Thursday, April 19 2018 |
Eight children throughout the state have banded together to sue the state of Florida and several governmental officials on the grounds that their "deliberate indifference" to damaging effects of climate change have adverse environmental impacts.
Fourteen-year-old Oliver Chamblin of Pensacola, Florida, spoke at a recent news conference to announce the launch of the lawsuit, noting that he grew up fishing, swimming and kayaking in the waters around his home, but that the government was not doing enough to protect public trust resources like state water, forests, wetlands, groundwater and wildlife for future generations.
"Our state relies very much on tourism," Oliver said. "If we destroy our climate and our beaches, it can affect that (industry) very much. We are called the Sunshine State, but we don't take advantage of that because we could be using solar power and we don't. I'm suing the government to help take action against those things."
The lawsuit names Governor Rick Scott, along with several other state officers and agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Public Service Commission, as defendants. According to news reports, the plaintiffs' complaint argues the state's "systemic, historic and ongoing" practices of permitting and promoting fossil usage has caused substantial impairment to public assets, leading to a violation of the young plaintiffs' constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The youth are supported by the nonprofit organization Our Children’s Trust, which has a similar lawsuit underway in Oregon.
—Source: pnj.com |
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Wednesday, April 11 2018 |
A Georgia man is suing his boss for invasion of privacy when his boss overheard negative comments the man made to his wife after the man "butt" dialed his boss.
James Stephens claims he inadvertently dialed back his boss, Michael Coan, after finishing a late evening call with him. During the second ("butt" dial) call, which lasted roughly 12 minutes, Coan overheard James complaining about him to his wife. The next day, Coan confronted James about the call and gave him the choice to resign or be fired.
Now, James and his wife are suing Coan for eavesdropping, claiming Coan invaded their right to privacy with "voyeuristic eavesdropping." Coan, who works for the State of Georgia, filed a motion to dismiss the suit arguing he was acting in his official capacity as a state supervisor when he was listening to the pocket-dialed call of a subordinate employee and, thus, deserves immunity.
According to news reports, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 2015 on a similar case, opining that someone who pocket dials another person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy because they placed the call.
—Source: cbsnews.com |
Wednesday, April 04 2018 |
A college student is suing a local bar and bartender in Oregon for $3.7 million after cutting his finger on broken glass.
According to news reports, University of Oregon student Winston Martin was seated at the bar at Max's Tavern watching bartenders learn how to make drinks when a bartender used a pint glass instead of a shaker to mix up a margarita. According to the lawsuit, the bartender was unable to pull apart the pint glass from the shaker and when Martin, attempting to help, tried to separate the two, the glass shattered, slicing his hand and leaving a deep cut to his left finger, which required stitches. Martin claims he has lost sensation in his finger and that his hand remains in constant pain.
Martin is suing Max's Tavern, the owners, and the bartender, claiming the injured finger has made him unable to "pursue a host of attractive, lucrative careers," most notably medical school.
—Source: KEZI.com |
Wednesday, March 21 2018 |
The wife of the star of the hot new movie "Call Me By Your Name" is suing a woman who pretended to be her to gain access to an Oscars party.
Armie Hammer’s wife, Elizabeth Chambers, is suing Diana Roque Ellis for "misappropriation of name" after Ellis allegedly set up a fake email address and impersonated Chambers to attempt to gain access to Vanity Fair's Oscars party. According to news reports, Ellis requested a plus one ticket, in addition to the allotted tickets for Chambers and Hammer, and asked that it be sent to a different address, noting the plus one would arrive separately from the Hollywood couple. The request raised a red flag with Vanity Fair, which sought confirmation from Chambers.
Chambers is seeking damages and an injunction agains Ellis.
—Source: tribunecontentagency.com |
Thursday, March 15 2018 |
A court has dismissed a lawsuit against Starbucks that alleged the coffee giant was underfilling its lattes and mochas to reduce costs, an action the plaintiffs claimed constituted fraud and false advertising.
Oakland, California-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected plaintiffs’ claim in the nationwide class action lawsuit that Starbucks cheats its customers by using a “fill-to” line on baristas’ pitchers that is too low. Although they conceded that foam was an essential part of a latte or mocha, the plaintiffs also complained that the foam included in those beverages should not count toward the advertised volumes. The court, finding a lack of evidence, dismissed the charges.
"Accordingly, plaintiffs fail to show that lattes contain less than the promised beverage volume represented on Starbucks' menu boards," Rogers wrote.
Starbucks maintained that its cups hold more than the advertised number of ounces, and that the "fill-to" lines provide guidance to baristas as to how much cold milk, which expands when steamed, to pour into pitchers.
—Source: NYPost.com |
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