A fence in Westport, Connecticut has pitted neighbor against neighbor and city against citizen, with the fence owners’ legal costs at $150,000 – so far. In 2005, Albert and Susan Hancock built a stone wall around their home.  Neighbors in this trendy coastal town filed a complaint, but construction continued.  Later, the town…

A Chicago-area zoo is being sued by a woman who claims she slipped and fell near a dolphin exhibit, injuring herself.In the lawsuit filed in Illinois' Circuit Court of Cook County against the Brookfield Zoo, Allecyn Edwards accuses the zookeepers of encouraging the dolphins to splash water, but failing to warn spectators of the slippery-when-wet…

It used to be that the most popular excuse for missing homework was that “the dog ate it.” Not so if you are Justin Gawronski, a 17-year-old Michigan high school senior. Gawronski is blaming Amazon for losing his homework after the company wirelessly deleted a copy of George Orwell's “1984” from Gawronski's Kindle, deleting…

Sue, of course. At least that's what a Brooklyn man did.Sean McGinn, a 37-year-old TV producer, sued Match.com alleging that the popular matchmaking website dangles phony date bait by posting profiles of people who no longer subscribe to the service.In a class action suit filed in a Manhattan federal court, McGinn seeks an unspecified amount of…

With the financial sector struggling and consumer fees rising, the last thing banks need right now is to defend against lawsuits – especially a lawsuit one bank has filed against itself.In a Florida foreclosure case, Wells Fargo Bank NA has filed a civil complaint against itself, with the bank engaging separate lawyers and law firms on each side…

U.S.-born children whose parents face deportation as illegal aliens have sued President Barack Obama.A group of 100 children in Florida sued to stop the deportations of their parents until Congress overhauls U.S. immigration laws. The children argue that their constitutional rights are being violated because they will likely have to leave the country…

A Missouri man is suing Apple, the St. Louis Police Department, unknown agents of the FBI, a private investigator and an auto mechanic, accusing the defendants of conspiring with the Mafia to stalk, extort and torture the plaintiff.Gregory McKenna claimed in his lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Missouri that after purchasing an iPod shuffle…

Walking and texting may be hazardous to your health. So hazardous that you may just have to sue. And that's exactly what the parents of 15-year-old Alexa Longueira have done.According to news reports, Alexa was so busy tapping out a text message on her cell phone while walking along Victory Boulevard in Staten Island that she didn't see the…

Recently, a baseball fan sued the New York Yankees after alleging that he was ejected from the stadium by police after he left his seat during the seventh-inning-stretch.Bradford Campeau-Laurion says his rights were violated when he tried to pass a police officer to use the restroom during the singing of "God Bless America," a seventh-inning…

A Quebec dad, unhappy with the amount of time his daughter was spending surfing the Internet, chatting on Web sites and posting “inappropriate pictures” of herself online, grounded his daughter from attending a school trip that his ex-wife had already approved. Not taking “no” for an answer, the daughter sued – and won. …

A California judge recently dismissed a lawsuit against the makers of Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries cereal after finding that the product box clearly depicts the round, crunchy berries as cereal balls and not real fruit as the plaintiff assumed.According to a class action complaint filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California…

A civil jury in New Jersey awarded a man nearly $100,000 in a lawsuit he filed against his mother.John Garrity was installing hardwood floors in his mother's home when she tapped him on the shoulder to tell him that lunch was ready. Garrity, who was using a miter saw at the time, quickly turned around, causing his hand to slip into the saw'…

It's tough for an employer to win an employee discrimination claim once the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) gets involved. It's even more difficult to win and get paid attorneys' fees.Score one for employer Agro Distribution when a court recently ordered the EEOC to pay the company's legal fees after it…

A Tennessee woman is suing a restaurant, nearby liquor store and her alleged attacker following a good deed that turned bad.According to news reports, Fran MacLaren gave a cheeseburger to a homeless man, David Craig, outside of a local McDonald's. After shouting that he didn't want the cheeseburger, but rather just money, Craig threw the burger…

A man sued the New Orleans Police Department, claiming he was harassed by an officer because he was wearing a black pinstriped skirt, instead of pants, to Municipal Court.Jeremy Don Kerr filed the lawsuit last month which seeks a declaratory judgment saying that NOPD violated his rights and owes him $1 in damages and court fees.  Kerr also wants the…

