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The Tolkien Trust (a UK registered charity), New Line Cinema, and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. have resolved the lawsuit relating to the "Lord of the Rings" films.

The claim was filed in February of last year. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. and the trustees of the JRR Tolkien Estate were co-plaintiffs in the claim, which concerned plaintiffs' participation interest in the "Lord of the Rings" films released between 2001 and 2003. The precise terms of the settlement are confidential.

Commenting on the settlement, Christopher Tolkien said: "The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of 'The Hobbit.'"

Warner Bros.' President & Chief Operating Officer Alan Horn said: "We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us. We all look forward to a mutually productive and beneficial relationship in the future."

The "Lord of the Rings" films produced by New Line are among the most successful films ever created and were released in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.

JRR Tolkien is the world-renowned author of works including "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit." The Tolkien Trust is a UK registered charity that has made grants to charitable causes all over the world totaling over $8 million in the last five years alone.

Throughout its history, New Line has created a number of enduring film franchises, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "The Mask," the Austin Powers titles, "Blade," "Rush Hour," "Elf," "Sex and the City" and "Wedding Crashers." New Line became a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment in March 2008.

SOURCE The Tolkien Trust

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) has just submitted an Amicus Brief in support of the lawsuit against Craigslist filed by Sheriff Dart of Cook County, Illinois seeking to hold them accountable for their role in facilitating sex trafficking. CATW's Amicus Brief contains an impressive list of 31 co-signers representing a wide range of domestic and international members of the anti-human trafficking movement.

The goal of the law suit is singular: close the 'adult services' section of Craigslist. "It is well known that Craigslist's 'adult services' section has become the technological red light district for pimps/traffickers and johns," says CATW's Co-Executive Director, Norma Ramos, Esq.

"Sheriff Dart's Craigslist lawsuit requests the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to compel Craigslist to no longer host these ads. In doing so an industry standard could be set which would help create a human trafficking-free Internet," says CATW's Founder, Dorchen Leidholdt, Esq.

"For far too long, Craigslist has been profiting from the facilitation of the prostitution and trafficking of women and minors in Cook County. It is time this website be held accountable for the harm that they continually enable," says Rachel Durchslag, Executive Director of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE).

"Craigslist continues to cynically profit from the rank exploitation of others by functioning as an online pimp," says Ms. Ramos. Our Amicus Brief, prepared by CATW's pro bono law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP, demonstrates the widespread support for Sheriff Dart's bold legal efforts to hold Craigslist accountable.

To view CATW's Amicus Brief go to our website at

www.catwinternational.org

SOURCE The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)

Loretta King, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, announced today that Special Litigation Counsel Kristy Parker, a senior attorney in the Division's Criminal Section, has been selected to receive the 2009 Top Prosecutor Award from the Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE).

Parker was selected for her role as the lead prosecutor in the successful 2008 case of United States v. Sydnor, et al., which resulted in the federal conviction of three Kentucky jailers who retaliated against an 18-year-old traffic offender by arranging to have him locked in a jail cell with violent inmates, who in turn brutally assaulted and raped the teenaged victim.

"Kristy Parker represents the tenacious spirit and extraordinary commitment of the many fine career attorneys who serve the public interest at the Justice Department. Her tireless and extraordinary litigative ability vindicated the civil rights of the victim," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division. "We thank the Women in Federal Law Enforcement for recognizing her for this distinguished honor."

"I congratulate Ms. Parker for receiving this high honor. Her unwavering dedication made certain that the officers who trampled on the dignity and rights of a powerless teenager were brought to justice," said Mark Kappelhoff, Chief of the Division's Criminal Section.

The victim was arrested on Valentine's Day, 2003, and taken to the Grant County, Ky., Detention Center. A sergeant and several officers teased the teenager at the jail and after announcing he needed to be "taught a lesson," visited a jail cell filled with hardened criminals and told them that they would be bringing down a young man who needed to be "messed" with. The officers then escorted him down a hallway lined with cells filled with hardcore criminals, as inmates yelled, "Fresh Meat!"; "Give him to me!" and "Happy Valentine's Day!" The officers pushed the boy into the cell, slammed the door shut and left him without looking back. In the next hours the boy was viciously raped by an inmate and abused by others.

During the investigation and trial, Parker and another lawyer under her supervision won over reluctant law enforcement witnesses and made a powerful presentation of the evidence. Parker delivered arguments that educated and moved a jury initially reluctant to convict law enforcement officers. The jury convicted the defendants on all counts. They received lengthy prison sentences.

This is the third consecutive year in which WIFLE selected an attorney from the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section as its top prosecutor. Last year, Deputy Chief Paige Fitzgerald received the award for her successful cold case prosecution of James Ford Seale, a former Ku Klux Klansman, for the racially-motivated murders of two young black men killed in Mississippi more than 40 years earlier. Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein was named WIFLE's top prosecutor in 2007 for her role in the case of United States v. Saldana, et al., a prosecution marking the first -- and to date, the only -- use of federal criminal civil rights statutes to prosecute violent hate crimes carried out by members of a traditional street gang.

Parker has served the Justice Department for a decade and has been a trial attorney in the Criminal Section for six years. She will be presented the Top Prosecutor Award at a banquet ceremony honoring WIFLE award recipients on June 17, 2009, in Tucson, Ariz.

Thirty American victims of Hezbollah terror attacks have filed an unprecedented civil action in the United States District Court for Washington, DC against the government of North Korea. The suit, Kaplan v. North Korea (09-Civ.-0646), requests more than a $100 million in compensatory damages and an unspecified sum of punitive damages. The complaint also names Hezbollah as a defendant.

The plaintiffs, who were injured by rockets fired into northern Israel by Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, allege that North Korea assisted the Lebanese terrorist organization by providing military training to senior Hezbollah leaders and by building networks of underground bunkers to store Katyusha rocket launchers in South Lebanon. The North Korean bunkers enabled Hezbollah to carry out the thousands of missile attacks which rained on Israeli cities between July 12 and August 14, 2006 from below ground even as Israeli air force jets hunted and sought to destroy the launchers. Forty three Israeli citizens were killed and more than 4,000 were injured by Hezbollah rockets.

This is the first lawsuit brought by Hezbollah victims against the government of North Korea for its provision of material support to the terrorist group.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Robert J. Tolchin and Nathan Tarnor of New York City, and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Tel-Aviv.

In their court papers the plaintiffs cite a May 8, 2008 Congressional memorandum prepared for the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee which describes one of the North Korean built facilities as "a 25 kilometer underground tunnel that Hezbollah used to move troops. Hezbollah's underground facilities significantly improved Hezbollah's ability to fight the Israelis during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war."

