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'We're Not Cougars,' Women Say In Suit
Court News |
2008/09/11 07:11
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Three women say their girls' night out ended with a cable TV station setting them up to look like they were trolling for younger men, and then broadcasting the action as The Great Cougar Hunt.
Christine Torres and Charnette Hildreth say they were celebrating Tammi Tary's birthday at the Chapter Eight dance club when an employee of defendant G4 Media asked if he could videotape them. The women say they refused.
Later, they say, two young men sat down at their table and began talking with them. The women say the men turned out to be paid props whom G4 used to portray them falsely as cougars, or sexually cunning 35+ females on the hunt for a much younger energetic male.
At the end of the evening, the women say, G4 employees approached them again, asking them to sign a release consenting to G4's use of their voices and likenesses. The women say they refused.
Eight months later, the women say, they discovered The Great Cougar Hunt on G4's cable station. The video portrayed their birthday party as a group of older women looking for younger men at a world famous cougar hot spot.
According to the complaint, the video describes cougars as the easiest, most ravenous prey for younger men.
The women say they were not attempting to meet or 'hunt' younger men. They say they do not even date younger men.
The plaintiffs say the defendants have lined their own pockets with a video that has exposed them to contempt and ridicule and has caused others to shun or avoid (them).
G4 originally was devoted to gaming programming, but now bills its content as general male-interest programming.
The women demand punitive damages of at least $1 million. They are represented by Neville Johnson in Superior Court. |
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Firm Can't Sue Enron Again, 5th Circuit Says
Law Firm News |
2008/09/10 07:16
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A Houston law firm cannot file 34 more lawsuits against Enron after the high-flying company's financial collapse, the 5th Circuit ruled.
Fleming amp; Associates has represented hundreds of plaintiffs against the failed energy company, but Judge Prado agreed with the district court that the statute of limitations on the latest group of cases had expired.
The lawsuits would have covered 1,200 clients and would have alleged state law claims of fraud, negligence and civil conspiracy. Prado ruled that the district court did not violate any notions of federalism by determining that the state court would dismiss the claims as untimely.
The district court is intimately involved in the many facets of litigation surrounding the Enron collapse, Prado wrote. Further, federal courts often consider issues involving a state statute of limitations. |
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J.K. Rowling Smites Copyright Violator
U.S. Court News |
2008/09/09 07:02
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J.K. Rowling vanquished the forces of darkness Monday when a federaljudge permanently enjoined RDR Books from publishing The Harry PotterLexicon, a guidebook to Rowling's best-selling series. U.S. DistrictJudge Robert Patterson Jr. blocked also ordered RDR to pay $6,750 instatutory damages.
Steven Jan Vander Ark, a librarian andHarry Potter fan, thus cannot publish his guide to Rowling's series,for which he said there was a considerable demand. Warner Bros., whichmade the Harry Potter movies, joined Rowling in suing for copyrightviolations.
The ruling came 5 months after a 4-day trial,during which Rowling described the Lexicon as wholesale theft of 17years of my hard work.
The next day at trial, Vander Ark sobbed on the stand, clearly upset that he had annoyed Rowling.
Judge Patterson found that RDR Books failed to establish its affirmative defense of fair use. a href=http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/09/09/Rowling.pdfimg src=http://www.courthousenews.com/document.ico border=0 alt=//a |
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EU Court Unfreezes Assets of Saudi Charity
Court News |
2008/09/08 07:23
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Europe's highest court overturned a decision by the EU governments to freeze the assets of a Saudi businessman and a Sweden-based charity because of their alleged ties to terrorist groups.
The ruling allows judicial review of a regulation by the United Nations Security Council requiring member states to freeze the assets of individuals and organizations with ties to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida or the Taliban.
But the European Court of Justice said the Security Council should not have deprived Yasin Al-Qadi and the Al Barakaat International Foundation of their property without giving them a chance to defend themselves in court. |
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