| Area | Case Description | Add to Cart |
|
Who's Doing What
|
Paramount signs digital-cinema agreements with Digital Cinema Implementation Partners and Kodak; Best Buy to acquire Napster for $121 million; Universal Music Group announces promotion; Dada Entertainment appoints vice president of legal and business affairs, teams up with UMG.
|
|
|
In Brief
|
Jury convicts O.J. Simpson in kidnapping and armed robbery case; racecar driver pleads not guilty to tax-evasion charges; family drops lawsuit accusing hospital of catering to Michael Jackson; Tommy Hilfiger’s former CFO pleads guilty to stealing $19 million; Nicholas Cage agrees to pay IRS $660,000; National Enquirer settles defamation claim with Massachusetts woman; Sharon Stone loses bid to modify custody agreement.
|
|
|
Other
|
“No Respect for the Dead?” Attorneys James Branch and Dave Green explore how different states treat publicity rights of dead celebrities.
|
|
|
Wrongful Death
|
Kathleen Calvert v. CNN. Television host Nancy Grace loses motion to dismiss wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who committed suicide after being interviewed about her son’s disappearance.
|
|
|
Other
|
CBS Corp. v. FCC. Appeals court tosses $550,000 indecency fine against CBS for infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl halftime show.
|
|
|
Settlements
|
In re Grand Theft Auto. Federal judge decertifies class settlement between “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” makers and gamers offended by hidden sex scenes in the video game.
|
|
|
Public Record
|
Jovan Mosley v. Chicago. Magistrate judge agrees to reconsider order requiring Chicago Magazine freelancer to turn over tapes and notes on interviews with suspected murderer to the city of Chicago.
|
|
|
Contract
|
24/7 Records v. Sony Music Entertainment. Federal judge limits damages that indie record label can collect in distribution dispute over album containing the single “The Ketchup Song (Heh Hah).”
|
|
|
Copyright
|
Bradley Blakeman v. The Walt Disney Co. Former member of the Bush administration says Touchstone Pictures swiped his copyrighted script “Go November” to make the movie “Swing Vote.”
|
|
|
Privacy
|
Jane Doe v. Noticias Digitales SL. Model says tabloids invaded her privacy by photographing her while she was tanning nude in her backyard.
|
|
|
Copyright
|
Gregory Shade v. Daniel Gorman dba Charlie Seven Films. New Mexico resident accuses filmmaker of using his raw footage and photographs to make a documentary about the plaintiff’s travels to Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden.
|
|
|
Other
|
Guy Earle v. British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Canadian comedian wants the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal to toss a complaint accusing him of rudely hassling a heckler.
|
|
|
Fiduciary Duty
|
Kristen Hall v. Jennifer Nettles. Sugarland founder says fellow band members owe $1.5 million for excluding her from the band’s affairs and blocking her from getting paid for its success.
|
|
|
Conversion
|
William Corgan v. Lester Cohn dba Pure DV Productions. Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan accuses production company of filming live performances and withholding the footage in order to extort more money.
|
|
|
Other
|
James Yoshinobu Iha v. Virgin Records. Two founding members of Smashing Pumpkins say Virgin Records sold their music as downloads and ring tones without paying them.
|
|
|
Fraud
|
Linda Pugach v. HBO Pictures. Blind woman and elderly man claim filmmakers duped them into signing away the movie rights to their dramatic life story by hiding the details of the contract.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Blue Angel Films v. First Look Studios. Producers say First Look Studios owes them $212,500 for distribution rights to the movie “Miss Conception.”
|
|
|
Contract
|
Alliance Capital v. RSB Investment Strategies. Venture capitalist says his partners cut him out of a deal to buy the bankrupt hip-hop label Death Row Records.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Sweet Flame v. Wooden O Films. Production company says it forked over a $400,000 commitment fee to purported financiers who never secured funding for the film “Sweet Flame.”