Attorney Darshan-Leitner states that: "North Korea has become a major player in providing support and material resources to Middle East terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. It was North Korea which trained Hezbollah's leadership and built the underground bunkers that permitted the terrorists to evade Israeli jets during the Second Lebanese War and to continue their rocket attacks targeting civilians. As a facilitator of the Hezbollah rockets, North Korea is financially liable to all those Americans injured by the terrorists. The lawsuit aims to secure a measure of justice for the terror victims and teach North Korea that it cannot continue to support Hezbollah with impunity."

SOURCE Nitsana Darshan-Leitner

Nagarro, Inc., a Silicon Valley outsourced software developer whose back office in Gurgaon, India employs over 400 employees, has been sued in federal court by two U.S.-based companies for theft of trade secrets, breach of confidentiality, unfair business practices and unlawful interference with another company's contract. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Nagarro contracted with Sigma Six Technologies to provide software development services. Nagarro allegedly began performing the work in India but soon circumvented Sigma Six Technologies to deal directly with T-Systems Enterprise Services GmbH, the German subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), which had ordered the software, popularly known as ServiceNet, from another U.S. company, Sigma Six Technologies' exclusive licensee.

Both T-Systems and Nagarro are named as defendants in the 19-page complaint, which alleges breach of contract (against Nagarro); theft of trade secrets (against Nagarro and accomplices); tortious interference with contract (against both defendants); and unfair competition under California law against both defendants. The complaint also alleges that numerous major U.S. corporations currently use the ServiceNet software. The suit seeks damages against defendants that are expected to reach into tens of millions of dollars.

On March 26, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge James Ware denied Nagarro's motion to compel arbitration, ordering that the case proceed in federal court. Later this month the court is expected to hear T-Systems' arguments that all claims against it should be heard in Germany. Plaintiffs have alleged and expect to establish that T-Systems' acts within the U.S. and/or causing substantial harm in the U.S. are sufficient grounds to justify suit being maintained in U.S. federal court in California, where Nagarro is headquartered. In addition, Plaintiffs have requested the court to issue a permanent injunction barring both defendants and all other persons working in concert with them, including all of T-Systems' customers around the world, from in any way using any version of ServiceNet.

SOURCE Sigma Six Technologies, Inc.

A new report released today by The Justice Project analyzes the cases of thirty-nine innocent Texans who collectively spent more than five hundred years in prison for crimes they did not commit. Convicting the Innocent: Texas Justice Derailed also presents reforms Texas must implement in order to improve the quality of evidence used in criminal cases and reduce the risk of wrongful convictions.

The report finds that while DNA analysis is an invaluable tool, it alone cannot prevent the wrongful convictions that arise from unreliable evidence. The report also analyzes the many costs to society each time a wrongful conviction occurs, including the crimes committed by the actual perpetrators following the conviction of the wrong person.

Among the report's key findings:

• Innocent Texans exonerated by DNA spent about 548 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

• Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions exposed by DNA in Texas, present in eight-five percent of wrongful conviction cases.

• Other factors leading to Texas wrongful convictions include: false confessions and guilty pleas, suppression of exculpatory evidence, false testimony from informants or accomplices with incentives to lie, false forensic testimony, and unreliable or limited forensic methodologies.

The full report is available at www.TheJusticeProject.org.

"It is essential to learn from these mistakes when they are discovered," said Edwin Colfax, director of state reform campaigns at The Justice Project, "so that we can address systemic flaws and ensure the most reliable evidence possible in our courts."

The report details how the devastation these cases have wrought begins with the wrongly convicted, but extends out to the family members, jurors and victims who become embroiled in a terrible injustice. According to the report, "In each of these innocence cases, a criminal investigation into a serious, violent crime was shut down prematurely when authorities prosecuted the wrong person."

Legislation is pending in the Texas Legislature that would reform eyewitness identification procedures, require electronic recording of custodial interrogations, and increase safeguards against unreliable informant testimony, among other reforms.

The Justice Project (TJP) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the fairness and accuracy of the criminal justice system. TJP is based in Washington, D.C. and has an office in Austin, Texas.

SOURCE The Justice Project

Lawsuits brought by the families of six Pennsylvania men who died of malignant mesothelioma were successfully resolved this past week, announced Baron & Budd, P.C. The deceased men -- an electrician, a carpenter, a pipefitter, a maintenance worker, a weekend home remodeler, and a Navy sailor -- had all been the victims of occupational asbestos exposure.

Asbestos exposure has been known for decades to cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other cancers. Asbestos exposure kills an estimated 10,000 people a year in the U.S. alone. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lung's lining. The cancer is incurable. Asbestos caused mesothelioma leads to the deaths of approximately 3,000 Americans each year.

"Before mesothelioma took their lives, each of these men asked our law firm to take care of their families," said John Langdoc of Baron & Budd. "We hope that through this verdict, we've gone beyond that, and that we have also been able to shape future safety policies of companies who choose to use hazardous substances in their consumer products. It was an economic analysis for these companies, asbestos was known to cause cancer, but it was cheaper to use."

Three of the cases settled before verdict for more than $1 million each. The remaining three cases were tried to verdict against Ericsson, Inc., Georgia-Pacific, and Melrath. In what is believed to be the nation's first asbestos verdict against a wiring manufacturer, an electrician was exposed to asbestos in the lining of certain Anaconda electrical wiring that he used while working at a printing company.

The six Philadelphia, Pennsylvania cases involved:

• An electrician who was exposed to asbestos in the lining of certain Ericsson, Inc. "Anaconda brand" electrical wiring.
• A professional carpenter and remodeler who was exposed to Georgia-Pacific asbestos-containing joint compound.
• A weekend and evenings home remodeler who was exposed to Georgia Pacific asbestos-containing joint compound.
• A maintenance worker who was exposed to asbestos fireproofing and gaskets in boilers made by Kewanee, now known as Oakfabco;
• A pipefitter who for many years was exposed to asbestos-containing pipe insulation and asbestos gaskets used to join hundreds of miles of pipe at a large chemical plant.; and
• A Navy sailor who was exposed to asbestos-containing gaskets made by Crane Co.

Baron & Budd attorneys John Langdoc, Eric Brown and Chris Norris represented the families at trial. Dallas-based Baron & Budd has been a leader in asbestos litigation for decades and has been responsible for uncovering evidence of egregious misconduct by the asbestos industry and for discovering asbestos exposure from products not previously known to present a risk.

SOURCE Baron & Budd, P.C.

Despite a surge in actions taken by bank regulators, overall mortgage litigation eased, according to the Fourth Quarter 2008 Mortgage Litigation Report released by http://www.MortgageDaily.com. The analysis, based on active cases covered by MortgageDaily.com, was prepared in conjunction with the law firm of Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC, which is known as a leader for its work in mortgage banking litigation.

