Driving for Change

A recent settlement between the state of Massachusetts and two leading transportation platforms, Uber and Lyft, promises a wage increase and enhanced benefits to its drivers. In addition, the settlement halts the attempt of the two companies to propose an intended 2024 ballot question that would support the classification of drivers as independent contractors, with limited benefits and without the guarantee of minimum wage. The initiative to essentially change employment laws in the state of Massachusetts was initially countered by the state with its own ballot question that would allow drivers the opportunity to unionize.

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NFL Dropped the Ball

In a class action lawsuit, the National Football League (NFL) product Sunday Ticket was scrutinized by both fans and the owners of bars and restaurants that televised the league’s football games. The plaintiffs argued that the NFL purposefully inflated the cost of the Sunday Ticket package to a whopping $300 per season. The price was exponentially higher than the $70 price point ESPN was willing to have fans pay. ESPN was also willing to throw in single-team options. Instead, the NFL entered a contract with DirecTV until it switched to YouTube TV in 2022. Fans accused the NFL of attempting to limit subscribers.

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Cast Away Competition

The executive director of “The Nantucket Wine & Food Festival,” Nancy Bean, has filed a lawsuit in US District Court and is asking for a trial by jury. Bean’s event has run since 1996, every year during the third week of May. The focus of the lawsuit involves the discovery of an announcement that Gordon Companies Inc. will be hosting a similar event next year under the name “The Nantucket Food and Wine Experience.” Although the names of the two events are undeniably comparable, the crux of the legal issue extends far beyond this matter.

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A Winning Argument

In February, the jackpot of a lifetime landed in the lap of New Jersey native, Rony Beal. A routine visitor of Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Beal played hundreds of dollars on a particular Wheel of Fortune machine, which granted a lifechanging payout of $2,555,910. Now, months later, the winner has hired a lawyer, has contacted a news media outlet, and plans to take legal action against Bally’s and IGT, the company that manufactures and manages the machines played by Bally’s casino patrons. The monetary damages have not yet been specified.

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Wining Amid Divorce

Eight years after filing for divorce from Oscar-winning actor, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie finds herself in a continued legal battle over her ownership stake in the French winery, Château Miraval. According to Pitt’s initial February 2022 filing, Jolie unlawfully sold her shares of the winery to an independent group, as the former pair’s controlling ownership of the property was obtained together in 2008. As per their alleged understanding, Pitt was required to offer consent to any sale that Jolie may procure, and vice versa. However, Jolie’s allegedly secret sale of her shares failed to meet the standards of this agreement.

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