Tag Archives: entertainment

Lighting Dispute Gets a Little Honky

Nashville lights fire under venue

The spotlight is shining on country music star, Blake Shelton; and not for the reason you might think.  Due to the results of a recent lawsuit, Shelton must alter his bar and restaurant’s red exterior lighting.  Old Red Nashville is placed at the heart of Lower Broadway in Nashville, among the various honky tonks and restaurants that line the street.  Shelton opened two other restaurant / bars of the same name in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  While each establishment has their own unique designs and characteristics, all of the restaurants follow the same red color palette and lighting.  Continue reading →

Lawsuit Fumbles in Federal Court

Push for a penalty

As we rapidly approach football season, excited fans are preparing for their fantasy drafts.  In the midst of their discussions about previous player injuries, training camp, predictions for the season, and whatever else football fans talk about, they can add a recently dismissed lawsuit to their rapport.  A US District Court judge in New Orleans dismissed one of three federal lawsuits involving a disputed call in the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams NFC title game this past January.  In the game, NFL officials failed to acknowledge a pass interference in the form of a helmet-to-helmet hit, exchanged between Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman and Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis.  If the rules of NFL football were strictly adhered to, the Rams player should have been flagged for a penalty at this point in the game.  Continue reading →

Anthrax Settles With Ex-Singer, Shreds Original Request

Musical mishap

Anthrax members Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, and frequent VH1 panelist Scott Ian found themselves caught in a mosh in 2009 when Dan Nelson sued the group for some inaccurate statements they made after his departure from the band.  The band  published that an illness had caused the singer to leave and the band to cancel an upcoming concert tour.  Nelson pursued a $2.65 million lawsuit to refute Anthrax’s “intentional defamation” and collect lost royalties.  “I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s 7/17/09 press release,” said Nelson. “This statement misled fans, friends, and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not.”  To settle the suit, Nelson was offered a confidential, yet “fairly small”, monetary amount and was given co-writing credit on 11 of the 14 songs on the band’s 2011 release Worship Music.

 

Settlement News in the Entertainment Business

Spin me round

The entertainment world has recently reached a few settlements, and brought some old ones back up for new litigation.

  • A settlement has finally been reached in the Michael Jackson secret recording case. In 2003, as Michael Jackson flew to Santa Barbara, California to turn himself in on child molestation charges, the jet company he hired conspired to record the pop singer and his lawyers.  Shortly thereafter, Jeffrey Borer of XtraJet attempted to sell the video to media outlets in the ensuing media frenzy of that particular trial.  Not exactly the machinations of a smooth criminal, here.  Now, nearly a decade later, Jackson’s attorneys have reached a $750,000 settlement with the now-defunct company, meaning Borer will never have to go to trial for invasion of privacy.

Click here to read two more settlements after the jump: