A lawsuit has been filed in Florida challenging 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' position on the March 17 presidential primary ballot.

Two Florida Democrats, Frank Bach and George Brown, have filed a lawsuit in circuit court in Leon County asking that that Sanders be disqualified from the Democratic primary because he is a declared independent. The lawsuit further requests the state refrain from counting any of the 244,000 absentee votes that may have been cast for Sanders by mail. The Florida Democratic Party labeled the complaint “ridiculous,” and the Sanders campaign called it “spurious.”

“Florida is a closed primary state, yet here we have someone who is an independent on the Democratic ballot,” said Karen Gievers, who is representing Bach and Brown. “You can’t be an independent and be a member of the party.”

“The Florida Democratic Party executive committee voted unanimously to place Senator Sanders on the Florida ballot,” Juan Penalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party said. “Votes cast for the senator are valid and must be counted.”

Gievers countered, “It‘s hard to think that voter suppression or dilution would be described as ridiculous by a party official.”

According to news sources, Florida law gives political parties leeway to decide which candidates can appear on a party’s primary ballot.

—Source: Politico.com

The family of a teenage girl who stole a police vehicle is suing the sheriff's office for failure to keep her safe while she was in protective custody.

According to news reports, Samaria Gray, sixteen years old at the time, was intoxicated and wandering the streets. Her mother, Georgina Pierce, had contacted the police and a sheriff's deputy found Samaria asleep on the side of the road, placing her in protective custody in the back seat of his patrol car. While the sheriff's deputy went up to the home to speak with her mother, Samaria got into the front seat and drove off. Before crashing the vehicle into a ravine, Samaria sped through the streets, hitting three cars, resulting in injuries to herself and one other driver.

The complaint charges that the sheriff's office had a duty to train the officer to secure his vehicle and not leave the keys in the ignition. The family is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for Samaria and her mother, including attorneys fees and litigation costs. In the lawsuit, the family alleges negligent infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium and negligence resulting in personal injury/battery.

Samaria was charged with unlawful taking of a vehicle, aggravated DWI with bodily injury, reckless driving and no driver's license. She pled no contest to some of the charges and was sentenced to a term of probation not to exceed one year. San Juan County argues that it is not liable for the actions of the plaintiff.

—Source: daily-times.com

A radio show host and known Christian activist is reportedly searching for an attorney to take on his potential class action lawsuit against the NFL, Pepsi and his local cable company for the Super Bowl's 15-minute half-time show that put him "in danger of hellfire."

Dave Daubenmire says he was offended by the skimpy outfits, crotch shots and gyrating of J-Lo and Shakira during the half-time show, turning off the show because he didn't want to "let the spirit in my house." Daubenmire allegedly took to Facebook to ask for a lawyer to help him file a lawsuit for "pandering pornography" and "contributing to the delinquency of a minor."

"I tuned in to watch a football game. I didn't tune in to watch a porn show," Daubenmire said.

—Source: si.com

A Florida District Court judge has tossed out a lawsuit seeking class action status in a case against liquor giant Bacardi on the grounds that federal law preempted the 150-year-old state statute relied upon by the plaintiff.

In an effort to attain class action certification and damages, the case filed against Bacardi alleged that under Florida’s antiquated law the alcohol sold by Bacardi was adulterated and thereby worthless and illegal. The 150-year-old law in question stated:

562.455 Adulterating liquor; penalty. – Whoever adulterates, for the purpose of sale, any liquor, used or intended for drink, with cocculus indicus, vitriol, grains of paradise, opium, alum, capsicum, copperas, laurel water, logwood, brazil wood, cochineal, sugar of lead, or any other substance which is poisonous or injurious to health, and whoever knowingly sells any liquor so adulterated, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

In seeking a dismissal, Bacardi countered that, since the state law was passed, grains of paradise have been recognized as part of the FDA’s list of safe (GRAS) ingredients, thus preempting the Florida law.

In dismissing the case with prejudice the court noted: “Numerous class actions have greatly benefited society such as Brown v. Board of Education, In re Exxon Valdez, and In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation. This is not one of those class actions.”

The Court also rebutted plaintiff’s assertion that his claims are not preempted because the Twenty-First Amendment grants states the right to regulate alcohol.

—Source: Lexblog.com