Litigation (Non-Arizona) Archives - Page 33 of 46

Appeals Court Upholds Marine’s Indecent Language Conviction for Saying “Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm”

Suits and Sentences: “Marine Cpl. Raheem G. Green was convicted at court-martial of various offenses involving a fellow Marine . . . who says he groped her repeatedly. One of the offenses was use of indecent language, contravening Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And this is what Green said; or, rather, moaned: ‘Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm.’ In a striking new opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has upheld Green’s conviction on the indecent language count.”

See the Court’s opinion.

Surrogacy Battles Expose Uneven Legal Landscape

Wall St. Journal: “Four years ago, Donald Robinson Hollingsworth and Sean Hollingsworth, a gay couple living in New Jersey, set in motion their plan to become first-time parents. They contracted with a woman to carry an embryo from donated eggs and sperm from Sean Hollingsworth. The surrogate mother, Donald Hollingsworth’s sister Angelia Robinson, gave birth to twins in 2006. A legal issue soon arose: Did Ms. Robinson have parental rights over the twins? She had signed a pre-birth agreement indicating she would relinquish her parental rights, but later sued after deciding she wanted to help raise the twins.”

Mother Sues Party Mates of Dead Teen

Boston Globe: “For Kathi Jean Meyer, there is no doubt that her 17-year-old daughter played a role in the binge drinking that led to the teenager’s death in a Norfolk swamp in 2008. ‘Nobody forced her to drink that alcohol,’’ Meyer said yesterday about her daughter, Taylor Meyer. ‘Taylor is absolutely 100 percent responsible.’ But Meyer also believes that seven people who interacted with her daughter at parties on Oct. 17, 2008, in Wrentham and Norfolk should be held to account. And for that reason, on Tuesday she filed a wrongful death lawsuit against them in Norfolk Superior Court.”

California Court Throws Out Octomom Guardianship Case

The Probate Lawyer Blog: “It’s the Octomom vs. celebrity attorney Gloria Allred! Battling in the California Court of Appeals over the rights of a stranger to intercede to protect children whom he’s never met, just because they’re on TV. Well, and because there are 8 babies, plus 6 other kids, and a mom with no husband and no job. While Octomom Nadya Suleman has captured the interest of the nation for the mind-blowing number of children she’s given birth to in the last few years, her court case has peaked the interest of guardianship attorneys across the country . Why ? Because it addresses a unique question: To what lengths should the law allow court intervention to protect children . . . should a complete stranger be able to haul a parent into court?“

Top Five Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2009

Institute for Legal Reform: “The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) announced today the top five vote getters of its 1st Annual Most Ridiculous Lawsuit of the Year Poll. Nominees were drawn from the monthly Most Ridiculous Lawsuit poll winners, chosen by visitors to FacesofLawsuitAbuse.org, a public awareness campaign Web site that aims to show how abusive lawsuits affect small businesses and average families in very real ways.”