The trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin has yet to begin, but there are already complications. Today, Zimmerman's defense team — led by lawyer Mark O'Mara — formally requested that the assigned judge remove herself from the case. Judge Jessica Recksiedler's husband works with a CNN analyst who has publicly commented on the Trayvon Martin case.
A judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by "Brooklyn-born and bred" coffee shop Gorilla Coffee against the New York Times—upholding the paper's right to report on mean things that people say about each other during disputes. Kind of an important part of a newspaper's job, if you think about it.
Hats off to Sunland Park, New Mexico Mayor Martin Resendiz, for making the useless invalids in Washington look vaguely — vaguely — competent in comparison! Because it turns out that Mayor Resendiz only signed those nine contracts with the company that is now suing his city for seven figures because he was really, really drunk.
Students at a high school in Red Wing, Minnesota brought school spirit to new lows with a "Wigger Wednesday" dress-up day tradition, according to a lawsuit filed against the school district.
Lindsay Lohan has gone off the deep end of paranoid narcissism. A Super Bowl ad featuring talking babies that refers to a "milkaholic" named "Lindsay" is about her, she says, and she's suing for $100M.
Writer/actor/director/producer Tyler Perry knows what's best for his writers. And what's best for them, apparently, is to churn out sitcom scripts without union protection or representation. The Writers' Guild of America West has filed a complaint against Perry's production company for unfair labor practices, claiming four writers on his TBS sitcom, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, were shitcanned for trying to join the union.
Having starred in Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and What About Bob? and everything, you'd think veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss would have put aside a few bucks, by and by. So either he invested quite unwisely or he just hates his old man. Because Dreyfuss is suing his father and his uncle for $870,000. Okay, no human is going to let nearly $900 grand slip away from him, but Dreyfuss is suing over a loan he made to his pops in 1984. And seeing how Richard is 60, his dad must be like... Well, quite lucky to even be alive. Damn, Richard.
The New England Patriots have no tolerance for cheaters. To prove it, the team sued eBay-owned ticket reseller StubHub, demanding the names of 13,000 season-ticket holders who sold their seats above face value on the site. The Patriots argued that StubHub encourages fans to violate state law and team policies. A judge ruled in the team's favor yesterday. On the bright side, if eBay decides to write off its StubHub purchase, as it did with Skype, there's only $310 million to lose. (Photo by AP)
A legal dispute from Mark Zuckerberg's past is not going away. Three years ago, fellow Harvard students Tyler Winklevoss, Cameron Winklevoss and Divya Narendra sued Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he'd taken code he'd written for ConnectU to launch his rival site. Now, legal filings reveal, the lawsuit is rolling forward, with motions to dismiss set to be heard on July 25. While it's likely that the case will keep wending its way through the courts for a while, I'm betting Facebook will settle, probably with Facebook shares rather than cash, before an IPO. After all, a lawsuit against the CEO is one of those pesky things investors don't like to see in an S-1 filing.
I.B.M. take Amazon to court over a software patent which according to Big Blue's Sr. V.P. of Shakedowns and Extortion John E. Kelly III:
NEW YORK - Rapper Foxy Brown pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a fight with salon workers over a manicure. The plea deal, which spares her jail time, requires her to serve three years probation and take anger management classes, said Edison Alban, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney's office.
NEW YORK (AP) — Saying he's "as Jewish as a matzo ball or kosher salami," Jackie Mason filed a lawsuit against Jews for Jesus for using his name and likeness in a pamphlet.
Apple Computer is defending its logo against Apple Corps, the recording label owned by the Beatles. The latter claims that the Apple logo in the iTunes store dilutes Apple Corps' trademark. There's law involved, and serious IP issues and blah blah blah. But here are the good parts:
