Category: Cases of Interest

Prancing moose creator sent cease and desist letter by Volvo | Hemmings Daily

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A cheeky homage to Volvo’s sometimes staid reputation may soon become a thing of the past now that Volvo has sent a cease and desist letter to the creator of the prancing moose logo over his use of the Swedish company’s trademark on restoration parts.

As Dave Barton shared on his site, PrancingMoose.com, the cease and desist letter came directly from Volvo Trademark Holdings in Sweden right around Easter weekend “after years of Volvo offering silent indifference” to the reproduction Volvo logos Barton has offered through the site and to the site’s namesake stickers, which riff on the Scuderia Ferrari prancing horse with a full-grown moose rearing on its hind legs under a Volvo logo on a yellow background.

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Sharply Divided Court of Appeals Removes Hurdle for Tort Plaintiffs to Gain Summary Judgment | New York Law Journal

By Andrew Denney

Ruling on an issue that has divided New York judges and “perplexed courts for some time,” a split Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiffs in comparative negligence cases need not bear the “double burden” of disproving their own negligence to win on summary judgment.

The high court’s 4-3 ruling clears up an issue that has bedeviled New York courts for decades, which has resulting in inconsistent case law on the issue of whether plaintiffs have to show that they are free of negligence to succeed on a summary judgment motion when determining a defendant’s liability.

Writing for the majority, Judge Paul Feinman said placing the burden on the plaintiff, a New York City sanitation worker injured on the job who sued the city government, to show an absence of fault is inconsistent with a state statute, which since 1975 has directed courts to assess a plaintiff’s comparative negligence only at the damages stage.

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Vulto Creamery shut down because owner did not ‘understand’ | Food Safety News

Investigation into deadly Listeria outbreak shows company knew cheese plant was contaminated

BY DAN FLYNN |

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A federal court has shut down the Walton, NY, creamery that last year was the source of a multistate listeriosis outbreak that infected eight people in four states with listeriosis, resulting in two deaths.

In a civil action, U.S. District Court Judge Brenda Sannes permanently enjoined Vulto Creamery LLC and its owner Johannes H. Vulto from any further manufacturing or distribution of food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found Vulto’s ready-to-eat cheeses are adulterated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono).

New court documents say that in the aftermath of the deadly outbreak, federal officials came to the conclusion that Vulto lacked the knowledge and understanding to make corrections and become compliant with legal requirements.

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Prominent Foreclosure Firm Charged With Defrauding Fannie Mae | New York Law Journal

By Colby Hamilton

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A prominent foreclosure law firm was charged with defrauding Fannie Mae through a scheme to submit falsely inflated bills to the mortgage servicing companies it worked for, knowing the federal housing authority would ultimately be on the hook through reimbursement payments, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

“As alleged in the complaint, for years [Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates] exploited its relationship with Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored entity, for its own financial gain by knowingly causing Fannie Mae to pay artificially inflated costs for foreclosure-related services,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman of the Southern District of New York said in a statement.

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Bill O’Reilly Sued for Defamation by Former Fox News Anchor – CourtSide

By Ceylan Pumphrey, Esq

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Almost one year ago, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly lost his job when it came to light that he had paid over $13 million to keep quiet sexual harassment lawsuits from women at the television network. It appears that O’Reilly’s troubles haven’t ended as one of these women, ex-anchor Laurie Dhue, has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against O’Reilly after he denied mistreating her.
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You can read the full lawsuit below:

Laurie Dhue Federal Defamation Complaint by FindLaw on Scribd

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Judge rules former ‘Apprentice’ contestant’s suit against Trump can proceed while he is president–ABA Journal

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

President Donald Trump is not immune from a state court lawsuit alleging he defamed a former contestant on The Apprentice by denying her allegations of unwanted kissing and groping, a New York judge has ruled.

Judge Jennifer Schechter allowed the suit by Summer Zervos in a decision on Tuesday, report the Washington Post, Politico, BuzzFeed News and Bloomberg News.

“No one is above the law,” Schechter wrote.

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NY Appellate Court Holds Individuals are Equally Liable for Violating Zoning Laws Whether They Act in a Personal or Corporate Capacity | LAW OF THE LAND

by Patricia Salkin

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

Individuals can be held liable for zoning violations regardless of whether they acted at their own behest or on behalf of a corporation. The defendant in the case, Claudia Dowling, argued unsuccessfully that she could not be held personally liable for operating an unlawful commercial use in a residential district because her conduct was undertaken in her capacity as a corporate officer for Claudia Dowling, Inc. The court also rejected her claim that the commercial use qualified as a permissible accessory use, but it ruled in her favor that stop work orders issued for the unlawful use were invalid because they did not relate to any building code violations.

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Stormy Daniels sues Trump, says confidentiality deal is void because he didn’t sign it-ABA Journal

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

Stormy Daniels

Stormy Daniels (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Updated: Porn star Stormy Daniels on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump that contends her confidentiality agreement is null and void because he didn’t sign it.

Stormy Daniels’ real name is Stephanie Clifford, but the “hush agreement” referred to her as Peggy Peterson or “PP”, according to the suit [FULL TEXT], filed in California state court. The agreement referred to Trump as “David Dennison” or “DD.”

Trump didn’t sign the agreement “so he could later, if need be, publicly disavow any knowledge of the hush agreement and Ms. Clifford,” according to the suit seeking a declaratory judgment. The Washington Post and the New York Times have coverage.

Despite the lack of a signature, Daniels received $130,000 under the agreement. Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, said last month that he used his own money to pay Daniels, “thus evidencing Mr. Cohen’s apparent position (at least in that context) that no binding agreement was in place,” the suit says.

Even if there were contractual obligations under the agreement, they were breached when Cohen spoke publicly to the media, the suit says.

Daniels also asserts alternate grounds to set aside the contract, including that it is unconscionable, illegal or a violation of public policy.

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Atheist Sues to Avoid Alcoholics Anonymous Treatment – CourtSide

By Ceylan Pumphrey, Esq.

 
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According to Lindon’s complaint, he claims that in order successfully complete his probation and treatment, he was required to take part in Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. More specifically, Lindon claims that his failure to participate in the 12-step program would result in “incarceration or other detrimental consequences.”

Lindon’s specific issue with this program is that it’s dependent on belief in a “higher power” or a single God and “compelling any person to attend de facto religious services as a part of mandatory substance abuse treatment program is a predictable and systemic violation of constitutional law.” After objecting to the religious element of Alcoholics Anonymous program, Lindon claims that the staff at the treatment center refused to adjust his treatment plan.

You can read the full lawsuit below:

James Lindon Complaint by FindLaw on Scribd

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Lawyer representing neo-Nazis declares that ‘white people are the chosen people’

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

A Cincinnati-area lawyer stepped forward when white supremacists and neo-Nazis had trouble finding legal representation in a civil case stemming from the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The lawyer, James E. Kolenich, got involved because “white people must save and preserve their civilization,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

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Do Kolenich’s comments constitute an ethics violation? It’s unknown if anyone has complained to Ohio lawyer discipline authorities. Ohio disciplinary counsel Scott Drexel says state supreme court rules bar him from revealing whether there is a pending grievance or investigation against Kolenich or any other lawyer. Investigations are confidential until a formal complaint is filed.

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