A total of 202 active cases were tracked in the latest report. Many fell into more than one of the 22 categories covered during the latest period. Excluding regulatory-only actions, 46 cases were tracked -- tumbling from 74 cases in the third quarter but about the same as the quarterly average for 2007.

The biggest volume of activity was with regulatory actions, which jumped to 161 from the third quarter's 126 -- reflecting deteriorating capital at the weakest U.S. banks. Investor class actions eased, though 11 cases were still tracked.

After no third-quarter activity -- four mortgage-backed securities lawsuits, three mortgage employment lawsuits and three suitability cases were tracked in the fourth quarter.

Most categories, however, saw a decline during the fourth quarter.

Cases tied to mortgage compliance tumbled from 18 in the third quarter to six during the latest period. Mortgage fraud litigation was down similarly, falling to five cases in the fourth quarter from 18. Secondary marketing lawsuits fell from 12 cases to just three.

Mortgage fee lawsuits were down by half in the fourth quarter, while predatory lending actions declined 43 percent.

Likely reflecting private and public efforts to stem foreclosures, fourth-quarter foreclosure lawsuits were off by more than half.

Read the full Fourth Quarter 2008 Mortgage Litigation Report.

SOURCE MortgageDaily.com

In a 59 page decision issued yesterday, a three judge panel in Portland Oregon ruled that a man who was sexually assaulted in the 1960s by a priest can pursue his civil lawsuit for damages against the Holy See. It's the first time in history that a victim has won this right.

Attorneys for the victim argue that in a rigid hierarchy like the Catholic church, decisions come from Vatican, so it's crucial that the Vatican be held responsible for on-going cover ups of clergy sex crimes. "They say the ruling sends a clear signal that anyone who enables American kids to be molested will face legal consequences. It will help prevent future child assaults and cover ups of those assaults. It also signals that the Vatican is not above the law."

The case involves Fr. Andrew Ronan, who is accused of molesting kids in his native Ireland. He was then sent to Chicago, where he allegedly abused three boys, and finally transferred to an Oregon Catholic school, where he reportedly assaulted the victim in this case. Ronan is now deceased.

The case was argued by Professor Marci Hamilton of Philadelphia, a Cardozo law school faculty member. Defending the Vatican was attorney Jeff Lena of Berkeley, CA.

On February 6th 2009, a federal jury in Chicago returned a verdict against Publications International Ltd. (PIL) of Lincolnwood, Ill., and awarded $5.6 million to The Smart Marketing Group, Inc. (SMG) in damages resulting from PIL's breach of a 2003 contract.

According to the lawsuit filed in January 2004, PIL's "Consumer Guide" division contracted with SMG of Los Angeles, Ca. to market and sell certain "Consumer Guide" products to automobile dealers. SMG alleged that it exceeded its sales and revenue targets but Consumer Guide failed to provide the products and services it promised to the dealers. "The jury clearly agreed with SMG that PIL acted in bad faith by terminating the relationship when there was no cause to do so," said attorney William Ziegelmueller of Chicago.

"PIL and Consumer Guide wrongly put us out of business, then wrote letters to all of our dealers to damage our reputation when it was really Consumer Guide that failed to perform," said Michael Welch, the CEO of SMG. "It was the dirtiest kind of pool."

"No amount of money can make up for what they purposely did to our business and our reputation over the past five years," said Bill Magarity, SMG's President. "At that time in our careers, we were the number one dealer sales organization in the country. We had sold more than 7,000 auto dealers into advertising and internet programs, and Consumer Guide took everything from us. Fortunately, after five years of trial delays, a jury has vindicated us."

Conflicting trial testimony from PIL's top executives "proved that PIL did not deal honestly with us," according to Magarity, who also indicated that SMG intends to pursue a fraud claim against PIL in the event PIL appeals the verdict.

SOURCE The Smart Marketing Group, Inc.

Marcus Rayner, Executive Director of the New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance, today issued the following statement in reaction to the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling in Bosland v. Warnock Dodge Inc., which resolved the question of whether consumers are required to ask merchants for a refund before filing a lawsuit under the Consumer Fraud Act:

"The Court's ruling in this case is yet another blow to common sense in New Jersey. This decision makes New Jersey employers an even bigger target for frivolous lawsuits, because now even the most minor business disputes that could be easily resolved will be escalated to our courts.

"This particular case involved a car dealer overcharging a customer for registration fees by about $40. Instead of asking the dealer for a refund, the customer went straight to the courtroom. New Jerseyans understand that encouraging consumers to sue as a first resort is a significant abuse of our legal system, especially when damages are minimal and there is a reasonable option for settlement.

"The victims of this decision will be consumers, who can look forward to higher prices as businesses pass on new liability costs. It's time we did more to protect consumers - not trial lawyers looking for new ways to fill their pocketbooks."

The New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance (NJLRA) is a statewide, bipartisan group of businesses, individuals and organizations committed to improving the State's civil justice system by advocating for legal reforms in the legislature and in the courts. NJLRA believes a balanced civil justice system is critical to ensuring fair and open courts, maintaining and attracting jobs and fostering economic growth in New Jersey. NJLRA is the only organization in New Jersey dedicated exclusively to civil justice reform.

SOURCE New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance

DALLAS, Feb. 12 / -- Valentine's Day isn't always a celebration of undying romantic love. This year, family law attorneys in Texas are exploring ways that disputing couples can play nice, whether they stay together or are torn asunder.

For decades, litigation was the only avenue for parties in trouble. The couples would simply load their weapons and come out blazing. During the 1990s, collaborative law was developed as a viable alternative to litigation, offering a more civilized form of divorce for parties who didn't want to hate each other after they parted.

"Collaborative law (CL) is more private and confidential than the traditional litigation process," says Kevin Fuller, president of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas, "and it usually makes better use of your time and money."

Cases handled under CL operate outside the court system, and the parties are much less likely to cause irreparable damage to family relationships than in contested litigation. This is especially important when there are children in the marriage or the couple owns a business together.

"In some cases, people come to us wanting a divorce and wind up reconciling," says Fuller, a board certified family lawyer with the firm of Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson in Dallas. "Reconciliation can be a natural part of this process. Let's say that a couple comes to us because they argue over money. The CL process is designed to allow people to look at disagreements in a new light. They might decide to reconcile and we work out a post-marital agreement that spells out how they are going to handle the finances."

A recent story in Texas Lawyer tells about a new effort to establish a third track of family law known as reconciliation law (RL), and the founding of an organization called the Peaceful Family Law Practice Group.

With RL, there is a willingness to save the marriage whenever possible. Parties voluntarily enter into a legally binding agreement to work on the relationship. If the attorneys can't settle a CL case, they must withdraw and let different attorneys take the case into court. In RL, if the parties decide not to get back together, the attorneys can finish the case.

