The Not So Legal Show – what happens when you hit a biker and should honest recovering drug addicts still get hired for a job?
Category Archives: lawsuit
Spam – Jail or No Jail?
If you have an email address, I am sure you have seen an email that goes something like this:
NATIONALE POSTCODE LOTERIJ WEBSITE:www.postcodeloterij.nl VAN EEGHENSTRAAT 77 1071 GK AMSTERDAM. ONLINE RESULTS:FOR FIRST CATEGORY DRAW DATE:DECEMBER 2010 PRIZE NUMBER:NPCL/67/89/82/28 AMOUNT WON: ONE MILLION EURO(1,000,000 EURO) RE: ONLINE EMAIL AWARD NOTIFICATION YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HAS WON A PRIZE MONEY OF ONE MILLION EURO AWARDED TO YOU BY THE NATIONAL POSTCODE LOTERIJ.TO FILE FOR YOUR CLAIMS SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONS FOR DOCUMENTATION OF CLAIMS. *FULL NAMES *ADDRESS *NATIONALITY *COUNTRY *TELEPHONE/MOBILE *AGE *SEX *MARITAL STATUS & OCCUPATION. PAYMENT OPTION: TICK AN OPTION WHICH SUITS YOU BEST FOR THE REMITTANCE OF YOUR PRIZE MONEY TO YOU. 1. COURIER DELIVERY OF CERTIFIED WINNING CHEQUE (.....) 2. ONLINE BANK TRANSFER OF PRIZE MONEY (.....) CONTACT YOUR FILE AGENT WITH REQUIRED DETAILS
Or, something like this:
Try it!
www.euxicur.com
Doesn’t everyone just love these emails? In Milwaukee, they are prosecuting a man for sending out spam mail. Prosecutors contend that on any given day, one out of three “unwanted emails in the world” originated from this particular person. Fascinating I think to hold the title of “I am the person that sends out emails that nobody wants”. If convicted, he faces a $250,000 fine and up to three years in jail. Strong enough punishment? You tell me.
The Bad Romance has a Good Ending
If you will recall, a few posts back I wrote about Lady Gaga and her relationship gone bad that lead to a lawsuit. Her boyfriend/manager/agent/some guy who was helping her and then wanted to take all of the credit, decided he was entitled to more money since he supposedly helped launch her career. He probably just still loved her but somehow weaved the love into a lawsuit. The parties settled, all is well in Gaga land but there was no mention of whether there was any monetary settlement. Why did she wear meat to the VMA’s by the way? Super disgusting.
I digress. The point is, don’t have your boyfriend manage your career and think that when you make tons of money that he won’t try to say he is responsible for it. Or, if you are going to have him manage your career, at least get two separate attorneys that can represent both parties and you can negotiate a fair management agreement. It would have saved all the time to file the complaint, have the parties go back and forth to only then settle at the end.
Congratulations to the CA Medical Board
First, I would like to say I am really bummed the Cowboys lost tonight. However, let’s focus on other topics. The California Medical Board is suing the doctor of the Octomom. It would be hard to believe that someone wouldn’t know who the Octomom is but just in case, she is the woman who decided to get pregnant and happened to have eight babies given the wonderful help she had from her fertility doctor. On the upside, I can’t fault someone who wants to have children but how you could think it would be a good idea to have eight at one time gives one some cause for concern.
However, it doesn’t really matter whether I, my neighbor or my friend down the block thinks it is a good idea for someone to have eight kids. The real question is how a doctor could think it would be a good idea and whether he actually advised here in any kind of way that could have maybe meant she could have only had two kids instead. Luckily the California Medical Board is getting involved at least to raise the issue that clearly there should have been some additional criteria to be considered by the Octomom’s physician. I figured it was only a matter of time before they brought the claim against him so looks like the time has come.
Fat Tire
No, I am not talking about the beer. Les Schwab Tire Centers is paying 2 million dollars to those involved in the gender discrimination class action lawsuit filed against the tire store. In a nutshell, apparently there are a lot of women out there who are dying to change a tire and Les Schwab, a tire store I have never heard of, apparently doesn’t think women are fit to change a tire.
Now, while I applaud the woman who stood up for themselves, I am just curious how many women out there have found themselves wanting to actually work at a tire store. It is interesting that some plaintiff’s attorney found a way to find the right people to get this lawsuit filed and god only knows how long the whole process took. In any event, it is good to know the doors have been opened for all of those tire changers out there.
El Diablo update
The name change for Mt. Diablo is being contested in every which way. I promised I would give an update so now you have it!
