lawsuits

Lawsuit Claims Police Took Lesbian for Ex-Gay Therapy Instead of Rehab

Brian Moylan · 05/26/11 03:01PM

According to a lawsuit filed by a lesbian named Amanda Booker, police officers in Bartow County, Georgia, took her to the house of an evangelical "ex-gay therapist" to "attempt to convert Ms. Booker from being a lesbian," rather than taking her to court-appointed rehab.

Guys Suing HuffPost: Hey, We Invented the 'Mish-Mash of Crap' Idea

Hamilton Nolan · 05/25/11 02:14PM

In your absurd Wednesday media column: a lawsuit against HuffPo proceeds, Amazon dives into book publishing, Bloomberg View is totally out there, the New York Times has a drug pusher's business strategy, and e-commerce is your future.

School Fools Bother Diplomat's Daughter: Key to the City for Pretty Kiddie?

Hamilton Nolan · 05/25/11 08:57AM

Krittika Biswas is a high school senior in Queens and the daughter of the vice consul of the Indian Consulate in New York. Earlier this year, she was perp-walked out of school, arrested, held for a day in central booking, and spent a month at a school "suspension center," all for allegedly sending email threats "with references to rape and prostitution" to two of her teachers. Except she didn't.

British Woman Wins Nearly $10 Million for Botched Facelift

Brian Moylan · 05/23/11 01:21PM

Penny Johnson was awarded about $9.7 million by a British judge today for a facelift that left her disfigured and causes her constant pain, twitching, and emotional distress. Plastic surgery is a very dangerous business!

Soccer Player Takes on All of Twitter Over Affair Rumor

Adrian Chen · 05/20/11 03:14PM

Earlier this month, an anonymous Twitter user caused an uproar for tweeting rumors that hadn't surfaced in the press previously because of the gag laws—known as "superinjunctions"—that British celebs use to squash embarrassing stories. Now, a professional soccer player—sorry, "footballer," is suing not just every Twitter user who named him, but the entire company. This should be fun.

Mini Moguls Fight Over Control of a Twitter Account

Adrian Chen · 05/17/11 12:21PM

It's the most adorable tech lawsuit ever! The family of the teenage founder of a popular Twitter account is suing his business partner for squeezing him out. Kids these days.

Facebook Twins Will Take Hopeless Lawsuit to Supreme Court

Adrian Chen · 05/17/11 10:13AM

You didn't think the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals telling Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to go away forever would actually get them to drop their crap Facebook lawsuit, did you? They're taking this thing all the way to the Supreme Court!

Infuriating Twins Must Leave For Eternity, Court Rules

Ryan Tate · 05/16/11 04:35PM

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss must go away and never come back, ever, with their whining about how they only made, like, $100 million+ on their Facebook settlement, said the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. No, Tyler. No, Cameron. Just: No.

Facebook Twins Get Sued For Doing What They Always Whine About

Adrian Chen · 05/13/11 01:43PM

Boston businessman Wayne Chang claims that the Winklevoss twins elbowed him out of the $65 million settlement Facebook paid them back in 2008. Chang partnered with the Winklevii on their failed ConnectU project—the idea they claim Mark Zuckeberg stole and turned into Facebook— and he says this entitles him to a portion of the ginormous settlement, of which he currently has $0.

Hero Lobbyist Bills Exonerated Former Prisoners for Millions

Hamilton Nolan · 05/10/11 10:48AM

Kevin Glasheen is a lawyer in Texas. He is also a lobbyist. He successfully lobbied the state to pass a bill raising the amount of money that it pays to inmates who are exonerated and freed after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. For completing this fine deed, Glasheen expects to be paid handsomely—by the freed inmates themselves.

Kids Sue Government For Being Mean to Earth

Hamilton Nolan · 05/05/11 08:18AM

Often, kids these days are pessimistic; they don't think they have the power to change anything. But one plucky group of teens is standing up for themselves, by suing the U.S. government for not protecting the earth. Whoa, citizens!

BP Fined for Another Oil Spill

Jeff Neumann · 05/04/11 04:15AM

Pariah oil company BP is settling charges by paying $25 million in civil fines over two oil spills on Alaska's North Slope in 2006, and for basically ignoring court orders to properly maintain their pipelines. How shocking! According to a report in the Times, "The fine is the largest per-barrel assessment ever levied against an oil company in a spill case and represents a new blow to BP's corporate treasury and reputation." Yes, it's a new blow to BP's reputation, but it's doubtful the company's rep can get much worse than it already is.

Dov Charney Sued Again, Purely for Being Sleazy

Hamilton Nolan · 04/28/11 11:32AM

Last month, pervy American Apparel CEO Dov Charney was sued by (first one, then several more) former employees for alleged sexual harassment. As the media war over Dov's reputation raged, new facts came to light —incriminating texts, emails, and photos from his accusers—that made it seem that Dov might actually be innocent this time. But of course, Dov couldn't leave well enough alone.

Star to Katie Holmes: Sorry for Calling You a Drug-Addicted Zombie

Maureen O'Connor · 04/27/11 03:40PM

Katie Holmes' $50 million libel lawsuit against Star magazine has ended. In today's issue, Star apologized for a January story about how Tom Cruise and Scientology control Katie. Star says it "did not intend to suggest that Ms. Holmes was a drug addict or was undergoing treatment for a drug addiction." And Star's parent company, American Media, has made an "substantial donation" to an undisclosed charity in Katie's name.

Dan Snyder Will Never Shut Up

Hamilton Nolan · 04/26/11 10:29AM

Dan Snyder, wealthy scoundrel and owner of an awful football team whose name is a racial slur, is able to blow countless hundreds of millions dollars on high-profile free agents who immediately become bad at the sport of football upon cashing Dan Snyder's check. But oddly, he is not wealthy enough to buy one decent PR adviser who could tell him to keep his stupid mouth shut.