Whatever their differences, though, their goals are the same for Valentine's Day and every other day: allow families to avoid the potential head-on collision of divorce litigation.

SOURCE Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson

A Sedgwick County jury decided in October 2006, that a Wichita television station had defamed a man by publicly naming has as one of the prime suspects in the BTK serial killings. The television station has filed an appeal recently in the Kansas Supreme Court stating that it did nothing wrong and shouldn't be penalized.
Roger Valdez was arrested in relation to other minor charges but was never named as one of the suspects in the case. He was later cleared of all charges on the basis of DNA tests. After KSN network named him as one of the suspects in the case on a 1 December, 2004 news report on television, Valdez filed a lawsuit against the network. In 2006, the jury awarded Valdez $1.1 million in damages. Valdez died a month after the trial.
After Valdez's death the jury dismissed the defamation verdict and reduced the total damages to $250,000 on the outrageous conduct claim alone. While members of Valdez's estate want to get the defamation verdict reinstated, the KSN network wants the decision to stand but wants the outrageous conduct verdict to be dismissed.
On February 2005 Dennis Radar was arrested in connection with the murders. He is now serving ten consecutive life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.

To read more about the case click here.

Low income housing developers, Brownstone Developments LLC, are suing the city of Natchez in Mississippi over the right to rezone land that they had been allotted for development.
The developers had plannd to build a residential area called Audubon Terrace in the Bluebird Drive area of the city, when the board of aldermen denied the developers the right to rezone the land.
As per a statement issued by their attorney, Michael Cory, the developers claim that they were given a letter of assurance by the former city planner, that the land they had purchased for their project was zoned properly for housing development.
Later however, the planning commission turned down the development project stating their reason for denial to be the improper zoning of the project.
The developers then repeatedly tried to get the area rezoned but were denied by the planning commission and by the board of alderman.
They are now filing a lawsuit claiming more than $1 million in damages.

To read more click here.

 
 

Last Friday, a TV journalist won $5,000 in damages in a trial over an incident that took place nearly four years ago in which police officers allegedly used excessive force while arresting her. Although a Prince George County, Maryland civil jury decided in favor of Andrea McCarren, they also found that the county officers had acted appropriately in conducting a 'high-risk' stop of the WJLA-TV journalist.
McCarren had alleged in her lawsuit that the police officers had manhandled her and tried to intimidate her into ceasing her probe into the possible misuse of county government resources. McCarren further alleged that as a result of the excessive force used during the incident, she suffered tendon damage to a shoulder.
On behalf of McCarren one of her attorneys, Steven M Pavsner commented that although they were pleased that the jury had validated McCaren's allegation that the police had used excessive force, they were disappointed with the damages that had been awarded.

To read more about the case click here.

Andy Kennedy, coach to the Ole Miss Basketball team, who was charged with misdemeanor and assault by the police for an incident that took place in December during which he allegedly punched a cab driver, has decided to retaliate. He sued the driver and a restaurant valet who came forward as a witness for defamation of character. His lawsuit seeks an excess of $25,000 for the alleged damage to his reputation.
On Friday, in response to Kennedy's lawsuit, the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas filed a counter-claim against the star coach and his wife Kimber Kennedy for initiating a frivolous lawsuit. In addition to this, the cab driver, Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou is suing Kennedy for assault and ethnic intimidation.
To read more about the case click here.

Two photographers who were sued by Bert Stern for the possession of seven transparencies of his Marilyn Monroe photographs have reached a settlement with him.
Under the settlement, Stern admits that the two photographers he sued, Donald Penny and Michael Weiss, did nothing illegal. He has also agreed to let them make a limited number of prints from the transparencies which he will get to keep.
Attorney Jamie Brickell represented Penny, Weiss and Robert Bryan. Bryan is one of Weiss's associates and he alleges that he found Stern's transparencies in a garbage can in the 70's. The images are part of a famous photo session that took place just before Monroe's death.  The session is popularly known as Monroe's 'Last Sitting.'
Stern had filed a lawsuit against the two photographers in September last year after they approached him with the transparencies to get permission from him to reproduce them. In his lawsuit Stern claimed $1 million in damages and legal fees as well as the return of the photos which he claimed were stolen from him.
In October, the photographers filed a lawsuit against Stern in retaliation in which they accused Stern of breach of contract, fraud and defamation amongst other claims.

Parents of a special education student who formerly studied at Liberty Elementary School, Liberty, Indiana have filed an official notice of their intent to sue the Union County-College Corner Joint School District and the East Central Special Services over the care and treatment of their child.
The family is seeking $3 million in damages for each alleged incident of abuse, neglect and battery that their child had to face at the school. Their charges include battery, negligent supervision, abuse, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and gross negligence.
The school was notified of the family's intent to sue on October 20, 2008. This notification is a prerequisite in Indiana. A public entity must be notified of a potential lawsuit against it before a civil lawsuit can be filed.
The child began attending the school in August last year. However, the child was soon removed from the school on a physician's advice for safety reasons. The child had become very upset about attending school and would cry every time upon arriving there.
To read about the details of the case click here.

Infamous Shane Ragland may finally have to pay for his crime. A motion filed by Ragland's attorney seeking to have a re-trial of the civil lawsuit that awarded $63.3 million in damages to the family of a UK footballer slain by Ragland, was denied by a judge.
In 1994, Ragland murdered 21-year-old Trent DiGiuro while he was sitting on the porch of his home, because he thought DiGiuro had got him blackballed by a fraternity.
Ragland was previously convicted for the case but the state supreme court overturned the decision. Last year, after a key witness turned hostile in the new trial, prosecutors were forced to make a plea deal with Ragland. He plead guilty to second degree manslaughter and walked away, a free man for the time he had already spent in jail.
DiGiuro's family filed a civil lawsuit against Ragland in 2002. Last August, the civil trial came to an end with a jury awarding DiGiuro's family $60 million in punitive damages and $3 million for funeral costs and the loss of potential earnings.
Ragland's attorney's filed a motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit because they argued that the amount awarded was excessive.
DiGiuro's family has another reason for filing the civil lawsuit. They claim that their motive in filing a civil lawsuit was to deprive Ragland from inheriting potentially millions of dollars from his father, Jerry, who is a well-known Frankfort businessman.

The family of a man, who claimed that he had been sexually assaulted when he was 13 was awarded nearly $400,000 in damages. The man claimed that his mentor, of a Bangor-area youth program, had molested him while he was enrolled in the program in 2002.

A Somerset County Superior Court announced the verdict last month ordering Roland DesRoberts, 61, to pay $37,965 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.

Previously, DesRoberts had pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of possessing sexually explicit material of a minor below the age of 14 in relation to the same case in 2004. He also pleaded no contest to a charge of unlawful sexual contact with someone under the age of 14. For both these charges he was sentenced to 4 years in the state prison and four years of probation.

