Results tagged “lawsuit”

When you're arrested for a felony in the state of California, so is your DNA. The Golden State takes a DNA sample from everyone arrested for a felony, any felony, whether or not they’re eventually charged with a crime, much less convicted. But this isn't limited to rapists, puppy killers, and other violent offenders. This can apply to things like, say, drug arrests, those wrongfully arrested due to police misconduct, busted for writing a bad check, and people who've been arrested during political demonstrations. Not so free speech-y when you get your DNA is taken after expressing said right to free speech, right? Right.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, a malignant cancer attacking San Francisco's nightlife scene, has dropped its "ambiguous" suit against Great American Music Hall. It seems the ABC was upset at the O'Farrell venue, according to NBC Bay Area, for "operating more like a nightclub than a restaurant." (They serve food at GAMH?!) This creepy attack from the booz controllers goes along with similar complaints they have filed against clubs like Cafe Du Nord and DNA Lounge. On Monday, however, "the ABC dismissed its complaint against the Great American Music Hall after an administrative law judge recommended the charges be dropped because 'the regulation relied upon by the ABC was ambiguous.'"

The father of Oscar Grant III, Oscar Grant II, is suing the transit agency that he thinks is responsible for his son's death. According to CBS 5/AP, "Oscar Grant Jr., who is in prison for murder, filed the civil rights lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, seeking unspecified damages." His attorney says that he"hopes people look past his client's murder conviction to understand there was a close relationship between father and son." Which is oddly touching. And depressing. Anyway, BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, if you recall, sits in the clink, facing murder charges for killing Grant on New Year's Day.

A Washington D.C. group called Cancer Project has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court today in Newark, New Jersey. On behalf of three cancer-ridden residents, the lawsuit claims that hot dog manufacturers need to use warning labels on their meat products, telling buyers that their products cause cancer. Also, before you persnickety sustainable wurst makers in the Bay Area fire off angry emails, the lawsuit is aimed at Kraft Foods Inc., manufacturer of the Oscar Mayer brand; Sara Lee Corp.; Nathan's Famous; and the makers of the Hebrew National and Sabrett brands -- you know, big guys only. According to Associated Press, "the lawsuit cites a report by the American Institute for Cancer Research that concluded regular consumption of processed meat can increase the risk of colorectal and other forms of cancer."

At the risk of sounding like Cathy at the height of her menstruation cycle, we just love us some raw cookie dough. Mmm. It even has its very own ice cream, which should attest to the pre-baked dessert's popularity. But, whenever we reached for the cookie dough bowl in our youth, our mother would gently remind us that raw cookie dough contains raw eggs. Raw eggs that would KILL US DEAD. So, when you eat the stuff, it's at your own risk.

Ladies, please sit down for this one. Hell, you guys should sit too. See, San Diego resident Alfred G. Rava sued the Oakland A's. Why? Well, on Mother's Day of 2004, the Oakland A's had a Mother's Day event. Said day celebrating certain vagina owners went like this: Before the game there was "a fight-breast-cancer 5K run before the game, free mammograms, and the first 7,500 women through the gate got floppy plaid sun hats from Macy's." Pretty cool, huh? Well, Rava, a San Diego attorney who happened to be in Oakland and at the ballpark that day, was so incensed at not receiving his own free floppy hat that he sued. What's more, a judge just gave "preliminary approval to a $510,000 settlement -- roughly half to lawyers and the rest to the victims."

Wait, seriously? Sigh. Sit down for this one, folks: St. Louis Cardinals manager has his briefs in a bunch about the treacherous world wide web, and is now suing San Francisco-based Twitter. Why? Because someone created a fake Twitter account in his name. (An aside: Someone recently did this to your editor too, complete with fraudulent Twitter messages about us blowing rails and performing fellatio on Gavin Newsom. So, like, we now demand $5 from you, Twitter. Because it mildly annoyed us. Anyway.) According to BND.com, "[t]he lawsuit claims that someone created a false account under La Russa's name and posted updates, known as 'tweets,' that gave the false impression that the comments came from La Russa. The suit said the comments were 'derogatory and demeaning' and damaged La Russa's trademark rights." He's also suing for "emotional distress." Because he's a 12-year-old girl.