Yelling “Fore!” is etiquette on the golf course following a golfer's errant shot, but the legal system doesn't require it.In 2002, golfer Anoop Kapoor launched an errant shot out of the rough which ended up hitting his friend, Azad Anand, in the eye, causing Anand to lose sight in that eye.  Anand sued, claiming that Kapoor was…

After nearly two years of legal wrangling, former NBA player Roy Tarpley (44) settled a federal lawsuit against the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks in which he claimed the league and the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him after a ban for drug use.  Tarpley said the lawsuit was not about trying to play again…

A Michigan woman who sued a police dog over an alleged bite has been fined for filing a frivolous lawsuit.  Inez Starks (55) sued the city of Warren, several police officers and a police dog named Liberty, claiming she suffered nerve damage after the German Shepherd bit her on the buttocks during a truancy complaint confrontation.  &ldquo…

A California restaurant has been sued because one of its bathroom mirrors was two inches too high. After the original mirror was vandalized, restaurant owner Ron Piazza replaced it with a new mirror that was set two inches higher than the old one, allegedly in non-compliance with California's disabilities laws.  Before Piazza became aware of…

A purse thief is suing his victim.  New York City resident Margaret Johnson, 59, was sitting in her motorized wheelchair outside her Lenox Terrace apartment when Deron Johnson, 48, allegedly tried to snatch her purse and gold chain.  Margaret Johnson pulled out her licensed .357 Magnum and fired a shot at Mr. Johnson, hitting him in the elbow. …

Bus driver Jim Moffett was helping two of his elderly customers cross a busy Denver street in the middle of a snow storm when he was struck by a pickup truck after pushing the others out of its path.  Moffett's reward for his heroic act: a trip to the hospital and a jaywalking ticket.Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated…

An Ohio woman has been charged with endangering her child following a drinking and driving incident.  Genine Compton, a 39-year-old mother, was driving; her child was drinking. More specifically, another motorist reported that Compton was both breast-feeding the youngster and talking on the phone while driving.Local police used the license plate…

A New York man has filed a notice of claim against the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) alleging that the conductor drew unwelcome attention to his disability.  Anthony Faggiani has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.  According to court documents, the LIRR conductor failed to quickly help Mr. Faggiani off the train and then repeatedly announced…

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and his wife got the go-ahead from a Los Angeles judge to proceed with a lawsuit against the brokers who sold them what they thought was a party-worthy Hollywood Hills home.The lawsuit, which seeks more than $1 million and punitive damages, alleges that real estate agent Gregory Holcomb and Sotheby's International…

Rapper 50 Cent ended up on the right side of the decimal point in a $50 million lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend.  Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins' claim that 50 Cent orally agreed to take care of her for life was unenforceable and unlikely."It is incredible…

A Colorado woman has sued the City of Denver claiming that the city shares the blame for her injuries resulting from an automobile accident caused by an illegal immigrant.Margaret Rains was inside a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop when Francis Hernandez lost control of his SUV while driving nearly 80 mph and crashed into the shop, injuring Ms. Rains…

Some believe that a golfer cannot be held personally liable if his or her ball strikes another golfer so long as “FORE” is yelled.  But what happens if the golfer and the individual struck by the ball are one in the same? New Hampshire resident Paul Sanchez, 67, sued Candia Woods Golf Links after he was left blind in one eye by an errant…

Some are wondering whether a name change will be in order for the Hooters restaurant chain should a man be successful in his lawsuit against the company.A Texas man filed a lawsuit last month alleging sex discrimination in hiring practices after his application to be a server at Hooters in Corpus Christi was rejected because he's a man.  The lawsuit…

Coca-Cola, maker of Vitaminwater, has been sued by the Center for Science in Public Interest (“CSPI”) over what is called “deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims” on the products' labels.  The Washington-based self-proclaimed nutrition advocacy group claims the labels deceive customers into believing that Vitaminwater…

The State of Florida recently settled a lawsuit alleging that the state illegally sold drivers' personal information to marketing firms over a four-year period in violation of a federal law barring the practice.  The settlement results in a $1.00 credit to each driver who renews a license, car registration or state-issued ID between July 1, 2009…