Titanic Legal Battles

Rome Still Having Trouble With Gladiators

A few days ago these jokers climbed up on the Colosseum to protest the fines they got for bothering tourists. As you can see, they are sort of dressed like Roman legionaries or gladiators, except for the blue jeans, and…



Swiss Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Nude Hiking

Fed up with repeated incursions by German nacktwanderen (naked hikers), in 2009 a northern Swiss canton passed a law making such hiking illegal. See "New Swiss Law Aims to Halt Invasion of Naked Germans," Lowering the Bar (Apr. 26, 2009). A man…



New Jersey Governor Vetoes “Snooki Subsidy”

Citing budget concerns and the harm he says the show does to New Jersey's image, on Monday Governor Chris Christie vetoed an extension of the $420,000 tax credit that Jersey Shore has been getting from the state. The credit has apparently…



House Bravely Takes No Action at All on Libya

The headline on this New York Times item is "House Sends Obama Message With Libya Votes." That message: "we are completely ineffectual blowhards." First, the House failed to pass Joint Resolution 68, which would have authorized the use of armed force…


Opera Singer Acquitted of Tofu-Related Assault Charges

Bringing an end to what will certainly be the next ripped-from-the-headlines "Law & Order" drama, a New York judge acquitted Marcella Caprario on Wednesday of charges that she slapped another shopper at Trader Joe's. The fight with Dr. Cathleen London…


IHOP v. IHOP, Round 2

As you may recall, Round 1 of IHOP v. IHOP began last year, when International House of Pancakes sued International House of Prayer for trademark dilution. That case was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, but was dismissed in December, reportedly…