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General Motors Sues United Auto Workers to Force Arbitration
In an unusual maneuver, General Motors Corp. filed suit against the United Auto Workers union in hopes of ending the more than month-long strike by auto workers. The suit, filed July 14, 1998, asked the U.S. District Court in Detroit to force arbitration on the issue of whether the union is violating a no-strike clause as designated in the 1996 GM-UAW National Agreement. Under the Agreement auto workers are only allowed to strike over health, safety and production standards. GM also asked the court for an injunction that would effectively end the strikes. The following are excerpts from the lawsuit.
Dow Corning Settles Breast Implant Suit
Dow Corning agreed to settle a class action suit brought forth by women claiming injury from the company's silicone breast implants. The settlement, reached on July 8, 1998, for $3.2 billion dollars is contingent upon the approval by a two-thirds vote of the 170,000 women who filed claims against Dow Corning.
D.A.R.E. Sues Reporter for False Article
D.A.R.E., an anti-drug group, is suing former associate editor of The New Republic, Stephen Glass, for writing a defamatory article about the organization. Glass was fired by The New Republic in May after he admitted to making up facts in at least 27 of the 41 articles he wrote for the periodical. D.A.R.E. filed suit on June 29, 1998 accusing Glass of "invent[ing] facts, people and scenarios, falsely describing them in detail" in two articles Glass wrote on D.A.R.E.
Florida Appeals Court Reverses Tobacco Verdict
A Florida appeals court overturned a landmark verdict against the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. June 22, 1998, citing the failure of plaintiff Grady Carter to meet the state's four-year statute of limitations by six days. Carter, who began smoking in 1947, sued the tobacco company after learning that he had developed lung cancer in 1991. He won a $750,000 judgment in the case in 1996.
Mitsubishi Settles Sexual Harassment Suit
Mitisubishi Motor Company has agreed to settle a claim June 10, 1998 which was brought against them by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mitsubishi agreed to pay $34 million in compensation for at least 350 women who were employed at a Normal, Ill. plant since 1990. The women were allegedly
subjected to a pattern of sexual harassment
which led to the filing of a civil class action prior to the EEOC suit.
Intel Antitrust Suit
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit June 8, 1998 against Intel, accusing the computer microprocessor maker of antitrust violations. Specifically, the FTC claims that Intel violated fair trade law by withholding key information from Digital Equipment, Compaq and Intergraph in an attempt to create an unfair advantage for Intel. Citing the three companies, the suit states that "Intel’s conduct threatened to injure, and did injure, the ability of those targeted customers to remain competitive in developing and bringing to market in a timely manner computer systems based on Intel microprocessors." In response, Intel issued a press release and maintained that the company did not violate antitrust laws and that rather,
the complaint is based on a misinterpretation of the law and the facts.
Growers Sue to Legalize Industrial Hemp
A group of Kentucky hemp farmers are suing the Drug Enforcement Agency to legalize the growing of industrial hemp. The growers are disputing the notion that marijuana and hemp are both illegal since they derive from the same plant species. Instead, they argue, hemp has "a wide variety of legitimate industrial and commercial uses" and marijuana "is derived from different strains of the plant than those utilized for the production of hemp."
Starr Asks Supreme Court to Intervene on Secret Service Fight
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr asked the Supreme Court on June 2, 1998 to intervene yet again -- this time in his attempt to compel Secret Service agents to testify in his investigation of the president. Starr wrote "We will be blunt: The nation has a compelling interest that this criminal investigation of the president of the United States conclude as quickly as possible ... The court's immediate review would powerfully serve that vital goal." Starr hoped to argue the issue of Secret Service and White House aides privilege before the Court on June 29, but on June 4, the Supreme Court denied his request to intervene on an emergency basis.
Merletti Declaration on Secret Service
Lewis C. Merletti, Director of the Secret Service, submitted the following memorandum to the U.S. District Court in opposition of the Independent Counsel's motion to compel the Secret Service to testify in the investigation of President Clinton. Merletti asserts that compelling the Secret Service to testify before a grand jury would have dangerous repercussions on the president's safety. He states that "If our Presidents do not have complete trust in the Secret Service personnel who protect them, they may push away the Service's 'protective envelope,' thereby making them more vulnerable to assassination."
Starr Appeals to Supreme Court on Executive Privilege
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr asked the Supreme Court on May 28, 1998 to bypass the appeals court and rule on whether President Clinton can prevent his top aides from testifying based on the principle of executive privilege. Bypassing an appeals court is a rarely employed maneuver and the Supreme Court has granted such petitions only a handful of times. Starr asked for an accelerated decision, suggesting the Court would hear oral arguments as soon as June 29, a day before the current term ends. The White House announced on June 1 that Clinton would not appeal the ruling by Judge Norma Halloway Johnson based on executive privilege, but would base his on solely on grounds of attorney-client privilege.