The jury's verdict against DesRoberts was quite severe primarily because, even at the trial, the sexagenarian denied the plaintiff's allegations despite the fact that he had made a complete confession to the Maine State Police in the Fall of 2002. The jury found that DesRoberts was still unwilling to take responsibility for his actions and hence pronounced a strict verdict against him despite the fact that his assets are negligible.

To read more about the case click here.

Madonna recently won a legal battle against a UK based tabloid for publishing pictures of her wedding without her authorisation, eight years ago. In her suit against the Mail on Sunday tabloid, Madonna alleged that they had violated her privacy and her copyright by publishing pictures of her wedding to Guy Ritchie in 2000.
Ironically, this court victory comes just weeks after her divorce from the Snatch film director.
The tabloid allegedly received pictures of her wedding from Madonna's interior designer and published it in their paper for which Madonna is seeking over 5 million pounds ($7.5 million) in damages.
Judge David Eady who presided over the judgement in the pop star's favour has deferred a decision over the compensation amount. Representatives of the tabloid have stated that at the time the picture was taken, Madonna did not own their copyrights. They have said that the pictures are not worth the amount the star is seeking.

Madonna has stated that any money she receives from this settlement will be donated to her charity Raising Malawi that she created to help children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in the country. 
To read more about the case click here.

 

Pic courtesy Madonna Pix from flickr.com

The owners of Sarno and Son formal wear have filed a civil lawsuit against three men alleging that they were responsible for stealing hundreds of pieces of formal wear in a scam that took place over six years costing the firm more than $2.5 million.
Earlier this year, Robert Riviello, 39, Michael J. Pantano, 42, and John Vermack, 45, were charged by Lackawanna County authorities with stealing tuxedos and other items from Sarno's distribution center. Pantano and Riviello have been accused of stealing goods worth $121,830 while Vermack, who has been a long time employee of the company, is accused of stealing merchandise worth $50,000.
The suit was filed by Mark Sarno and his sister Nancy Sarno-De Los Rios and they seek to recover thrice the amount of their losses from the defendants which amounts to $7.5 million, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The suit also names Pantano's wife Elizabeth and Ryan Rowinski, who owns Tuxedo Junction of King of Prussia, as defendants.
To read all the details of the case click here.

The civil trial of a U.S. magistrate judge began recently, in State Supreme Court for her alleged assault of an attorney's wife during a dispute over an outing on Grindstone Island in August 2006.
Lisa Margaret Smith, chief U.S. magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, White Plains, was sued in October 2006 for punching Julie L. Purcell, of Jamesville, in the face. Judge Smith is being represented by Kevin E. Hulslander, of Syracuse, who argued in his opening statement that his client was provoked by the use of a lot of foul language from Mrs. Purcell. While not denying that Judge Smith had assaulted the plaintiff, Hulslander stated that all the judge may have done was slap Mrs Purcell as she did not stop mouthing expletives in the presence of several children including the Judge's own.
The dispute took place over an incident that had taken place on the previous night when two of Mrs. Purcell's daughter's and a third teenager, had their clothes stolen while they were swimming in the nude off Potter's Beach. Mrs. Purcell brought up this subject around the campfire next night and claimed that the judge's nephew had witnessed the whole incident and could possibly identify some of the miscreants. Judge Smith denied Mrs. Purcell's claims which angered her and caused her to verbally abuse the judge in front of several people including many children.
While Judge Smith's attorney alleges that there was severe provocation for the Judge's extreme reaction, Mrs. Purcell's attorneys are trying to portray her as an innocent victim. 
To read the whole article click here.

Los Angeles city attorney has set a precedent by filing a lawsuit against nine imprisoned members of a street gang known as the 18th Street gang. The lawsuit demands civil damages on behalf of the residents of two neighborhoods, often terrorized by the gang. If they succeed in their lawsuit then all the assets of the gang leaders that they seize, will be redistributed amongst the residents of those two neighborhoods.

City attorney Rocky Delgadillo stated that such a move was very important as gang leaders continued to make money even while they were in jail by collecting illegal 'street tax' and by collecting money from every shop owner in their area as 'protection tax'. This gang operated in the Pico-Union and Westlake area.
To read more details of the case and about the gang leaders implicated in this lawsuit click here.

A Canadian resident has been asked to pay $873 million in damages to Facebook for sending millions of spam messages to the social networking site.
On Friday, a San Jose, Calif., federal judge announced the judgement, which is believed to be the largest to date under the Controlling the Assault of Non- Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, or the CAN-SPAM.
The judgement was delivered against Adam Guerbuez, a resident of Montreal and Atlantis Blue Capital, which Facebook alleges is a fake business name used by Guerbuez.
Sam O'Rourke, senior corporate counsel for the Palo Alto, Calif- based Facebook, stated that they did not expect to recover the entire amount but were planning to collect as much as they could.
To read all the details of the case in the original article click here.

The family of a man from Glendale, Arizona, who was killed by a schizophrenic patient in a Walmart parking lot in 2005, finally got some justice when a Maricopa County Superior Court jury awarded them $36 million in damages.
Ed Liu, 56, was a patient of ValueOptions Inc., the company that held the state contract to provide behavioural health care till last year. Since Liu had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for over 20 years and couldn't even recall shooting Graham, it was decided that he was mentally incompetent to stand for trial for the death of Graham as well as Anthony Spangler, 18, also of Glendale. Instead, the company was held responsible for the deaths and were found by the jury to be 90 percent responsible.
The two victims were Walmart employees and were collecting shopping carts when Liu fired at them with a Glock semiautomatic pistol.
As per court evidence, Liu had not been visited by a medical practitioner for eight months before the incident took place. A nurse practitioner who had been charged with his care had informed the company that his condition was deteriorating yet they did not take any action. Eventually, Liu ran out of the medication he needed to function.
In May 2005, Liu called ValueOptions representatives telling them that he wanted to get back on his medications. Since he didn't keep his appointment they forgot about him and did not follow up on his case. In August of the same year he killed Graham and Spangler.
The story that evolved from the trial seemed to indicate that the healthcare provider had several opportunities to avoid this accident.
The state of Arizona and Liu were also named in the lawsuit. While the state paid $250,000, Liu's insurance policy also paid an undisclosed amount.
Spangler's family has also filed a lawsuit which is pending a hearing.

