Category Archives: Business Disputes

New York City Is Drowning In Lawsuits

New York City is drowning in frivolous lawsuits. Litigious individuals have filed lawsuits over everything from food packaging and advertising to the design of retail websites. The city’s court system is now one of the country’s worst places for civil justice. A report by The American Tort Reform Foundation places New York City in the #3 spot on the foundation’s yearly review of “Judicial Hellholes.”  Plaintiffs and attorneys are running berserk w

More People Are Turning To Litigation To Resolve False-Positive Drug Tests

Eat a bagel, lose your job. Eat a bagel and see your child taken from you. These, and more incidents of overreaction have triggered a growing number of lawsuits. Here’s what happened and what you can do if you are falsely confronted with a false-positive drug screen. George Tidd was a 23-year-old sailor assigned to the USS Kennedy in 1982. The aircraft carrier was homeported in Norfolk, Virginia and dozens of fast foot joints lined Hampton Boulevard just outside the Main Gate. Tid

239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001)

Napster Was Here And Then Gone But Its Lessons Remain

$417 Million Awarded in Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson

Johnson’s Baby Powder is a product that is found in almost every house. It’s a baby product, popular and has a lovely scent. What could possibly be the damage? You’ll be surprised. In a recent lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $417 million in damages, to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using the company’s well know

New Patent Law Ruling Allows Refurbishing and Reselling

Last week, the US Supreme Court dealt a major blow to all corporations and manufacturers that frequently used the patent law as a weapon against individuals and other companies. The Supreme Court has ruled that companies and firms can only be sued for patent infringements in the geographic location where they actually do business. In other words, once a company has sold a product, it cannot preven

More legal troubles for Chipotle

  As if the lawsuits following the food poisoning were not enough, Chipotle Mexican Grill is now in more legal trouble. This time it is to do with several sex discrimination charges in Cincinnati. Several former female managers have just filed suit against this fast food restaurant chain on allegations that they were wrongly terminated by a former manager who

HOA rules ban ‘For Sale’ signs

When Denise Hicks decided to sell her Lebanon home, she put a for sale sign in the front yard.A few days later she got a letter from the Home Owners Association warning her to take it down or risk being fined. According to the Spence Creek HOA, for sale and rent signs are prohibited. So are advertising flyers and posters and billboards of any kind. Hicks contracted with long time read more

Swartz v. Doe: Tennessee Ruling Provides Clarity on Showing Needed to Uncover Identity of Anonymous Blogger in Defamation/Privacy Case

A Tennessee trial court adopted a version of the "heavy" Dendrite standard for permitting discovery of the identity of the anonymous poster of an allegedly defamatory blog. However, as interpreted by the trial court, this standard was not insuperable, and resulted in an order that the

UMG Recordings v. Augusto: First Sale Doctrine Protects Reseller of Promo CDs

Living on the west side of Los Angeles puts me smack in the middle of the entertainment industry. I have often seen promotional copies of DVDs of TV shows and feature films or music CDs being exchanged at parties, and even seen stacks of these being left out by the side of the street for trash pickup. Studios and labels don't want this

Google Strikes Back Against Attorney General Jim Hood

In the latest twist in the dispute between Google and Hollywood, Google has now sued Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and is seeking a court order to prevent him from enforcing a wide-ranging subpoena. The lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court for Southern Mississippi. Google claims that Mr. Hood has been threatening to prosecute the company for the l