Judge Orders White House Aides to Testify
In a ruling issued May 26, 1998 U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson ordered two White House Aides, Bruce Lindsey and Sidney Blumenthal, to testify in Ken Starr's investigation of President Clinton.
Secret Service Must Testify in Clinton Investigation
A federal judge issued a ruling on May 22, 1998 compelling Secret Service agents to testify about President Clinton's relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson denied the Secret Service's invocation of "protective function privilege," arguing instead that as law enforcement officials, the Secret Service has a duty to "report criminal activity." Judge Johnson also ruled that, "The Court is not ultimately persuaded that a President would put his life at risk for fear that a Secret Service agent might be called to testify before a grand jury about observed conduct or overheard statements."
Latrell Sprewell Sues the NBA
Latrell Sprewell, the Golden State Warriors basketball player, is suing the NBA for his suspension for choking his coach, P.J. Carlesimo. In a suit filed in U.S. District Court on May 20, 1998, Sprewell claims that he was excessively punished by the team and the NBA and that the suspension has rendered him unable to earn a living. Sprewell is seeking close to $30 million in damages, including $6.4 million in lost wages.
The suit alleges that the NBA and the Golden State Warriors unfairly "conspired to deprive Mr. Sprewell of the equal protection, privileges and immunities under the laws ... because of his race, Black and African-American." Sprewell
further accuses the NBA and the team of engaging in a negative media campaign against him. "As a result, Mr. Sprewell's image and good name have been tarnished and he has been subjected to public scorn and ridicule," states the lawsuit.
Sprewell was suspended by the NBA for one year (the longest suspension in NBA history) for a December 1, 1997 incident in which the player attacked Carlesimo during practice. In addition to the NBA suspension, the team suspended Sprewell for 10 days and later terminated his $32 million contract.
Diana's Estate Sues Franklin Mint
Princess Diana's estate and memorial fund is suing Franklin Mint for selling products bearing the princess's likeness. The lawsuit filed May 18, 1998 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles accused Franklin Mint of being "Like vultures feeding on the dead, Defendants are profiting from the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, by commercially exploiting her identity without permission and falsely implying that their actions are sanctioned and/or will benefit her Estate or the Fund." The suit further alleges that Franklin Mint has "failed to obtain consent to use Princess Diana's identity and trademark ... and embarked on a campaign to profit from Princess Diana's death." Franklin Mint, which sells several products commemorating Diana, including dolls and plates, claims that the proceeds from the sale are going to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, a favorite charity of the princess.
Guatemala Sues Tobacco Companies
Guatemala earned the distinction of being the first country outside of the United States to sue tobacco companies when it filed suit on May 12, 1998. The Attorney General of Guatemala, Acisclo Valladares, who filed the suit, is seeking damages of at least $800 million dollars to recover the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses in Guatemala. The suit alleges that
tobacco companies "have conspired to conceal the truth about their tobacco products ... for the sole purpose of ... maximizing their profits to the detriment of and at the expense of every user of their tobacco products." Guatemala is suing the companies that have a hold of the country's cigarette market: namely, Philip Morris, Brown and Williamson, the Liggett Group, B.A.T. Industries, British American Tobacco Company and Batus Holdings.
Alyssa Milano Battles Nude Internet Photos
Alyssa Milano, best known as Tony Danza's daughter in the television series Who's the Boss, is suing several companies for selling nude photos of her on the Internet. Milano, 25, claims in two separate suits that these companies engaged in copyright infringement, violation of privacy, misappropriate of Milano's right of publicity and placing her in a false light. The companies, located in Canada, Los Angeles and Minnesota, allegedly sell digitally altered pictures of Milan and stills from films in which Milano appear nude.
Jones Files Notice of Appeal
The following is Paula Jones' notice of appeal filed April 28, 1998.
Judge Dismisses AOL from Matt Drudge Suit
A federal judge ruled April 22, 1998 that America Online was not liable for content provided by them through a third party -- namely online columnist Matt Drudge. The judge, however, did not dismiss the case against Drudge and specifically said that Drudge was "not a reporter, a journalist or a newsgatherer. He is, as he himself admits, simply a purveyor of gossip."
