The Boy Scouts of America are accused of engaging in a cover-up of abuse that is reminiscent of the Catholic Church. In a Portland, Oregon court, long undisclosed files have been discovered (over the objections of the Scouts) that reveal numerous such cases of abuse. The Scouts reportedly called the documents “the perversion files.”
Continue reading ““The Perversion Files”: Trial Reveals Secret Files on Alleged Child Abuse in the Scouts”
Category: Torts
Oprah Winfrey appears set for another defamation trial — this time in Philadelphia where she has been sued by Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane, former headmistress of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Mzamane claims that Oprah defamed her in speaking about a sex-abuse scandal at the school that she created.
Continue reading “Oprah To Stand Trial For Defamation in Philadelphia”
Walmart worker Joseph Casias, 29, can take heart from the fact that the company is highly “sympathetic” to his struggle with an inoperable brain tumor. The sympathy, however, did not prevent the company from firing him because he used legal medical marijuana to deal with the pain of the tumor.
Continue reading “Wal-Mart Expresses Sympathy For Terminally Ill Worker . . . And Then Fires Him”
In Tennessee, Deputy Tanya Mayhew of the Davidson County Sheriff’s office can scratch dentistry off her list of possible moonlighting jobs. Anthony McCoy, 31, will receive $100,000 after Mayhew ripped his gold grill out of his mouth during booking.
Massachusetts dentist Michael Clair is accused of using actual paper clips instead of stainless steel posts inside the teeth of root canal patients. He then allegedly billed Medicaid for the more expensive parts. Continue reading “Clipping Patients: Dentists Accused of Using Paper Clips for Root Canal Patients”
A bizarre mishap led to a death in South Carolina when a small plane making an emergency landing killed a jogger on the beach. Robert Gary Jones, 38, was jogging and listening on his iPod when he was hit from behind. Edward I. Smith says that he had lost the propeller of his airplane and was blinded by oil on the windshield at the time of the landing.
Continue reading “Jogger Killed on Beach By Pilot Making Emergency Landing”
We now know why they are called Uggs. Dr. Ian Drysdale, head of the British College of Osteopathic Medicine and known for his sensible shoes, has gone public with criticism of Ugg as causing ankle, knee, hip and back problems.
Continue reading “Ugh! Popular Ugg Boots Criticized For Causing Foot Problems”
Six women in New Jersey have been hospitalized after undergoing cosmetic procedures for buttock-enhancements. The unlicensed providers used commercial rather than medical silicone — the same material used in bathroom caulk.
We have been following the astonishing list of cases where the Bank of America forecloses on the wrong homes and then litigates cases insisting that it acted reasonably. Now we have a Pittsburgh woman who has sued the bank after it allegedly improperly seized her home, damaged her property, and kept her pet parrot as an effective hostage during the dispute. Presumably, the parrot now says “punitive damages, punitive damages’ over and over again.
Sherri Perper, 56, of Queens, New York has filed a personal injury lawsuit due to defective shoes allegedly acquired from Forum Novelties. The shoes were over-sized clown shoes that she was wearing as part of her Halloween costume in 2008. She tripped and fell.
Continue reading “Tears of the Clown: Woman Sues After Falling in Over-Sized Clown Shoes”
Prius drivers have always hoped for a car that could go hundreds miles without stopping. However, they hoped it could stop if they wanted it to. Jim Sikes claims that his Prius suddenly stuck going 90 mph and would not stop — requiring the highway patrol to ride along side and give him advice on how to stop the vehicle. Cases like this reinforce the use of the “Toyota Defense” in criminal cases. The biggest problem is that in a good gas guzzler, he would simply run out of gas. In the Prius, he kept going and going . . .
Continue reading “Hybrid From Hell: Prius Reportedly Takes Man on 90 MPH Ride on California Highway”
Romanian diplomat Dr. Silviu Ionescu fled Singapore after allegedly racking up three victims in two separate hit-and-run acidents on Dec. 15, 2009. He was seen fleeing from a black Audi belonging to the Romanian Embassy in Singapore. One of his victims, Tong Wai, 30, died on Christmas Day.
We have continued to follow the outrageous expansion of copyright and trademark litigation (here and here and here), particularly the recording industry which is seeking crippling penalties for downloading song. Now, the industry has succeeded in nailing Whitney Harper who was between 14-16 years old when she downloaded 37 songs. The Court of Appeals increased the penalties against her — amounting to as much as $40,000.
Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Woman Must Pay As Much As $40,000 for 37 Songs She Downloaded At Age 14”
In yet another morphing of George Bush and Barack Obama, the Administration has indicated that it will include “tort reform” in the new and smaller health care bill — provisions that the CBO has said could cost 4,800 lives a year. While an estimated roughly 100,000 people die each year from malpractice, the Administration is about to make it more difficult to sue doctors and hospitals.
Continue reading “Obama To Cave On Tort Reform — Adding Provisions to Health Bill That Could Kill 4,800 a Year”
Koua Fong Lee may be the first man to bring a “Toyota Defense” — claiming that the recent recall supports his earlier defense claim that he was not responsible for vehicular homicide in 2006.
Continue reading “The Toyota Defense: Man Demands Review of Vehicular Homicide Sentence in Light of Recall”