|
|
|
Other
|
Ed McMahon Jr. v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Ed McMahon claims he fell on an “unsafe” staircase in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, incurring a neck injury that caused him to fall behind on his mortgage payments.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Simon & Schuster v. ‘Lil Kim; Simon & Schuster v. Foxy Brown. Publisher wants two female rappers to return their advances after they allegedly failed to deliver finished manuscripts of their books.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Richard Dreyfuss v. 311 S. Spring St. Co. Actor Richard Dreyfuss takes father and uncle to court, claiming they refused to repay an $870,000 loan made in 1984.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Sean Cunningham v. Horror Inc. Producer demands $10 million for his work on the “Friday the 13th” horror films.
|
|
|
Other
|
Miad Jarbou v. Marshall Mathers aka Eminem. Michigan man claims Eminem punched him in the face in a Detroit strip club bathroom.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Essential Entertainment Media v. Free Fall Productions. Entertainment company seeks to recoup $150,000 in expenses for a defunct movie about notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
|
|
|
Other
|
John Cusack v. Intermedia Film Equities. Actor John Cusack claims Intermedia Film Equities reneged on a contract to pay him $4.5 million for starring in the canceled action thriller “Stopping Power.”
|
|
|
Contract
|
Thruline Entertainment v. Juan Manuel aka Jay Manuel. Talent agency claims Jay Manuel owes $40,000 in commissions from his gig as photo-shoot producer on “America’s Next Top Model.”
|
|
|
Other
|
Diane Wargo v. Mario Lavandeira aka Perez Hilton. Cleveland nurse claims she was fired after Perez Hilton posted her personal contact information on his popular celebrity blog.
|
|
|
Patent/Trademark
|
Mario Lavandeira v. Infuse LLC. Perez Hilton says two women swiped his name and trademarks without permission and used them to set up the competing star-chasing blog perezrevenge.com.
|
|
|
Fiduciary Duty
|
Conrad Riggs v. Mark Burnett. Producer Mark Burnett says former attorney and agent, Conrad Riggs, has no basis for trying to demand more money from him.
|
|
|
Contract
|
London & Co. v. Courtney Love. Management firm claims Courtney Love owes it a cut of the profits from selling her portion of Nirvana’s publishing rights.
|
|
|
Other
|
Sandra Carter v. National Interfaith Cable Coalition. Television program distributor claims nonprofit interfaith cable coalition and subsidiaries owe her $70 million for launching a campaign to smear her reputation.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Scott Phillips v. Overseas Film Group. Screenwriter demands payment for writing the script for the 1998 action movie “Drive.”
|
|
|
Libel
|
Michelle Ohana v. TMZ.com. Celebrity blog allegedly misidentified crash scenes in a public service announcement about actor Lane Garrison’s 2006 drunk-driving accident that killed a high-school student.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Howard Entertainment v. Lisa Kudrow. Hollywood manager claims former client Lisa Kudrow owes him more than $50,000 in fees from her gig on “Friends” and other projects.
|
|
|
Other
|
The Oklahoma Publishing Co. v. James Conradt. Oklahoma newspaper accuses blogger of damaging its reputation by linking the publication to a false story about two University of Oklahoma football players.
|
|
|
Other
|
Roland Cano v. USA Networks. Doorman claims security for “Jackass” star Steve-O assaulted him at a launch party for Paris Hilton’s clothing line.
|
|
|
Other
|
Emperor Entertainment v. M Three Productions. NBC Universal allegedly meddled with Hong Kong talent agency’s contract with Asian celebrity Isabella Leong when booking appearances for the movie “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Empire.”
|
|
|
Patent/Trademark
|
Curtis Jackson III v. Taco Bell. Rapper 50 Cent claims Taco Bell infringed his trademark by using his name and fame to advertise its “79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More Value Menu.”
|
|
|
Fiduciary Duty
|
Thomas Tune v. Marvin Shulman. Tommy Tune claims former financial manager double-billed him and duped him into paying egregious commissions.
|
|
|
Contract
|
Natixis v. Gold Circle Films. French bank accuses Gold Circle Films of defaulting on $10.8 million loan to make the thriller film “Whisper.”
|
|
|
Plea
|
U.S. v. John McTiernan. The 9th Circuit gives “Diehard” director John McTiernan another shot at withdrawing his 2006 guilty plea for lying to FBI agents about the wiretapping abilities of former celebrity snoop Anthony Pellicano.
|
|