Moreover, the judge expressed regret that recent laws passed by Congress gave him no option but to remove AOL from the suit. AOL was much more than just an uninvolved publisher of Drudge's work, the judge said. He specifically pointed to AOL's contract with Drudge, which gave them the right to edit or not post material they considered inappropriate.
White House aide Sidney Blumenthal filed the $30 million defamation suit against Drudge and AOL, after the famed columnist published an August 10, 1997 story in which he alleged Blumenthal "has a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up." Blumenthal vehemently denied the charges and Drudge retracted the allegations the following day.
Godzilla Book Suit
A Los Angeles federal judge preliminarily enjoined
William Morrow and Company from publishing "Godzilla!,"
a book about the famous movie monster. The court ruled
that the Godzilla character is a valid trademark, an
"arbitrary word used to describe a fire-breathing,
pre-historic, often-schizophrenic dinosaur." The court
also found that the William Morrow book would probably
irreparably hurt sales of a competing book from Random
House, for which licensing fees were paid.
Internet Domain Name Fee Ruled Illegal
A federal judge ruled April 8, 1998 that the fee Network Solutions Inc. (NSI)
collects for registering Internet domain names is an illegal
tax because it was never approved by Congress. NSI gained its
position as the sole registrar of Internet top-level domain
names when it won a contract bid from the National Science
Foundation in 1992. Although U.S. District Court Judge
Thomas Hogan ruled that over $50 million in fees were
illegally collected, NSI counted the ruling as
a victory since the judge dismissed nine of the
10 counts filed in the class-action suit including allegations
that NSI's deal with the National Science Foundation constituted an
illegal monopoly over Internet domain registration.
Reporters Sue Fox Television
Two reporters, Steven Wilson and Jane Akre, are suing Fox
Television alleging that Fox managers had pressured them to
distort facts relating to an investigative report they
produced on Florida dairy farmers' use of an artificial growth
hormone. The plaintiffs, who were employed by the Fox affiliate
WTVT Channel 13 in Tampa, also claimed they were threatened with
immediate dismissal should they air their report as planned.
Wilson and Akre, who are married, were eventually dismissed in
September 1997. Fox has yet to file a response to the
lawsuit.
Princess Diana's Will
When Princess Diana died tragically on August 31, 1997 she left behind a 21.5 million pound (approximately $35 million) fortune, most of which was bequeathed to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. The inheritance will be held in trust for the two princes until they reach the age of 30. In her will made public on March 2, 1998, Diana also left 50,000 pounds to her former butler, Paul Burrell, and set aside personal momenta for her 17 godchildren.
Matt Drudge Libel Suit
Presidential aide Sidney Blumenthal filed a $30 million defamation suit against Matt Drudge, after the famed cybercolumnist published an August 10, 1997 story in which he alleged Blumenthal "has a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up." Blumenthal vehemently denied the charges and Drudge retracted the allegations the following day. Also named in the suit is America Online, the online provider which hosts Drudge's cybercolumn called the "Drudge Report."
Brian Peterson Plea Agreement
New Jersey teen Brian Peterson captured national headlines after being accused with his girlfriend Amy Grossberg of murdering their newborn son and dumping his body in a Delaware motel dumpster. With the prospect of an impending May 4th trial, Peterson plead guilty to manslaughter on March 9, 1998. As part of the agreement, he now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison instead of life in prison or the death sentence that he would have faced if convicted of murder.
Court Okays Same Sex Harassment Suits
In a unanimous March 4, 1998 ruling, the Supreme Court cleared the way for sexual
harassment lawsuits between workers of the same sex. The case, originally thrown out by
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, involved Joseph Oncale a Louisiana man who sued
Sundowner Offshore Services and three co-workers after he was allegedly sexually
assaulted and threatened with rape while working as a laborer on a Gulf of Mexico oil rig.
The Court deemed that same sex-harassment did constitute a violation of Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of
race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Indictment in Abner Louima Case
A federal grand jury handed up a twelve-count indictment on February 27, 1998 against five New York police officers, accused of assaulting Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn on August 9, 1997.
New York Sex Shop Ruling
On February 24, 1998 the New York State Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling on the constitutionality of a New York City law strictly regulating the location of sex shops throughout the city. The ordinance, passed by the City Council in 1995 with strong support from Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani, set up new zoning requirements that forced strip clubs, adult bookstores and other
sex-oriented businesses to operate a minimum of 500 feet from residential areas.
Killer Nurse Affidavit
On December 29, police arrested Orville Lynn Majors and charged the former male nurse with allegedly murdering six elderly patients while on duty at the Vermillion County Hospital in rural Clinton, Indiana. This is the affidavit that outlines the case put together by police against Majors. His trial was moved on January 21 to nearby Clay County after both sides agreed it should be held away from the location of the alleged killings.
