Monthly Archives: April 2014

Classroom with wooden desks and chairs arranged in rows facing a large blackboard on one wall. The room is well-lit, and the floor is covered with light-colored tiles.

Hearing to Follow What He Heard at School

Finally Taking a Stand

With bullying awareness on the rise in our nation, many students and families are trying to take a stand. A young student at South Fayette High School finally had enough when he decided to record bullying incidents directed at him during class. Using an iPad, the boy made an audio recording of the attacks to use as evidence in his case. The 15-year old boy alleged that he had been harassed daily for several months before finally making the iPad recording. Shea Love, the boy’s mother, told reporters that “they were calling him some really bad names, talking about pulling his pants down” (WPXI, 2014). Despite these allegations, the young boy who made the recordings was eventually charged with disorderly conduct, had to pay fines, and was forced to delete the recording. In response to these charges from South Fayette District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet, the family hired an attorney and they are filing a civil suit.

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Domesticated Duck Attacks Unsuspecting Civilian

Duck for cover

In May of 2012 a woman was visiting her mother in Oregon when she was ambushed by a neighbor’s pet duck. The Huffington Post states, “Cynthia Ruddell, 62, of Washougal, Washington, was on her mother’s property in Estacada, Oregon, about 25 miles southeast of Portland, when a neighbor’s duck attacked her without provocation, according to the suit filed in Oregon state court last Friday”. When attempting to run away from the agitated animal, Ruddell fell, breaking her wrist and spraining her elbow and shoulder. The retired nurse is seeking up to $275,000 in damages. Roughly $25,000 is for medical expenses, while the remainder is for pain and suffering that she has endured because of the incident. Read More

A black and white image of a store with an illuminated "Duane Reade" sign. A person is silhouetted in the entrance, and a vehicle is partially visible in the foreground.

Katherine Heigl Sues Duane Reade over Twitter Photo

Twitter trouble

Actress, Katherine Heigl is suing Duane Reade for using an unauthorized picture of her leaving one of their NYC stores with 2 of the chains large shopping bags in tote. The $6 million dollar suit includes an image taken by paparazzi and mention of the actress on Duane Reads twitter page. It read: “Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore” (Gershman 2014).It is alleged that the act is in violation of the Lanham Act, a federal statute that protects celebrities from deceptive advertising, leading the public to believe they endorse a company and or product.

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The FBI Being Sued Over An Ultimatum

Courtroom

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is being accused of giving an ultimatum to four Muslim Americans. According to the Huffington Post, the FBI wanted these four Muslim Americans to become informants for the FBI. However, when these men denied the FBI’s request, they consequently added their names to the United State’s “no fly list”. The “no fly list” prevents any person from boarding a plane starting from, ending, or passing over the country.

Three of the plaintiffs, Muhammad Tanvir, Jameel Algibhah, Naveed Shinwari, claim they were added to the “no fly list” after refusing, for religious reasons, to serve as FBI informants. The fourth plaintiff, Awais Sajjad, said he was put on the list, and was “subjected to extensive interrogation”.

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Slip Up: Banana Lady’s Lawsuits Bear No Fruit

Crazy? More like going bananas.

Catherine Conrad makes a living as an inspirational speaker, personal motivator, and also delivers singing telegrams dressed in a banana suit.  After several incidents with clients which ended up in Ms. Conrad filing multiple lawsuits, it seems the U.S. District Courts have had enough.  A recent ruling against the Wisconsin-native claims that although those who receive the banana-grams take pictures and videos, Catherine has no copyright claim over the over-sized, yellow costume. Previously, she had filed infringement lawsuits of anywhere between $40,000 and $80,000.  A jurist recently declared that her accusations and demands were “without merit” and an “abuse of the legal process”. Read more