A Martinsburg couple have filed a lawsuit against their landlord, rental agent and housing realtors for racial discrimination. They hope to receive more than $20 million in damages. Larry Andrew McKinney- Bey and Dorice Sisco claim that their landlord, Suzanne Potter, rental agent, Michelle Sandri and the Potomac Housing Relators refused to them their security deposit after they moved out of the home they were renting due to racial discrimination.
They claim that the agent and home owner started treated them differently when they found out that they were an Asiatic- Black couple. They refused to comply with any request that they presented except what was absolutely necessary.
The plaintiffs further allege that because the home owner and the agent wanted them out of the house they began to charge them more than their monthly rent, sometimes even doubling and tripling their overdue fees. They could never pay their rent on time because they always received their checks after rent was due. They had explained this to the renters at the time of renting the house, however, the renters refused to accept this explanation hence their computer always calculated the additional fees.
The couple originally filed a suit in Berkley Circuit Court in October. However, since their lawsuit talks about violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act, the defendants in the case requested that it be moved to a federal court.
To read the complete story on the West Virginia Record website click here.

A funeral director who assaulted a deputy coroner and a hospital worker in Berks County, Pennsylvania, was asked to hand over his financial records to an attorney representing the victims by a judge of the county. President Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl gave Kevin M. Bean 30 days to comply with the order.
In January last year, Bean, 49, was convicted in a jury trial for the assault of Second Deputy Coroner Wally A. Woytovich and Margaret M. Marino on March 16, 2006.
The recent court order was issued after attorney for the plaintiffs, Jay N. Abramowitch argued that Bean was attempting to delay the trial for the civil case so as to be able to hide his assets.
As a result of Abramowitch's argument the judge has ordered that if Bean fails to give an answer within the specified period then he will be held in contempt of court.
Schmehl previously ruled that Bean is liable for damages and ordered that a jury trial be held to determine the amount to be awarded to the victims for their expenses, their pain and anguish and any other expense that the jury deem necessary in order to punish Bean.
Bean assaulted the two in Reading Hospital after his wife, Kristin M, 39, was found hanging from the rafters in a gristmill nest to their home in Lower Heidelberg Township.
Bean punched Woytovich in the face when he told him that he could see his wife's body but not touch it. Marino tried to help Woytovich but Bean punched her and threw her against a wall.
Bean is serving a one to four year sentence in county prison followed by eight years of probation.
Bean completed his minimum sentence on Feb 8 this year but the parole board refused to release him as he had not participated in court ordered treatment for mental health and domestic violence. He also denied committing an offence.
Even if he was to be released he would have to remain in prison because Governor Ed Rendell has issued a moratorium on paroles for violent offenders until their crimes were reviewed. His decision was announced in September after four police officers were killed in Philadelphia by men on parole.

The Kentucky based Ku Klux Klan organization, whose members were brought to trial for the brutal assault of a latino teenager, may go bankrupt after being ordered to pay $2.5 million in damages.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, who sued the supremacist organization on behalf of the teenager, fought the case with the sole motive of reducing them to penury.
On Friday, a jury ordered the grand wizard of the Imperial Klans of America, Ron Edwards, and two of its former lieutenants to pay 19 year old Jordan Gruver $1.5 million for lost wages and medical expenses and Edwards to pay $1 million in punitive damages. 
Edwards plans to appeal the verdict and menacingly stated that the KKK would continue to remain active.
The trial came about as a result of a violent assault against Gruver, who is of Panamanian decent, at a fair in 2006. As a result of the attack, Gruver suffered a broke jaw, bruised ribs and permanent nerve damage to his left arm. He also suffers from post- traumatic stress syndrome.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, founded by Morris Dees who represented Gruver in this trial, is a unique organisation that has set a precedent in the U.S. for crippling and bankrupting some of the most virulent hate groups. It has successfully brought about a $7 million verdict against the United Klans of America in 1987 for the lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile Alabama, a $12.4 million verdict against the White Aryan Resistance in 1990 for the brutal murder of an Ethiopian student in Portland and a $6.3 million verdict against the Aryan Nations in 2000.

The violent behavior of a bully has prompted the parents of a girl in a Kentucky High School to file a federal lawsuit against the school system seeking damages. Jerica Moore, 17, a student of Lawrence High School in Ashland, Kentucky, sustained head injuries on August 12, 2008, both from a candlestick as well as a fist.
In their lawsuit, Jerica's parents allege that they had warned the principal on August 11 that such an incident would take place and he did not put into place any measures to protect their daughter, leading to this attack.
Following the incident, Jerica sustained injuries to her head that were so severe that they had to be stapled. Her medical expenses came up to around $10,000.
Prior to this incident, the parents of Megan Hanshaw had also warned the principal that their daughter was in danger of being attacked by a borderline schizophrenic student who had allegedly told Megan to 'watch her back'. Megan was later punched in the face resulting in a deviated septum and an eye contusion. Megan's parents are also filing a lawsuit along with the Moores seeking damages.
The defendants have responded by stating that the intentional conduct had come from parties over whom they had no control or liability. They have also made it clear that they cannot cover civil damages under the doctrines of sovereign immunity, governmental immunity and qualified immunity.
At present, the case is pending in the Ashland Division of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Information from: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/081114-rutherford-localcivilrighssuit.html

A 16- year- old boy of Panamanian descent who took a violent beating from two well known Ku Klux Klansmen, at a county fair in Brandenburg is filing a lawsuit against them with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center. As a result of the incident in July 2006, Jordan Grover had a broken jaw and left forearm, two cracked ribs and several cuts and bruises.
Civil rights lawyer Morris Dees, whose Alabama based Southern Poverty Law Center is seeking damages on behalf of Gruver is suing the Imperial Klans of America for millions in a bid to win damages large enough to put the organization out of operation.
The two Klansmen indicted in the case are 'Imperial Wizard' Ron Edwards and 'Grand Titan' of the Ohio Klan, Jarred R. Hensley. Two others, Joshua Cowles and Andrew W. Watkins have settled out of court.
Gruver alleges that Edwards, Hensley and Watson confronted him and insulted him with racist abuses while they were on a recruitment drive at the fair. Edwards and Hensley then went on to knock him to the ground and repeatedly kick him.
Edwards, who is representing himself, stated that he was going to prove that he did not commit any violence and also, that he never taught his fellow Klan members to go out and commit violence. He also stated that he always stayed within the law.
Hensley, who is also representing himself, stated that he thought the legal system was corrupt and that he had only come to court because the law told him to.
The lawsuit also alleges that Edwards, the supremacist group's founder, uses money from the Klan's income from dues paid by Klansmen and money they earn as donations to the income they generate from merchandise, as his own personal funds.
Information from: CNN website.

Pic courtesy Image Editor from flickr.com

Infamous Jason Wahler, star of the MTV reality show Laguna Beach, had to payout $5,000 in damages recently for a disagreement he had more than two years ago with a tow truck driver. Dario Stevenson alleged that Wahler punched him in his face and then proceeded to hurl racial abuses at him. The Los Angeles Jury found Wahler guilty of battery, rejecting his attorney's claim that he was defending his girlfriend and was too drunk to know what he was saying. The jury while agreeing that Wahler's behaviour was outrageous did not think that Stevenson suffered from severe emotional distress as a result of the confrontation like he claimed in his lawsuit. 
Wahler's final test will take place today when the jury decides if they should award Stevenson punitive damages. The driver's attorney, Daniel Wagner, is quite disappointed as he was expecting around $1million in damages but because of the small award announced on Thursday, damages will probably not exceed $55,000.