AOL Navy Order
Senior Chief Officer, Timothy McVeigh, who bears no relation to the convicted Oklahoma City bomber, was given an honorable discharge from the Navy January 15, 1998 for violating the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. McVeigh got in trouble last fall when the Navy discovered a profile on American Online of a user named "Tim" who had listed "gay" in the marital status category. Federal Judge Stanley Sporkin issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Navy to reinstate McVeigh. The following is the January 26, 1998 order.
Microsoft Settles Contempt of Court Claim
Microsoft reached an agreement with the Department of Justice January 22, 1998 to allow manufacturers of personal computers the option to remove the icon for the Internet Explorer browser from the Windows 95 operating system. The agreement comes in response to a motion filed by the Department of Justice declaring Microsoft in contempt of a temporary order issued December 11, 1997 by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield. The order enjoined Microsoft from forcing computer makers to include Internet Explorer as a condition of licensing Windows 95.
Versace v. the Office of the State Attorney of Florida
The family of murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace filed the following suit December 30, 1997 to prevent the public release of his autopsy photographs. Versace was gunned down July 15, 1997 on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion allegedly by suspected spree-killer Andrew Cunanan.
Amistad Papers
In October, award-winning author Barbara Chase-Riboud filed suit in federal court in California against the Dreamworks studio, claiming that Dreamworks had lifted numerous themes and portions of her 1989 book, "Echo of Lions," for use in the studio's upcoming film, the Steven Spielberg project Amistad.
Microsoft Antitrust Ruling
A federal judge temporarily precluded Microsoft from forcing computer manufacturers to
package Microsoft's Internet Explorer with its Windows 95 operating system. In his ruling,
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson acknowledged that "Microsoft has enjoyed for
some time a virtual monopoly in the sale of PC operating system software." The Judge
denied, however, the Justice Department's request to fine Microsoft $1 million a day for
contempt of a August, 1995 court order. The following is the December 11, 1997
preliminary ruling. A final ruling is expected no sooner than the summer of 1998.
Tawana Brawley Grand Jury Report
In November of 1987, a 15-year-old girl named Tawana Brawley was found in upstate New York, covered with feces and racial slurs written in charcoal. Brawley, who is black, claimed to have been abducted and raped by six white law enforcement officers. The case was ultimately thrown out in 1988 when a grand jury determined that her story was not credible. Here is the full text of the 1988 grand jury report that cleared Pagones and the other alleged attackers of any wrongdoing.
Spielberg Stalker Grand Jury Transcript
A man who police say was obsessed with director Steven Spielberg was arrested in July after he was caught driving up to the director's home several times. Prosecutors alleged in a grand jury hearing in October that Norman was sexually obsessed with Spielberg and was determined to carry out his fantasies, which involved raping the director. The following is the Oct. 8 to Oct. 9 grand jury hearing transcript.
Paula Jones' Attorneys Withdraw from Case
A federal judge granted permission to Paula Jones' lawyers to withdraw as attorneys for her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. Attorneys Joseph Cammarata and Gilbert Davis cited "fundamental differences of opinion ... as to the future course of this litigation" as the reason behind their request. The following is the motion and the judge's order granted on September 9, 1997.
Florida Reaches Settlement with Tobacco Companies
Florida announced August 25, 1997 that it had reached a settlement for $11.3 billion with tobacco companies. The lawsuit, aimed at punishing the industry and recovering Medicaid expenses spent on sick and terminally ill smokers, originally sought $12.3 billion ($1.3 billion for tax money spent on sick smokers without insurance, $11 billion in punitive damages against the tobacco industry). Florida's settlement, which came as Congress is still mulling a proposed $368.5 billion national settlement between 40 states and the tobacco industry, is larger than Mississippi's $3.6 billion settlement reached on July 3. The following is Florida's settlement with the tobacco industry.
Results of Marv Albert DNA Test
NBC sportcaster Marv Albert's case suffered a setback when a state forensic crime lab released DNA results August 11 that linked Albert to bite marks found on the woman who has accused him of sexual assault and sodomy. The Virginia Division of Forensic Science found some consistencies between the blood sample provided by Albert and DNA recovered from the bite wounds on the woman's back. Albert's blood sample was also linked to sperm samples recovered from the alleged victim's skin and underwear. The forensic report cited a 1-in-2.6 billion chance that its findings came from someone other than Albert. Here is the August 4, 1997 report.
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