2nd Circuit Court

Lawyer Who Says She Was Chastised for Not Being Sweet Is Allowed to Sue

A federal judge in Manhattan says a managing partner’s remark that a female lawyer wasn’t sweet enough could be construed as discriminatory animus supporting the woman’s bias and retaliation suit. The ruling allows fired lawyer Catriona Collins to proceed with her suit against intellectual property law firm Cohen Pontani Lieberman…

Aug 5, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

Yale Students Unmask Anonymous Critics; Legal Careers at Risk

Apparent law students who posted nasty comments about female classmates on the Internet thought they were doing so anonymously. But now two female Yale Law School students who sued over the AutoAdmit posts have identified at least some of those who made the vile comments, including posts that said women…

Jul 31, 2008 8:50 PM CDT

Wordscraper is Facebook’s New Scrabulous, Testing IP Law

There is Scrabulous news today for some 500,000 aficionados of the popular computerized word game that was played on the Internet by some 450,000 Facebook users each day. Although Scrabulous can no longer be played via the social networking site, a remarkably similar game by the same software developers is…

Jul 31, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Heeeeeere’s Another Lawsuit! Ed McMahon Owes $275K, Law Firms Say

Adding another lawsuit to the mortgage foreclosure that entertainer Ed McMahon is facing, two New York law firms have reportedly sued the former sidekick to late-night television host Johnny Carson, contending that he owes them over $275,000 in legal fees. The lawsuit they filed in federal court in Manhattan contends…

Jul 31, 2008 3:53 PM CDT

Game Over for Scrabulous Players on Facebook

One of Facebook’s most popular features is now kaput. Users of the social networking site in the U.S. and Canada can no longer play Scrabulous; the two individual developers of the Internet version of the classic Scrabble board game decided to take it down after they were sued by Hasbro,…

Jul 29, 2008 9:57 PM CDT

Hasbro Sues Scrabulous Creators, Asks Facebook for Takedown

One of the most popular features on Facebook could soon be gone, if the social networking site’s operators comply with a takedown request from a U.S. toymaker. The Scrabulous game that users play online infringes on its own Scrabble game, Hasbro says in a lawsuit filed in federal court in…

Jul 25, 2008 7:43 PM CDT

Online Video Clipping Service is Sued, Suspends Service

An Internet company that served as a platform for individuals interested in searching television and radio broadcasts, creating video clips, embedding them on websites and sharing them with others has closed down that portion of its services, after being sued by two major media organizations. Although Redlasso is shutting down…

Jul 25, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Sprinter Marion Jones Seeks Pardon; US Track Program Head Objects

A disgraced Olympic champion sprinter who lost her five gold medals due to her eventually admitted use of performance-enhancing steroids is seeking a pardon or a commutation of her six-month federal conviction for obstruction of justice from President George W. Bush. However, the head of USA Track & Field has…

Jul 22, 2008 8:58 PM CDT

Class Action Firm Hit for ‘Calculated Attempt at Judge Shopping’

A federal judge has criticized class action law firm Labaton Sucharow for seeking to add new and unrelated claims to a lawsuit against American International Group. U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo of Manhattan refused to allow Labaton to add claims related to AIG’s recent write-downs to its older class-action suit…

Jul 22, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Judge Rejects Lead Plaintiff as ‘Willing Pawn’ in Backdating Suit

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected a pension fund as the lead plaintiff in a securities class action because it appeared to be “simply the willing pawn of counsel.” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said representatives of the Steamship Trade Association International Longshoremen’s Pension Fund had no genuine knowledge…

Jul 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT

No Gold for Tiffany in Suit Against eBay for Knockoff Sales

A federal judge in New York has ruled against Tiffany in its suit claiming eBay failed to prevent sales of counterfeit jewelry. “What a difference 3,600 miles can make,” Am Law Daily writes. It points out that two weeks ago a Paris court fined eBay more than $60 million for…

Jul 15, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

9/11 Rubble Can Stay in Landfill, Federal Judge Says

A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a lawsuit brought by families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. It had sought a court order requiring more than a million tons of rubble that may contain some human remains to be moved from a garbage dump…

Jul 8, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Google Ordered to Turn Over User Names of YouTube Viewers

A federal judge in New York has ordered Google to turn over to Viacom records of customers’ user names and IP addresses, along with records of videos they watched on YouTube. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton of Manhattan ruled in a lawsuit filed by Viacom, which seeks to prove that…

Jul 3, 2008 2:46 PM CDT

Is ‘Cosmopolitan’ Resort Too Much Like ‘Cosmopolitan’ Magazine?

Cosmopolitan is a well-known women’s magazine. But is its brand strong enough to ban a developer from using the Cosmopolitan name for a new $3.9 billion Las Vegas Strip mega-resort? That will be for the court to decide in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit filed in the Southern District of…

Jul 2, 2008 10:56 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Fake Letter Complaining About Boss Puts Her in Hot Water

Attorney Maureen Duggan wasn’t happy with her boss at a state agency in Connecticut. But she was afraid that openly complaining about him could put her job at risk. So she drafted a letter in 2004 that was written to appear as if the sender were a parking lot attendant…

Jun 30, 2008 7:09 PM CDT