Information from: The Associated Press website

Milo Farmer, Rodney Heemstra's troubles aren't over yet. After spending four years and four months in the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility for the murder of his neighbour Tom Lyon, he was released last month only to have to face a civil trial from Lyon's widow.
Ronda Lyon has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Heemstra for the second time after an earlier civil trial in a Warren County court that resulted in Ronda being awarded $11.5 million in damages, was overturned by a three judge panel of the Iowa Supreme Court.
The non- jury trial in Polk County District Court is expected to last six days and is being presided over by District Judge Michael Huppert. 
An earlier jury trial has already convicted Heemstra of voluntary manslaughter and when called to the witness stand, Heemstra was forced to repeat his earlier confessions by Lyon's attorney, Donald Beattie. His own attorney, Joseph Hrvol made no effort to argue his client's innocence instead he tried to prove that the murder was an accident that resulted after several confrontations between the two farmers and that Tom Lyon provoked Heemstra.

Information from: www.desmoinesregister.com

A Southern Californian county will be wary of the religious rights of anyone they arrest after having to pay $45,000 in damages for violating the rights of a Muslim woman by making her remove her hijab or headscarf in public.
Last week the county signed a settlement agreement in which they agreed to provide a private space for arrested Muslim women to remove their headscarves and to provide them with county issued scarves to cover their heads when they are in the presence of men.
Jameelah Medina, arrested in Pomona for having an invalid train pass, felt humiliated to have to remove her headscarf in front of a male deputy which she was forced into doing despite informing him that it violated her religious beliefs. After the attorney fee, Jameelah will receive $10,000 of damages.

Pic courtesy Claudius Prößer from flickr.com

Charged with the violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act, two Fargo- based corporations that own and manage several apartment complexes in the metro area are facing a civil lawsuit for discriminating against tenants who require service dogs.
According to the allegation by the United States, Van Raden Properties Inc. and Van Raden Homes Inc. discriminated against a male tenant by denying him an apartment because he owned a service dog.
The tenant registered a complaint with Fair Housing of the Dakotas, a private non profit organisation which serves North and South Dakota. The organisation then proceeded to conduct two rental tests to verify the man’s claims. The company stated that it had a policy of prohibiting certain dog breeds and dogs weighing over 40 pounds yet despite the fact that the tenant stated that their dog was under 40 ponds and was necessary for his well being the company refused to budge from its policy. The testers verified the claim of the tenant.
As per the lawsuit, the United States is asking that Van Raden’s actions be declared as violations of the Fair Housing Act, award damages to Fair Housing of the Dakotas and impose a penalty of $16,000 to each of the Van Raden companies.

Rodney Heemstra, a milo farmer convicted for the murder of his neighbor Tom Lyon, walked out of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility a free man this week. Heemstra, who spent four years and four months behind bars for slaying his neighbor at close range with a single rifle shot to the head, claimed that he had killed him in self defense after he lunged at him. The two farmers often had confrontations over land and cattle watering equipment.
Rural Warren County residents still harbor deep animosity towards Heemstra owing to which he is not expected to return there.
Heemstra was first convicted of first- degree murder in 2003 and was sentenced to life in prison following which, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that he deserved a new trial in 2006. Last year, as a result of his second trial, he was convicted of manslaughter and received credit for his previous prison term thus making him a free man this year.
A Warren County judge had initially awarded Lyon’s family $11.5 million in damages based on the murder conviction. This decision was declared invalid by a three judge panel of the Iowa Supreme Court. A wrongful death civil trial is set to begin next week based on a lawsuit filed by Lyon’s family who will be allowed to seek punitive damages since Heemstra was clearly liable for Lyon’s death.

The year 2005 witnessed over 14,000 plaintiffs being awarded monetary damages in civil trials held nationwide of whom less than five percent received damages of more than a million. The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) held a study which is the first nationally representative measure of general civil bench and jury trials in state courts of general jurisdiction.
For a detailed account of the study click here.

Ty Pickyavit filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Clete Carter, a Millard County Sheriff’s deputy, in Fillmore San Francisco, alleging that he used excessive force while arresting him in the month of May for being inebriated. According to the lawsuit, Pickyavit admits to drinking and having trouble walking. He was offered a ride by a passerby after which they were pulled over by Carter. Pickyavit was handcuffed but had difficulty standing up because he had consumed so much alcohol, according to what his attorney wrote in the lawsuit. The lawsuit further described how the deputy went on to shove Mr Pikyavit’s head into the side of the truck with great force while ordering him to stand still. His attorney, Robert Sykes stated that this force was unnecessary as Mr. Pikyavit was not fleeing, resisting arrest or threatening the officer.

The 19-year-old was taken to a hospital where he was treated for head injuries. Pikyavit says in the lawsuit that the deputy also lied to emergency medical staff about how he sustained such serious injuries.

Pikyavit is suing the deputy for $5,000 in medical bills and other punitive damages.

British judges have rejected proposals by the Civil Justice Council and the Office of Fair Trading that could have triggered US style class action suits in UK. The proposals relate to consumers who have suffered due to anti-competitive practices of businesses.

The new proposals recommended that damages be determined so that the perpetrators be stripped of unlawfully gained damages, or  to deter potential wrongdoers.

The Judges have upheld English law that damages should be limited to the extent of provable losses. Analysts said that this development would deter many claimants, who would question whether the financial returns would justify the effort put into a suit.

Here is an interesting article that lists some of the most important questions that will face Judges during the term that starts today.

These include issues such as whether a consumer harmed by a prescription drug can sue the manufacturer for failing to warn of the risk, when the drug and its label had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Also whether smokers can sue the makers of "light" cigarettes for false advertising, when the FDA had approved statements on the product labels.

Read about these and other issues for discussion here.

Family members of three people slain by a teenage boy on a New Mexico ranch filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming the video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" contributed to the shootings. The $ 600 million suit is against Posey himself, Sony Corporation of America, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games.

Posey admitted to shooting and killing his father, Delbert Paul Posey, and stepmother, Tyrone Posey, along with a stepsister in 2004. He was sentenced earlier this year to state custody until he is 21.

During the trial, prosecutors described Posey as a ruthless killer. But defense lawyers claimed the teen was subject to years of abuse by his father, and that the killings were committed in self-defense.