Hooters, the restaurant chain famous for employing waitresses with visibly erotic bustlines, is in hot water this morning. It seems eight former Hooters employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the boobs-and-food eatery, claiming that "management systematically stole their tips at four Bay Area restaurants." (Which, if you know anyone in the service industry, is rumored to be a practice not as uncommon as it should be.) And this wasn't some scant change either; the ex-Hooter employees say that the management theft "amounted to about $40 per day per restaurant over the past four years."

A federal judge ordered the Library of Congress to pay $500,000 to former Army Special Forces Commander Diane Schroer (née David Schroer) on Tuesday. Why? Well, after landing a terrorism analyst gig while she was still a man, the job was rescinded after Schroer told a library official that she was having sexual reassignment surgery to switch gender. This, to which many SFist readers can attest, is a problem transgendered folk face on a regular basis. "If [transgendered people] are fortunate enough to get something, it's well below their capabilities. It's not just about money, it's about knowing you are a valuable person," Schroer said after the settlement. After ruling in her favor in September, U.S. District Judge James Robertson wrote, "She experienced the emotional pain and suffering of losing her dream job merely because she was a transsexual," going on to point out, "She was well qualified for the job."

Robert Cruz, 61, and Darwin Dias, 75, filed suit against San Francisco for being in gross violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. On May 26, 2007, according to reports, "Cruz and Dias, both in motorized wheelchairs, say they took an elevator down from street level to meet friends at Cable Car Coffee in Hallidie Plaza on May 26, 2007. It was a Saturday at about 2:45 p.m." When they returned to the elevator at 4 p.m., they found it shut off with a sign on it that said the elevator only operates until 3 p.m. on weekends. (!) So, they were stuck, "facing 20 stairs up to street level and six stairs down to the station." With little help from Cable Car Coffee staff or two SFPD officers (who suggested they urinate in a corner gutter if they needed relief), firefighters eventually carried them to the lower level. Tomorrow, the Board of Supervisors vote whether or not Cruz and Dias deserve $92,000 for this glaring oversight. What say you, do they deserve $92,000 for SF city employees' (chronic) lack of responsibility?

Slamming SF Weekly/VVM as a "deadbeat dad," SFBG Executive Editor Tim Redmond responded to Mike Lacey's rant about questions regarding today's story about how VVM has avoided payment in last year's alt-weekly lawsuit showdown. (Whew.) Redmond, in between attacking Lacey as an "asshole" and poking fun at his use of Dire Straits, claims that "VVM owes us $20 million and doesn't want to pay." He also calls out SF Weekly as "the greatest deadbeat in the history of the alternative press" and questions Lacey's accusation of SFBG suffering from "class bitterness." (Oh, neither one of you know the searing pain of class bitterness until you've lived in a dilapidated Victorian on Third Street next to an overpass while the Ritz-Carlton sits a few blocks down the street, riddled with vacancies. Just look at this gorgeous shit. It is stunning. Can you imagine being holed up in a sun-drenched 1 BR at the Ritz, complete with a few tasteful accents from Limn, a medicine cabinet full of Valium, and a giant HD TV? Because we sure can.) In the end, though, it makes for an interesting read into what's become of the SF alt-weekly scene. If you're looking SFBG's side of the story, go here and here.

Been waiting forever for some choice SFBG v. SF Weekly drama? Well, wait no more. A golden-brown batch of it just came out over at SF Weekly, complete with libel accusations, Sabine women, and a Dire Straits quote. See, it seems SFBG Editor Tim Redmond sent VVM Executive Editor Mike Lacey a series of questions in order to update the status of their lawsuit. Which is to say, an article is in the works, and SFBG simply asked a series of questions. And Lacey? He published said series questions, followed by his official response.

