I'm a little late to this party, but I didn't want to pass up a chance to mention Kirby Delauter, the county councilman who threatened to sue the Frederick News-Post if it used his name without his permission. It not only…
A statement in a judicial opinion that isn't necessary to the holding is called a dictum (pl. dicta), and isn't technically binding (though it may or may not be persuasive). Here's a good example of that from a 1976 federal case (thanks,…
But not before it bit her, and that's why she's suing the beagle's owners for over $200,000. First of all, I don't think this is one of those cases that involves the debate whether pit bulls are inherently vicious or…
You will be pleased to know that the plaintiff who accuses Rick Springfield of assaulting her with his butt has not given up despite an earlier mistrial. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, lawyers for Springfield and plaintiff Vicki Calcagno were back in court…
“I think I can safely say this is a very unusual claim,” said Shari Moore, the city clerk of St. Paul, Minnesota. Moore was talking about Megan Campbell’s claim against the city for damage to her car caused when a…
This recent decision by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (thanks, Lachlan) is called The Queen v. Pro Bono Law Ontario, and that name needs some explaining. In the U.S., criminal cases are usually named something like State v. Whoever or United States v. Whoever (or,…
Another interesting case has been filed in Louisiana, according to this all-too-brief Courthouse News summary (thanks, Andy): Twyla M_____ v. Century Surety Company; Rushabh Inc. dba Rush Express, 6/20/2014, 2014-12824 G (St. Tammany Parish District Court, Covington) Negligence action. While plaintiff was filling her…
Looks like it's safe to go back to using the symbol for pi on t-shirts, at least for now. Someone whose initials are P.I. managed to get the symbol (followed by a period) registered as a trademark, and where there's…
From a recent Courthouse News report of new filings in Louisiana (thanks, Andy): USDC Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans Charles Edward Lincoln III and all others similarly situated v. Bobby Danner, Mayor; Olivier House Hotel; 534 Dauphine Street LLC;…
Updating an important story from last week (see "Mistrial Declared in Rick Springfield's Buttocks-Assault Case" (Nov. 20)), two new developments. First, The Picture has been released to the media: To be specific, this is the picture the plaintiff claims she took…