A New Jersey teen who was injured in a fireworks accident last Fourth of July is suing the fireworks manufacturer and the friend who crossed state lines to buy $1,200 worth of fireworks. Fireworks are illegal in New Jersey. According to court documents filed in Superior Court of Ocean County, 19-year-old Thomas Eldershaw was helping his friend set…

A Gaston, North Carolina, man robbed a bank, asking for $1, with the hope that he would end up in jail where he could receive medical care.   James Richard Verone has been suffering from several medical problems, including a limp in his left foot, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and a recently detected protrusion on his chest.  Verone…

Naples, Florida, Bank of America manager Erich Fahrner faced an unusual demand recently:  pay up or watch the bank's furniture be hauled off for sale at public auction.   Accompanied by two Collier County sheriff's deputies, attorney Todd Allen presented a court order to Fahrner in a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit filed by his clients Warren…

A Utah man has been cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after paying for a disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies.  According to news reports, Jason West went to Basin Clinic prepared to dispute an outstanding $25 bill.  After asking staff members whether they accepted cash, West dumped 2,500 pennies on the counter and demanded that…

A Southern California mother has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against a Chuck E. Cheese’s franchise that she claims is operating a gambling business that puts children at risk for developing gambling addictions.   San Diego resident Denise Keller filed a class action lawsuit against CEC Entertainment, a company that owns Chuck…

A longtime NBA official is suing the Associated Press and a basketball reporter for what the official deems to be a libelous tweet.   According to news reports, NBA official Bill Spooner is suing the Associated Press and Jon Krawczynski after the reporter tweeted about Spooner's handling of a bad call made during a Timberwolves-Rockets game…

A Roswell, Georgia, teenager and her family have filed a lawsuit against the City of Alpharetta, parade organizers and the maker of a cannon claiming that the cannon blast at an American Legion parade dramatically impaired the girl's hearing.   Brittany Giles claims the incident happened at a Veteran's Day parade in 2007 when then 14-year-old…

A Dickinson, Texas woman is being sued by her son after allegedly charging up his credit cards and refusing to pay back the debt.   Matthew G. McMahon is suing his mother, Darlene L. Marzouk and her ex-husband (his father) for more than $26,000.  According to the complaint, McMahon claims that his parents racked up numerous charges on his…

A state appeals court in New York has ruled that no evidence exists that a woman or her baby were harmed by a hospital mix-up in which the infant was briefly given to the wrong mother.   Lynda Williams gave birth to her daughter at the Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.  She claims the hospital staff handed the newborn…

Two brothers are suing the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) alleging that toll collectors "unlawfully detained motorists and passengers" when they paid with big bills.   According to news reports, Lakeland (FL) resident Joel Chandler started noticing that toll collectors made him wait as they filled out a form with the make…

A Phoenix, Arizona man is suing the cities of Glendale and Phoenix seeking $200,000 and $250,000, respectively, after a dog bite incident.  According to news reports, 33-year-old Erin Sullivan was bitten by a Phoenix police dog after he ran from officers in Glendale during a burglary investigation. Sullivan alleges the dog violated his civil rights…

Starbucks is being sued over an unfortunate incident relating to the theft of a tip jar from one of its Missouri stores.   On March 3, 2008, then 19-year-old Aaron Poisson snatched the tip jar from the counter of a Crestwood (MO) Starbucks and fled the store.  According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, customer Roger Kreutz, who was ordering…

An Indiana junior high school's haircut policy has landed the school and its basketball coach in federal court. Patrick and Melissa Hayden recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, arguing that the Greensburg Junior High basketball team's haircut policy should be declared unconstitutional after their 14-year-old son was kicked…

Disneyland Resorts is being sued by a man who alleges violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act after he was trapped on Disney's "It's A Small World" ride for 40 minutes.   Jose Martinez, who is a quadriplegic, sued Disneyland in federal court for negligence, emotional distress and liability, claiming Disneyland didn't have…

A Staten Island, New York bar is being sued by a young woman who tripped over a "defective sidewalk" after a heavy night of underage drinking.   Ryan O'Leary is suing KJ's Ale House for not maintaining the sidewalk and for getting her drunk when she wasn't of legal age.  O'Leary was only 20 years old at the time of the accident…