Family members of Oscar Grant are asking for a bountiful $50 million from Bay Area Rapid Transit, chief of police Gary Gee, and three of the officers (Tony Pirone, Marysol Domenic, and Johannes Mehserle). Oscar Grant, if you recall, was the young, unarmed father who was shot and killed by Officer Mehserle on New Year's Day. Grant family attorney Attorney John Burris has called the shooting "intentional."

This just in. Carlos Sousa, Jr.'s family, who sued SF Zoo over their son's 2007 Christmas Day tiger mauling death, has agreed to a settlement. According to today's release:

Concerned about your right to feel toasty, Duraflame has filed a lawsuit against the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for their 'Spare the Air' days, which bans the burning combustible materials (i.e., Duraflame logs) on days brimming with notably unhealthy air. The lawsuit claims that the air quality district failed to prove the region's need to limit the use of their logs. Duraflame spokesman Chris Caron said, "The district has failed to follow procedures to define why fire logs should be included in the solid fuel wood category with firewood, and nor did they make an adequate attempt to quantify the effectiveness of the new control measures." We can't imagine this lawsuit will help the company in any way whatsoever, other than making them look like a greedy and anti-green company. But there you have it. Eight 'Spare the Air' days have been called since the winter season started.

The lawsuit professional back cracker Steven Biegel filed against Christopher Norberg, all over one measly, negative Yelp review, has been dropped. According to Norberg:

After going to a chiropractor and having a billing dispute with the professional neck cracker, Christopher Norberg posted a negative review on Yelp, calling the guy a liar. The "doctor" in question, Steven Biegel, then in turn hit Norberg with a lawsuit. The review happened over a year ago, and Norberg has created his own site to tell his side of the story. According to his attorney, Michael Blacksburg, "If Christopher loses then anyone on Yelp who writes a negative review better be careful ... This strikes at the heart of Yelp's business model and other Web sites that provide a bulletin board for people to state what they think of businesses in their community." To read the damning review in question, go here (warning, .pdf!).

With Tatiana's brutal attack nearing its one-year anniversary, the tiger's victim family sued the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Zoo today for wrongful death. If you recall, the big cat escaped from her grotto last Christmas Day, attacking and killing 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. According to reports, Marilza and, Carlos' parents, claim that "the zoo and the city, as owners of Tatiana, the Siberian tiger that jumped over its enclosure and mauled Sousa and two of his friends, are liable for Sousa's death, according to their attorney Michael Cardoza." The bumbling Dhaliwal brothers, Carlos' "friends," were also injured when the Tatiana jumped out of her pit. Word is the brothers, while drunk and/or high, taunted the tiger, which prompted the attack. Allegedly.

Our favorite 'no' judge in San Francisco, Peter Busch, brought the hammer down on beloved Walgreens today. See, after SF banned the sale of cigarettes at all Walgreens, the company, in turn, brought a lawsuit against the city, claiming they had every right to go against the wishes of the Board of Supervisors. Walgreens goes on to say that the BOS' "violated its right to equal protection under the state and federal constitutions."

Jane Stillwater, a Berkelery blogger and Ghost Whisperer fan, is hopping mad. See, Stillwater is suing the US Army for a plane ticket and 15 mocha lattes because she had been given the green light to be embedded with troops in Iraq, which was canceled after "she bought the ticket for anyway and waited at a Starbucks for two days hoping the military would reconsider." (Really? Two days at Starbucks? Was superior Peet's Coffee unavailable?) Her request for the armed serviced to pay her back was denied, so like any red-blooded American, she's now taking them to court. (KNTV)

With the one-year anniversary of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr.'s death by tiger approaching -- if you recall, it happened in Christmas day of 2007 -- the two brothers who survived the big-cat attack have filed a federal lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco, the SFPD, the zoo, and a public relations firm hired by the SF Zoo just after the attack. The Dhaliwals claim that the "tiger enclosure was lower than recommended national standards" and that "the zoo started a smear campaign against the Dhaliwal brothers following the attacks." (KCBS)

Today City Attorney Dennis Herrera today, along with Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Santa Clara County Counsel Anne C. Ravel, filed "a petition for a writ of mandate with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8, an initiative constitutional amendment that intends to strip gay and lesbian citizens of their fundamental right to marry in California."