(Stephanie Cohen was here)
Phil Spector has funny hair
I have to admit that I was a little surprised at the headlines that Phil Spector was found guilty. Not because I don’t think he is guilty but more because I thought the jury would have a hard time actually convicting the guy. When I was in law school, I did this project where I compared movies that have juries in them to the real world of a jury. Of course, what I found was that often a jury isn’t portrayed exactly correct in entertainment. So, what do you do when the guy you have to convict kind of is entertainment in his own right? I mean, can you imagine sitting on the jury and looking at Phil Spector all day? I can only imagine what it was like for the jurors.
I have written about this before but I think it is really tough to decide someone’s fate. I am sure it was tough for these jurors as well but I think the security guard who heard Phil say “I think I just killed someone” probably is what did it. I feel sorry for the woman who went to his house. I wonder if she knew what she was in for by going over there. I doubt it.
Blondes don’t always have more fun
So this is a good one. Charlotte Feeney of Stratford brought a claim against L’Oreal claiming that she tried to dye her hair blond but the dye turned her hair brown so of course, L’Oreal should pay for this traumatic situation. Ms. Feeney claimed this situation has led to her ultimate demise as her social life has been ruined, she doesn’t get as much attention anymore and she was forced to go on anti-depressants because she was so traumatized by the fact that she couldn’t return to her natural blonde hue. Um, hate to say it but for any woman out there that has had her hair colored, we all know that you absolutely can get your hair back to its natural color. It might take awhile but maybe Ms. Feeney doesn’t have any friends that could tell her that.
The judge dismissed the suit saying that Ms. Feeney never actually proved that L’Oreal had made an error by saying that the dye was for blond hair when in fact it was for brown hair.
This is one of those cases where you wonder if Ms. Feeney maybe had a good friend that would have told her this lawsuit was ridiculous as apparently her lawyer never did. It kind of makes you feel like you could bring a lawsuit for anything these days and even your lawyer won’t stop you. I love hearing about cases like these though as it’s kind of fun to see what people out there really try to get away with these days. At least the judge wouldn’t have any of it.
Puttar, Potter, can’t we all just be friends?
So, I have to admit, I am not exactly a Harry Potter fan. I know, hard to believe but it’s just not happening. I don’t wait in line for the books and I think I saw one of the movies but that is about it. However, I thought this was a quite interesting story. Has anyone ever heard of Hari Puttar?
I have never heard of it (although it is conjuring up some odd images) either but apparently it is a movie that is going to be released in India. It has sort of that “Home Alone” feel where a 10 year old Indian boy and his cousin were left at home while his parents go on vacation or something to that affect. Of course, who do you think stepped in claiming the movie title was too close to home? The Harry Potter folks of course but the court ruled that for anyone who knows the Harry Potter books, this movie would not be confusing nor would it make people think that Hari Puttar is just Harry Potter misspelled. Ok, so I added that last comment in but basically in a case like this, you are looking for the likelihood of confusion. Would someone look at one product and think they are getting something else? In this case, apparently not and I have to say I agree.
I might have thought for one second that Hari Puttar sounded similar but that really is all that I think would happen. I doubt someone would buy a ticket to the movie, sit down and then when the movie started think to themselves, what?? Where are the talking brooms and wizards? (there are talking brooms and wizards in Harry Potter – right?)
Hari Puttar on Netflix anyone?
C-H-E-A-T. Wait, that’s not the answer
I am not a cheater. But, technically what does that mean. Does that mean that it is not cheating if I stop doing yoga while everyone is still in their pose trying oh so hard to be a yoga god? Does it mean that I am not cheating when I perhaps run a red light simply because it was yellow long enough that I thought I could make it?
At Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo, 385 students took their AP tests. However, due to various reasons, students were able to text, talk and even consult study aids during the tests. For that reason, the testing company voided all of the scores and an attorney has filed a lawsuit against the testing company on behalf of the “non-cheating” students.
There is actually something quite pleasant about this lawsuit. The kids they have interviewed have actually said “some of us don’t cheat” and are quite bummed that now they have to re-take the tests. I couldn’t agree more. The testing company did not do much of an investigation and rather just voided the tests altogether. It is not saying too much of our students these days if they just assume everyone was cheating. I am not sure what results an investigation would turn out but it is nice to know that there are students actually mad about this. It is sad that the group of cheaters had to ruin it for the rest.
I will be curious to see what the outcome of this lawsuit is as it is difficult to predict the damages. I don’t know if the attorney is just asking for the results to be re-instated and the students perhaps compensated for their time but I do believe the damages caused will be an issue. It is likely the case will settle regardless but at least this is a case where people are trying to say they should not have to be punished for the cheating habits of others.
Fine, fine, yoga is not a good comparison of cheating here but it was all I could think of at the moment! Here is to all of the non-cheaters out there!
I’m Stephanie. Attorney at Law.
Let's make the law entertaining, shall we?
