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September 4, 2008 11:35:32 PM CDT

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Stories related to: civil lawsuits

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Stories 1 - 20 of 27

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  • August 2008

    • Seinfeld Defense: Lawsuits are Funny

      New York Post  |  Aug 28, 08 12:42 PM CDT

      Seinfeld Defense: Lawsuits are Funny

      (Newser) - Jerry Seinfeld insisted yesterday that he didn’t slander a woman suing his wife for cookbook plagiarism because silly lawsuits are fodder for good comedy. The comic cited episodes from Seinfeld as well as his kid-friendly Bee Movie in a court filing as examples of the First Amendment-protected comedic license to poke fun at the legal system, the New York Post reports. More »

      Tags

      celebrity  • New York City  • free speech  • civil lawsuits  • First Amendment  • Jerry Seinfeld  • plagiarism  • stand up comedy  • frivolous lawsuits  • slander  • Jessica Seinfeld

    • Settling Out of Court Pays Off, Study Finds

      New York Times  |  Aug 8, 08 6:18 AM CDT

      Settling Out of Court Pays Off, Study Finds

      (Newser) - Taking a civil lawsuit to court tends to be a costly mistake, the New York Times reports. Researchers have found that plaintiffs who reject out-of-court settlements end up with less money 61% of the time, losing an average $43,000. Defendants turned out to be right more than plainfiffs about going ahead with a trial—but the average cost of a bad call was a whopping $1.1 million. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • lawyer  • civil lawsuits  • court cases  • litigation  • defendants

    • Chip-Makers Agree To Cut Carcinogen

      San Francisco Chronicle  |  Aug 2, 08 12:08 PM CDT

      Chip-Makers Agree To Cut Carcinogen

      (Newser) - Potato chip companies have agreed to settle a California lawsuit that charged them with not warning consumers about a cancer-causing chemical in their snacks, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Frito-Lay, Kettle, and the company that makes Cape Cod potato chips will lower the levels of acrylamide in their products and pay the state around $2 million. More »

      Tags

      California  • cancer  • settlement  • civil lawsuits  • snack foods  • carcinogens  • french fries  • Frito Lay  • potatoes

  • July 2008

    • Publisher Sues Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown

      Associated Press  |  Jul 25, 08 10:11 AM CDT

      Publisher Sues Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown

      (AP) - Simon & Schuster Inc. sued rappers Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim yesterday, saying they were paid advances for books they never delivered. The publishing house wants Brown to return a $75,000 advance she received in 2005 for an autobiography called Broken Silence and wants Lil' Kim to return the $40,000 advance they doled out in 2003 for a proposed novel. More »

      Tags

      celebrity  • New York City  • publishing  • civil lawsuits  • rapper  • Foxy Brown  • Simon & Schuster

    • Love Sued Over Nirvana Catalog

      Associated Press  |  Jul 23, 08 12:05 PM CDT

      Love Sued Over Nirvana Catalog

      (AP) - Business firm London & Co. sued Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, for $975,000 yesterday, claiming she didn’t give them their share of the $19.5 million she earned from selling part of Nirvana's publishing catalog. They allege Love broke a verbal contract to share 5% of profits from The End of Music, her company that oversees Cobain's intellectual property. More »

      Tags

      celebrity  • music industry  • civil lawsuits  • music sales  • Courtney Love  • Kurt Cobain  • Nirvana

    • Google Yet to Find Pitch for YouTube Ads

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 9, 08 10:50 AM CDT

      Google Yet to Find Pitch for YouTube Ads

      (Newser) - Google is still struggling to make advertising revenues from YouTube resemble the site's popularity, the Wall Street Journal reports, with big industry heavyweights still leery about placing their ads alongside amateur video. With a well-below-expectation $200 million in ad revenue forecast this year, it's obvious "most advertisers are still testing the waters on YouTube," one exec said. More »

      Tags

      Google  • YouTube  • online advertising  • civil lawsuits  • online videos  • ad revenue

  • June 2008

    • Mini Me Sues TMZ Over Sex Tape

      TMZ  |  Jun 27, 08 10:00 AM CDT

      Mini Me Sues TMZ Over Sex Tape

      (Newser) - "Mini Me" actor Verne Troyer filed a $20 million lawsuit yesterday against celebrity web outlet TMZ and the guy who distributed the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape for publishing portions of his own raunchy video, which he says was stolen. Troyer claimed his privacy and trademark rights were violated, TMZ reports. In addition to damages, Troyer is seeking to prevent further dissemination of the video, which features him and his former live-in girlfriend. More »

      Tags

      celebrity  • lawsuit  • civil lawsuits  • TMZ

    • Illinois to Sue Countrywide, CEO Over Foreclosure Fiasco

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 25, 08 8:57 AM CDT

      Illinois to Sue Countrywide, CEO Over Foreclosure Fiasco

      (Newser) - The state of Illinois will sue Countrywide and its CEO today for "unfair and deceptive practices" in the first suit related to the current mortgage crisis. The company is accused of pushing loans on homeowners even if they couldn't repay them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Illinois' attorney general blamed Countrywide's actions for widespread foreclosures. More »

      Tags

      mortgage crisis  • Illinois  • civil lawsuits  • Countrywide  • Angelo Mozilo

    • Elvis Photo Leaves Enquirer Building

      South Florida Sun-Sentinel  |  Jun 24, 08 9:00 AM CDT

      Elvis Photo Leaves Enquirer Building

      (Newser) - The National Enquirer's famous photo of Elvis Presley in his casket—the source of decades of rumors that the King was still alive—was shredded during anthrax decontamination at the mag's old headquarters, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The King's final image is now at the heart of a lawsuit between the developer who bought the building, which was contaminated by a 2001 letter, and the company hired to clean it. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • civil lawsuits  • National Enquirer  • Elvis Presley  • Elvis

  • May 2008

    • Owner Sues LiLo Over Lifted Mink

      Associated Press  |  May 20, 08 9:48 AM CDT

      Owner Sues LiLo Over Lifted Mink

      (Newser) - The Columbia student who claimed Lindsay Lohan swiped her $12,000 fur coat after a night at a New York club is now suing the troubled actress over the unauthorized pilfering, the AP reports. Maria Markova, 22, proved the theft with paparazzi photos of Lohan donning her golden mink and got it back after contacting LiLo’s lawyer. She seeks unspecified damages. More »

      Tags

      celebrity  • New York City  • Lindsay Lohan  • celebrity trials  • civil lawsuits  • fur

    • Craigslist Countersues eBay

      New York Times  |  May 14, 08 9:40 AM CDT

      Craigslist Countersues eBay

      (Newser) - The battle between Craigslist and eBay heated up yesterday after Craigslist filed a countersuit charging the auction giant—which holds a 28.4% stake in Craigslist—with offenses ranging from unfair competition to trademark infringement, the New York Times reports. The action is in response to eBay’s lawsuit filed last month, and is being driven by eBay’s launch of its own classified listings, Kijiji.com. More »

      Tags

      Internet  • eBay  • civil lawsuits  • Craigslist  • competition

    • 2nd Nanny Sues Lowes for Sex Harrassment

      People  |  May 2, 08 10:44 AM CDT

      2nd Nanny Sues Lowes for Sex Harrassment

      (Newser) - Yet another nanny is suing over sexual harassment in the Rob Lowe household. Laura Boyce made her case yesterday in a teary-eyed presser in which she claimed that the actor's wife behaved in a "perverted, disgusting, and crude manner." With lawyer Gloria Allred's arm around her, Laura Boyce said she felt "betrayed" and "extremely upset" that the Lowes had earlier sued her, along with two employees, for being part of a $1.5-million extortion scheme. More »

      Tags

      Los Angeles  • civil lawsuits  • defamation  • sexual harassment  • nanny  • Rob Lowe  • Sheryl Berkoff

    • Lesbos Islanders Sue Gays on Name

      BBC  |  May 2, 08 7:50 AM CDT

      Lesbos Islanders Sue Gays on Name

      (Newser) - Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have decided that lesbianism is the love that must change its name, the BBC reports. Islanders, fed up with the word being used to denote sexual orientation, are suing a Greek gay rights organization with "lesbian" in its name and say if they succeed they'll take their campaign global. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • homosexuality  • Greece  • civil lawsuits  • lesbians