But the wrongful death suit blames "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," claiming that Posey played it "obsessively" for several months before the killings. According to the suit, plaintiffs' lawyer Jack Thompson was told by a sheriff's deputy that the game and a Sony Playstation 2 were found at the ranch.

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An art broker is suing Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses for $1.15 million, claiming that Rose reneged on a deal to pay $2.36 million for a portrait of John Lennon by Pop Art master Andy Warhol. Instead, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 11 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Rose has paid $1.21 million and is refusing to pay more.

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Former Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone has been sued by his former business partner, Sidney Ray Davis of Soda Springs. Davis claims that Malone offered him a $25,000 bribe to take the blame for an illegal elk hunting trip.

He also alleges that Malone's brother-in-law threatened violence if Davis did not cooperate.

Malone's lawyer denied that the player attempted bribery or intimidation and on Aug. 21, Malone's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in Idaho's 6th District court. A ruling is expected later this month.

The allegations are related to the investigation into a 1998 hunting trip Malone took with Davis, who was a licensed outfitter at the time. Davis did not have a elk tag for Malone.

Malone was interviewed by Fish and Game officials, but never charged in the case.

Donna Trevino, the birth mother of a 3-year-old developmentally disabled child who died in foster care filed a $5 million lawsuit on Tuesday against county officials, the agency that placed the boy and the foster parents charged in his death.

Trevino, a Middletown woman whose son had been removed from her home because of allegations of neglect, is seeking $5 million. The foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr. are jailed on charges that include involuntary manslaughter in the death of Marcus Fiesel.

The lawsuit claims the defendants were negligent in failing to adequately supervise the placement and treatment of the boy.

Prosecutors say the Carrolls wrapped the boy in a blanket and packing tape, and left him in a closet while they went to a family reunion in August. The boy, Marcus Fiesel, was dead when the Carrolls returned two days later.

Prosecutors believe David Carroll burned the boy's body and may have dumped some of the remains in the Ohio River. They allege the couple made up a story about the child wandering off.

Besides the Carrolls, the defendants in the suit in Butler County Common Pleas Court are the county commissioners, the county's Children Services department and Lifeway for Youth Inc., the private agency that placed the child. Amy Baker, a woman who lived with the Carrolls and has been credited with helping investigators, also is a defendant.

Butler Children Services removed Marcus Fiesel and the two other children from Trevino's home in April.

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Academy Award-winning rap group Three 6 Mafia requested the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against them by man who claimed he was severely beaten at a concert in 2003.

Ramone Williams,22 of McKeesport, PA  claimed in his July 2005 suit he was beaten during a concert at a now-defunct Pittsburgh nightclub on Aug. 26, 2003, when he was 19.

Williams said he was admitted into the Rock Jungle night club, despite being underage. When fans of Three 6 Mafia started acting out the lyrics to "Let's Start a Riot", Williams alleges he was thrown to the floor, hit with a chair, stomped on and kicked in the face, fracturing his left jaw. He won a default judgment against the club, which later closed.

A motion, filed by the group’s lawyer, John E. Hall, challenged Williams’ complaint, saying there is no "genuine issue of material fact" and that Three 6 Mafia’s lyrics are protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

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Rapper 50 Cent has been sued by two female fans who claim he assaulted them during a Springfield, Massachusetts, concert in May 2004.

The suit - filed by Donna Dejesus, 25, and Taneka Nesbitt, 27, at Hampden County Court - alleges the In Da Club star punched DeJesus in the face and injured Nesbitt's knee.

The alleged incident took place when 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, jumped into the crowd in search of a fan who sprayed him with water. Jackson was then returned to the stage by security guards and two police officers and he finished his show.

In May 2005, Jackson entered a plea agreement in a criminal trial stemming from the incident and was sentenced to attend an anger management program and to undergo random drug testing for two years.

The two plaintives are seeking undisclosed damages in their civil case.

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Three judges on the federal appeals bench in Washington, have ruled that compensatory damages awarded in a lawsuit don't count as "income" even under the expansive language of the 16th Amendment. As a result, the government's attempts to tax such monies are unconstitutional.

The plaintiff in this case, Marrita Murphy, had won a whistleblower action against the New York Air National Guard, and an administrative judge awarded her $70,000 in compensatory damages for a combination of emotional distress and damage to her reputation. She initially paid income taxes of $20,665 on that award, but eventually asked for a refund on the grounds that compensatory awards don't count as "income" under the 16th Amendment.

Income tax law has traditionally recognized that compensatory damages for, say, a physical injury or destroyed property aren't truly "income." Such awards simply use money to return a person to the way things were before, instead of providing a windfall or compensating for some service.

The latest ruling extends this reasoning to compensation for intangible damages. This may not be true for monies received as punitive damages, which count as taxable income.

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Jamie Gold, the winner of this year's 'World Series of Poker' is facing a lawsuit from his colleague over a verbal agreement to share his prize money. Gold's $12 million prize has been placed on hold by a Las Vegas judge after this suit was filed against him.

Gold's fellow TV executive, Crispin Leyser, sued him over an alleged handshake deal between the two to split any earnings Gold would make at the popular poker event. The suit alleges that Gold agreed to split any of his 'WSOP' winnings with Leyser in return for his help in getting celebrities to wear clothing advertising Gold`s sponsor, Bodog.com.

Leyser claims that he was able to get actor Matthew Lillard and 'Punk`d' co-star Dax Shepard to wear apparel that promoted the Internet gambling site, but has not received any payment since Gold won the 8,773-player tournament earlier this month.

As part of his case, Leyser has presented a voice-mail message which allegedly confirms the men's oral agreement.

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A Florida company has agreed to pay Sprint Nextel Corp. a settlement of $1 million for illegally obtaining and selling customers' records.

The suit against 1st Source Information Specialists Inc. was filed by Sprint in January. Sprint said the data brokers gathered information on Sprint customers through fraudulent tactics, such as posing as customers looking for information about their accounts to access cell phone logs and phone numbers. The company obtained a permanent injunction against 1st Source in March.

Sprint reached a settlement and permanent injunction against All Star Investigations Inc. in June. A third lawsuit against San Marco & Associated, filed in March, is still pending.

Several other wireless companies have filed lawsuits against data brokers.

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Comedian Jerry Lewis filed a $2.3 million lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against two entertainment companies, Spyglass Entertainment Group and Hollywood Pictures Corp. The suit claimed the companies owe him money over a proposed remake of his 1961 movie "The Errand Boy."

The lawsuit said Lewis and JAS Productions Inc. entered into an agreement with Hollywood Pictures in 1996 that gave the film company an option to remake "The Errand Boy." Lewis was to act in the film and serve as a consultant and executive producer if the option was exercised.

Between 1999 and 2001, Hollywood assigned its rights to Spyglass, which never made the movie but prepared a screenplay and hired script writers, according to the lawsuit.

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