A St. Louis museum is so fed up with frivolous lawsuits that it has taken to Facebook to defend itself.    Recently, the City Museum in St. Louis, known for its seven-story tornado slide, warren of tunnels and outdoor gym comprised of material salvaged from destroyed buildings, posted a message on its Facebook fan page addressing the issues…

A Florida woman had her cell phone returned after an appeal court overturned a lower court's ruling that her cell phone be destroyed and she be held in contempt after it rang in a courtroom.   Michelle McRoy was in an Orange County Circuit courtroom when her cell phone began to ring loudly.  McRoy admitted that she failed to check the cell…

Viewers of a recent episode of “The Office” found humor in the scene when character Pam Halpert mistakenly nursed another new mother’s baby in a dark hospital room.  In real life, a new mother didn’t find the mistake quite so funny. Jennifer Spiegel, a Chicago-area mother, is suing Evanston Hospital after a nurse mistakenly…

It's déjà vu.  A McDonald's drive-thru customer is suing the fast-food restaurant claiming she suffered burns on her thigh from hot coffee.   Aurora Hill of Portland, Oregon, filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court claiming the coffee she was handed at the drive-thru window was too hot and the cup's lid was too loose.&…

A 74-year-old Pensacola man is off to prison for 15 years after attempting to rob a store that he visited earlier the same day to apply for a job.    Roy Carlton Keith inquired about a job and left his name and phone number at the Flowers Baking Company.  A few hours later, Keith returned and demanded all the money in the register…

A long-standing legal battle over rights to the shirt, suit and tie that O.J. Simpson was wearing October 3, 1995, when he was acquitted of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman has finally been settled.  For the past 13-years, legal rights to the clothing items have been sought by Simpson's former sports agent Mike…

A woman from New York is suing Burger King for ignoring her request to stop texting her. Elizabeth Espinal claims the company acted like an ex-boyfriend when it repeatedly text-messaged her with spam ads, despite the fact that she asked for the messages to stop.  According to news reports, in April 2008, Espinal’s phone beeped with a text…

Several NHL hockey players are skating on thin ice after violating a judge's orders to give depositions this week and last in a case in California in which the players are suing golf-course developer Ken Jowdy for allegedly bilking them of millions they had invested with him to develop two luxury resorts in Mexico.   According to news sources…

A man suspected of stealing from a Wyoming grocery store didn't plan his escape quite right.  He hid in a nearby building, which happened to be a police station.   According to police, the 26-year-old man was drunk when he fled the grocery store after grabbing a bottle of booze and package of cough drops before seeking hideout in the nearby…

A Seattle attorney is suing student loan company SLM Corp., or Sallie Mae, over what he describes as "unrelenting" automatic-dialed phone calls that he claimed harassed him over late payments on his law school loan.   Mark A. Arthur filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court in Seattle seeking injunctive relief and damages…

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed a plaintiff’s appeal on grounds that it was frivolous and ordered her to pay a sanction of $105. According to an opinion issued by a three-judge panel of the appellate court, plaintiff Maureen Greene was originally banned from filing additional cases by a lower district court…

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld dismissal of a lawsuit against Apple Computer, Inc., the maker of the iPod music player.  The class-action lawsuit, originally filed in January 2006, claimed that the 115-decibels sound production capability of the iPod was potentially damaging for the users’ hearing, that the device and…

A Plano, Texas company is being sued by a Pennsylvania baker and restaurant chain that alleges a trademark violation over a smiley face cookie. Pennsylvania-based bakery and restaurant chain Eat’n Park says Cookies by Design is using its trademark of a smiling face on some of its sugar cookies.  Eat'n Park says it has a trademark from 1987…

A jury has found a national movie chain not liable to a woman who claimed she was injured after tripping on a “wet floor” sign at one of the company’s theaters. After deliberating for fewer than 30 minutes, the jury disagreed with an earlier unanimous Georgia Supreme Court decision that questioned AMC’s actions and sent the…

A Queens, New York, softball player has sued the city and her high school coach, alleging that the coach was negligent in instructing her about proper sliding techniques. Alina Cerda, 15, filed suit in Queens Supreme Court claiming she busted her ankle because Francis Lewis High School coach Bryan Brown never taught her how to slide.  The suit…

Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage sued his former business manager Samuel Levin for $20 million, claiming Levin committed fraud and led him toward financial ruin.  Cage's economic troubles have resulted in him selling his property to pay off debt and the Internal Revenue Service has filed more than $6.6 million in tax liens against the actor.  &…

A Las Vegas high-stakes gambler has filed a civil suit against Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. alleging that staff at two of the parent company’s casinos plied him with liquor and pain medication as part of a plan to keep him gambling, a habit that ended up costing him nearly $127 million. Former trinket importer and Oriental Trading Company…

Following a four-year legal battle, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently ruled that plaintiffs did not have standing to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the slaughter practices for poultry. The lawsuit, which was filed in San Francisco just days before Thanksgiving in 2005 by the Humane Society of the United States…

A Houston lawyer filed a lawsuit last week seeking a permanent injunction to shut down the operation of The Beacon, a day center for homeless people.  Citing it as a "private nuisance," lawyer Harry C. Arthur claims the shelter's increased popularity is negatively impacting his nearby office. “What started as a good and noble…

Talk about throwing in the kitchen sink, which may be the only thing missing from the lawsuit filed by a Bay area man against the San Francisco International Airport, the airline carriers that service it, the couple who sold the plaintiff his $1.4 million home, the realtor and her company, and hundreds of other defendants, some unknown. Former civil…

Inmate Paul Bourn is representing himself in a lawsuit against a Vermont police department, its chief and some of its officers following a police chase that ended when Bourn crashed into a roadblock.   Bourn, who is being held at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility on unrelated charges, claims he was in a "serious and potentially…

A Michigan man who robbed a liquor store is suing the owner and three employees, seeking $125,000 in damages. Scott T. Zielinski robbed Nick’s Party Stop at knife point and threatened to kill its employees.  As Zielinski fled the store with cigarettes, liquor and $873 in cash, the employees of the party store allegedly chased, shot…

A federal judge in New York threw out a complaint by a lawyer alleging a constitutional right to wear jeans and a baseball cap in court. Donning an "Operation Desert Storm" baseball hat, blue jeans, and a button-down shirt, attorney Todd Bank appeared before housing court Judge Ann Katz who told him he was dressed inappropriately. …

A Florida man may need to pay closer attention to the old adage, “We all put our pants on the same way.” Escambia County Judge Pat Kinsey dismissed a lawsuit filed by Alfred Freed against an underwear company, stating that the fault lies with plaintiff Freed who testified that “he dresses by placing his underwear inside the pants…

Bank of America is being sued by a customer demanding that "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" be deposited into his bank account. Plaintiff pro se Dalton Chiscolm filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against the largest U.S. bank and its board, complaining that he placed a series of calls to the bank and received inconsistent…

A Detroit-area man is facing five years in jail after leaving his date in a restaurant and driving off in her car without paying the bill.   According to news reports, Terrance Dejuan McCoy was on a first date with a woman when he told her he left his wallet in her car and needed the keys to get it to pay the bill.  He then sped off in…

A Chicago-area man is facing six months in jail for yawning, albeit loudly, in court.    According to news reports, Clifton Williams was in the audience during the sentencing of his cousin for a drug charge when he made a yawn-like sound that angered Will County (Ill.) Judge Daniel Rozak.  Williams was charged with criminal contempt…

According to a recent lawsuit filed on behalf of three New Jersey plaintiffs by the meat-free diet promoter, Cancer Project, hot dogs should come with warning labels.   "Warning:  Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer," is the warning the vegan advocacy group seeks to compel manufacturers to…

A Polish woman is suing an Egyptian hotel after her daughter returned home from a vacation expecting a baby.  Magdalena Kwiatkowska claims her 13-year-old daughter got pregnant after coming into contact with "stray sperm" while swimming in the hotel pool.  Tourist authorities in Warsaw, Poland confirm that a lawsuit was filed and…

A state appeals court in San Francisco, California, refused to reinstate a lawsuit filed by a man who fell into a fire at the Burning Man festival held in the Nevada desert.  The Court stated that anyone who takes part in an event with obvious dangers – downhill skiing, mountain climbing or walking up to a bonfire – knowingly risks injury…