A woman who was stabbed and beaten by a man she met through Match.com is suing the online dating site, alleging that it doesn't do enough screen out violent offenders and warn users of potential dangers.
Six dozen Iraqis who were imprisoned by Americans at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere during the Iraq War sued a private U.S. contractor that provided employees to the prison. According to the NYT, "The plaintiffs complained of 'heinous acts' and torture at the hands of military and contractor personnel, including rape and sexual assault, beatings, forced nudity, humiliation and isolation." Not to worry, though—they are being fairly compensated for their discomfort.
Earlier this month we told you about Unionmade, the upscale San Francisco menswear store that sells expensive clothes that are not, in fact, union made. The cherry on top of that particular style-over-substance outrage was the fact that Unionmade's logo bears a suspicious resemblance to the logo of the AFL-CIO. And now, the AFL-CIO's lawyers have sent them an angry letter demanding they change their name and logo.
James Franco, the World's Second Best Entertainment Blogger, officially has the support of NYU, one of his 407 former colleges. The famous blogger/actor's former professor, Jose Angel Santana, filed a lawsuit against Franco last year, claiming he was defamed after giving Franco a "D" in his film studies class. As we noted at the time, the barely passing grade seemed generous considering Franco only attended 2 of the fourteen classes.
Just when you thought it was safe to tickle Elmo again, the erstwhile settled sex scandal roars back with a vengeance.
It's too soon to have to think about any of this, but it's happening anyways - a federal judge in LA's District Court ruled today that the city of Santa Monica is allowed to ban Nativity scenes in parks and other public places after The Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee brought a lawsuit against the city. If the decision carries, all "unattended displays," regardless of content, will be prohibited from city-owned spaces. The committee, which has been staging the scenes for almost sixty years, has promised to appeal the decision, because this is a fight that will continue forever, long after every living human descendant has forgotten what a nativity is.
Papa John's is facing the wrath of their customers, and not just because their Obama-fearing CEO is threatening to cut employer's hours; it turns out the company sent customers over 500,000 unwanted text messages in early 2010. According to the the attorney representing the victimized fans of crap pizza, some customers received 15 or 16 texts in a row, often in the middle of the night.
A British man who was tired of being harassed by telemarketers decided to bill the company for wasting his time.
Owen Wilson will never say words out loud in this town again: The Hollywood Reporter writes that Sony Picture Classics is being sued by the owners of the rights to William Faulkner's literary works over two sentences the actor uttered in Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris. The suit claims the lines violate copyright.
In 2007, a Missouri teenager named Jimmy Winkelmann Jr. came up with an idea to spoof lax-bro brand the North Face: an online apparel shop named the South Butt. Other smart alecks had conceived of this name before, but once the North Face sent cease-and-desists, the little jokers quickly cowered before the corporate Goliath's demands. Winkelmann was not like that. With the support of his dad, Jimmy Sr., the future biomedical engineering student forged ahead with a logo that inverted the North Face's half-dome insignia into a bum and a small inventory of hoodies, fleece jackets, and knit caps.
Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere are suing an anti-gay group called Public Advocate of the United States for using the couple's engagement photo in a homophobic advertisement. The photo, which was altered, was taken from the couple's website and used in a political campaign against Colorado State Senator Jean White, a Republican who supports gay unions.