  • April 2008

    • WR Grace Makes Deal to Settle Asbestos Claims

      Baltimore Sun  |  Apr 8, 08 1:21 PM CDT

      WR Grace Makes Deal to Settle Asbestos Claims

      (Newser) - Chemical company WR Grace cleared a major hurdle in its 7-year effort to emerge from bankruptcy yesterday, agreeing to pay more than $3 billion to settle asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits, reports the Baltimore Sun . The deal, which a bankruptcy judge must approve, would establish a trust fund to settle current and future lawsuits. "In the final analysis, nothing will really compensate for people who lose their husbands or wives," said a lawyer for the claimants. More »

      Tags

      cancer  • bankruptcy  • civil lawsuits  • class action  • asbestos

  • March 2008

    • When Dumb Lawsuits Attack

      Daily Mirror (UK)  |  Mar 23, 08 5:00 AM CDT

      When Dumb Lawsuits Attack

      (Newser) - Emotional trauma because she used the men’s restroom? Surfer in pain after losing his wave? The Daily Mirror digs up the silliest lawsuits ever filed: Whale tale: After their 27-year-old son was found dead on the back of an orca, parents sued SeaWorld for depicting killer whales as huggable stuffed animals. My name’s Jackass, too! A man named "Jack Ass" sued MTV for plagiarizing adopted moniker. More »

      Tags

      list  • lawsuit  • Starbucks  • MTV  • civil lawsuits  • frivolous lawsuits  • Jackass  • litigation  • SeaWorld

  • February 2008

    • 'Dilbert' Mocks Comic Strip Firing

      Des Moines Register  |  Feb 23, 08 8:54 AM CST

      'Dilbert' Mocks Comic Strip Firing

      (Newser) - What came first: the comic strip mocking the office, or the office emulating the comic? Both, in the case of one Iowa casino that fired a man for posting a "Dilbert" cartoon comparing management to "drunken lemurs," the Des Moines Register reports. This week, cartoonist Scott Adams is featuring the saga, including the legal battle over unemployment benefits, in his comic. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • casino  • civil lawsuits  • unemployment benefits  • comic strips  • Dilbert  • Scott Adams

    • Court Scraps Agent Orange Suit

      Reuters  |  Feb 22, 08 3:17 PM CST

      Court Scraps Agent Orange Suit

      (Newser) - Vietnamese plaintiffs who say Agent Orange caused them serious health problems ran into a judicial dead end today. A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a civil lawsuit over use of the defoliant in the Vietnam War. The suit claimed that Dow Chemical and other companies violated a ban on poisonous weapons and were responsible for millions of cases of birth defects and cancer, Reuters reports. More »

      Tags

      cancer  • Vietnam War  • civil lawsuits  • chemical warfare  • Dow Industrial  • dioxin

  • November 2007

    • 'Guards Gone Wild,' Claims Video Maker

      Scripps Howard News Service  |  Nov 23, 07 5:41 PM CST

      'Guards Gone Wild,' Claims Video Maker

      (Newser) - Girls Gone Wild producer Joe Francis claims prison guards abused him by denying him medication and visits and threatened to tie him naked to a chair for 2 days, the Oklahoman reports. In court filings, Francis says the abuse took place during a 3-week stay in an Oklahoma jail earlier this year. Officials deny the charges, calling Francis "quite a character." More »

      Tags

      prison  • civil lawsuits  • Girls Gone Wild  • Joe Francis

    • Court Upholds $1B Judgment for Motorola

      Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 22, 07 4:29 AM CST

      Court Upholds $1B Judgment for Motorola

      (Newser) - A federal appeals court has upheld a finding of $1 billion in punitive damages against the Uzan family of Turkey for defrauding Motorola out of $2 billion in start-up loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The family had argued that the damages were so high that they amounted to an excessive "economic death sentence," which violated due process. More »

      Tags

      Turkey  • cell phone industry  • civil lawsuits  • Motorola

    • Axed OJ Book Publisher Sues News Corp. for $100M

      Bloomberg  |  Nov 14, 07 4:56 AM CST

      Axed OJ Book Publisher Sues News Corp. for $100M

      (Newser) - Axed publisher Judith Regan has filed a $100 million lawsuit against News Corp., charging the company made her the target of a smear campaign and fired her because she had information damaging to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. "The smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda," she said. Regan was dumped after she championed a controversial book featuring OJ Simpson's almost-murder confession. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • Rudy Giuliani  • Rupert Murdoch  • News Corp  • OJ Simpson  • civil lawsuits  • HarperCollins  • If I Did It  • Bernard Kerik  • Judith Regan

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