race Sets Record in Money and Meanness”
The Supreme Court has ruling in the Dilling case where a woman sued the parents of her deceased finance for not disclosing to her that he had AIDS. The “Jane Doe” plaintiff had won $2 million in 2004, but the Supreme Court said that she had reason to question the health of Albert Dilling before they had unprotected sex. Continue reading “Illinois Supreme Court Denies Appeal Against Parents of AIDS Carrier”
The West Virginia Supreme Court has again voted 3-2 to support a mining company despite a controversy over the possible bias of some of its members, including one justice who refused to recuse himself despite massive campaign contributions from one of the interested parties. In so ruling, Harman Mining and its owner, Hugh Caperton will not have to pay a $50 million award granted in 2002. Continue reading “West Virginia Supreme Court Sides with Mining Company Amidst Criticism of Bias”
Jessica Lang, a South Carolina woman, is suing Victoria’s Secret for a product defect claim involving a bra. Lang claims that the bra in 2005 “malfunctioned,” leaving a 3-inch long, ¼-inch deep laceration on her left breast. The case appears to be brought in negligence rather than strict liability as “negligently and carelessly manufactured” and was “unsafe for its intended use.”. Continue reading “Victoria Secret Sued Over Bra Malfunction”
The tobacco industry won a major appeal today when the Second Circuit threw out an $800 billion class-action lawsuit based on allegedly misleading light cigarettes ads. While light or low-tar cigarettes have proven the most promising area of litigation for plaintiffs, there is a strong trend against massive class actions. Continue reading “$800 Billion Up in Smoke: Court Throws Out Massive Class Action on Light Cigarettes”
Today, I testified in the House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security), on the new proposed changes to the rules governing federal restitution. They are quite extreme. Continue reading “Testimony on New Federal Restitution Law”
Borat can now claim “Legal Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” A judge in New York has dismissed a defamation case against Sacha Baron Cohen and the producer, Twentieth Century Fox, of the movie “Borat. Jeffrey Lemerond is shown in an extremely poor light in the movie as he screams “Go Away” and appears to flee Borat when he tries to hug him. Federal Judge Loretta Preska treated the film as the equivalent to a news story in order to dismiss the complaint. Cohen has largely been successful in a variety of court challenges to the film. Continue reading “Very Nice: Borat Wins Defamation Case”
The White House finally released some of the torture memos to Congress — justifications of coercive methods by Professor John Yoo. What is most striking about the memo below is its rather low-grade effort to justify torture — citing a type of self-defense theory for why an isolated detainee might have died or been injured during rough interrogation. Continue reading “Torture Memo Released: Yoo Argues Self-Defense in Cases of Interrogation Deaths or Injuries”