A New York mother is suing her daughter's preschool, calling it "one big playroom" after her daughter was denied enrollment in elite elementary schools.   Nicole Imprescia is suing York Avenue Preschool in New York's Upper East Side neighborhood, seeking damages equal to the $19,000 annual tuition Imprescia paid the school during her…

Lebron Jordan, Inc., a Brooklyn, New York footwear start-up, has filed suit against NBA legends LeBron James and Michael Jordan, among others, claiming the basketball stars ruined its business by poisoning its name in the public.   Earlier this year, Lebron Jordan CEO Aaron Fraser received a raft of cease-and-desist letters, first from Nike…

A California man is suing a Studio City sushi restaurant after he claims it gave him a raw deal on the "all-you-can-eat" sushi meal.   David Martin has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against A Ca-Shi Restaurant seeking $4,000 in damages for “humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish.”  Martin, a type-…

Facebook has made a bank robber more popular than he likely would prefer. Dubbed the "Geezer Bandit," the bank-robbing old man's wrinkled face appears on t-shirts and thousands of people "like" him on one of the two Facebook pages set up to honor the crook.   Photos of the Geezer Bandit show him to be between 60 and 70 years…

A San Diego, California mom is suing Ferrero U.S.A., Inc., an affiliate of Italian-based Ferrero International SA, the makers of the hazelnut-spread Nutella, alleging that Nutella's claim that the chocolaty product is "nutritious" and part of a "healthy breakfast" are false and misleading.   Athena Hohenberg filed the claim…

A New York man is suing Facebook for $500,000 for inexplicably knocking him off the social network without warning. Mustafa Fteja filed his suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, stating that he has been using Facebook for about three years, mainly to keep in touch with family and friends in Montenegro, Albania, Germany and Austria.  Fteja claims he…

A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Alabama against Taco Bell, claiming its "seasoned meat" doesn't contain enough beef to fit the definition for "beef" set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   Attorney W. Daniel "Dee" Miles III, of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC, alleges in the lawsuit…

A Connecticut woman has filed notice that she is considering a lawsuit against the City of Waterbury (Connecticut) after she slipped on acorns on the town's Greenway.   Prospective Plaintiff Grace Triano, in the notice filed by her attorney William F. Gallagher, claims she fell on debris consisting mainly of acorns, banged her head and was treated…

Alabama doesn't see a lot of snow, so its residents aren’t too familiar with snow angels, snow shovels and snow prints.  That's likely the case with two alleged burglary bandits.   Earlier this week, detectives in Sheffield, Alabama, responded to a break-in at the Chevron Convenience store. Reportedly missing from the store were 56…

A former fifth-grade multimedia teacher filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Allentown, Pennsylvania, claiming that school officials disregarded her learning disability when they terminated her for not obtaining her state teaching certification.   Michele Vulcano Hall was hired in 2008 and told she had two to three years to obtain…

A Connecticut woman is appealing to her local Board of Selectmen  to create a local law prohibiting people from growing invasive plants after claiming that her yard has been ruined by her neighbor’s bamboo trees.   “This is the worst of the worst of invasive, non-native plants,” said Caryn Rickel, after showing the Selectmen…

A fruit company and grocery chain have offered to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who says he was knocked unconscious when a lid exploded off a jar of fruit and hit him in the face.   Darryl Alexander of Southfield, Michigan, claims a stubborn lid flew through the air and struck him in the eye after he hit it with the rubber handle of a screwdriver…

A California man sued a Montana Guide Service after he was "slapped by a bear."   Virgil Massey of Barstow, Calif., sued the Church Universal and Triumphant and Montana Guide Service in 6th District Court.  Massey claims that while on a 2007 hunting trip on the religious group's land, a guide left him on a ridge top to watch for…

Artichokes may be off the menu for some Thanksgiving feasts this year after people learn that a Miami doctor is suing a local restaurant for pain he experienced following consumption of the entire artichoke.   Arturo Carvajal filed a lawsuit against national restaurant chain Houston's, essentially claiming the restaurant was responsible for…

A Connecticut man serving a manslaughter sentence for striking and killing a 14-year-old boy is suing the victim's parents, blaming them for their son's death because they allowed him to ride his bike in the street without a helmet. Driver David Weaving sped by another car at 80 miles per hour, hitting and killing Matthew Kenney as he was riding his…