Just in time for your lunch hour, a woman who received more than 400 bedbug bites during her stay at San Francisco’s Ramada Plaza Hotel has received $71,000 to settle her claim against the downtown hotel. The out-of court settlement is the largest ever paid to victims in similar bedbug-attack cases.

SF Weekly (Village Voice Media) returned to court yesterday in an attempt to overturn the anti-competitive verdict ruled against the alt-weekly in March. (For all the courtroom drama, read SF Weekly's take here and SFBG's here.) According to SFBG, yesterday's "argument was aimed at severing VVM – a company with $190 million in sales and $11 million in profits – from the verdict. That way the only guilty party would be the Weekly – which VVM admits has no assets and would be unable to pay the Guardian anywhere near $16 million." Yikes. And rumors among certain local media types – sick, twisted, beer-infused, and totally untrue rumors, mind you – have been circulating that SF Weekly might shutdown come December '08. (Which would blow since we do enjoy both alt-weeklies... to certain degrees.) So: conjecture time, folks! Is VVM trying to separate itself from the Weekly so tat they can close it and not pay the debt? What do you think? All presumptuous lawyer types, amateur and pro, are encouraged to gossip in the comments.

Former NBC 11 on-air talent Traci Grant is suing NBC Universal, Inc., as well as NBC 11 assistant news director Mark Neerman, for punitive damages on counts of disability discrimination, failure to accommodate disability, and harassment on the basis of disability. Why? Well, according to Grant's suit, NBC allegedly let her go because of her epilepsy. (Grant suffered from two epileptic seizures between July and October 2007 while working for NBC 11.)

Sure, it's not local, but since this city to brimming with people affected by various eating disorders, we thought it best to share this with you. It seems a pin-thin, former accountant for the terrorist-looking, sausage-fingered Rachael Ray has thrown a $1 million lawsuit at CBS. Why? Because he was allegedly forced out of his job due to his eating disorder. According to HuffPo, former Ray employee Aaron Ferguson claims that his supervisor (not Ray) repeatedly made discriminatory and hurtful comments, saying such things as "anorexics are sick in the head," and, "anorexics should not be able to work." Mean! Remember, just because anorexics look so much prettier than your fat ass, doesn't mean they they aren't hurting, too.

Remember that lady who was struck by an N-Judah on Irving Street earlier this year in January? The victim, Dina Gryn, lost part of her leg after the accident, so SF is ponying up a cool $2 million. While trying to cross Ninth Avenue on a green light, an outbound train smacked her, resulting in her partial leg amputation. Ouch. And to no one's surprise, the driver was probably at fault, so now she gets paid. A lot. Via a settlement. That is, just after the board of Supes approves it. Assuming no one has a limb hacked off, it makes you wonder how much the victims of this accident will get?

Well, this is all too exciting. And just when things were starting to get dull in the local media arena. You see: last Friday Judge Marla Miller "said...she's inclined to boost a jury's damages award against the SF Weekly to $15.6 million" and order them to knock it off with the below-cost ad sales. Ouch.

This week we mentioned that eBay filed lawsuit against Craigslist because CL founders Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster had "unfairly diluted eBay’s economic interest in the company." What happened was that CL reduced eBay's economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent. Why? To stave off a potential takeover. At least according to CL blog:

You're so mean, eBay.