This past week, 2000 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and two-time middleweight champion Jermain (Bad Intentions) Taylor, who was once expected to usher in a new era in the middleweight division following back-to-back decision wins over long-reigning champion Bernard (The Executioner) Hopkins, was arrested for the second time in six months on gun-related charges. In late August 2014, Taylor was arrested in connection with shooting his cousin and subsequently indicted on related felony charges. His second arrest came at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade …
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Bad Press For The NFL Leads to Enhanced Personal Conduct Policy
In the wake of countless controversies of the NFL regarding sexual assaults and domestic violence, the NFL has officially announced that it has a revised and strengthened Personal Conduct Policy for all NFL employees. Over the past several months, domestic violence has been a prevailing problem in the NFL with two of the most notorious instances revolving around Ray Rice, former running back and Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens, and Adrian Peterson, suspended running back for the Minnesota Vikings.
Rice, originally known for …
Continue ReadingCreedence Clearwater Mark Revisited
There’s a bad moon on the rise once again for John Fogerty. Fogerty, the former lead singer and guitarist for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Creedence Clearwater Revival, and a man who holds the distinction as being perhaps the only musician in the history of recorded music to be sued for allegedly plagiarizing his own recording in another one of his own recordings, finds himself feelin’ blue again, having been sued last week by his surviving former bandmates, Doug Clifford and Stu …
Continue ReadingPunches After the Bell
Pacquiao’s Hoops Debut Highlights a Possible Grey Area as to Contractual Prohibitions on Dangerous Activities: Usually known for making headlines as one of the best professional boxers on the planet, Manny (Pac Man) Pacquiao instead made headlines after making his professional basketball debut a month before his November 23, 2014 decision victory of Chris Algieri for the WBO Welterweight Title. On October 20, 2014, Pacquiao started for the KIA Sorrento team of the Philippine Basketball Association, but only played for seven minutes before sitting …
Continue ReadingHollywood’s “Raging Bull” Takes on a Small Town: De Niro Fights Property Assessment
Approximately 80 miles from New York is Gardiner, a small town of about 5,800 residents in Ulster County. It might seem an unexpected place for Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro to own property, but in 1997 the star of “Raging Bull” and “Taxi Driver” purchased 78 acres for $1.5 million. And now it is the site of a headline-making legal battle involving a multimillion-dollar tax assessment.
The property is owned for De Niro and his family by a legal entity called the Riverside Trust. …
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Ortiz Knocks Himself Out of First Round Knock Out Win: Undefeated heavyweight contender Luis (King Kong) Ortiz appeared to have served notice of his arrival on the world stage back on September 11, 2014 with a first-round knockout of Lateef Kayode. The win earned him the WBC’s Interim Heavyweight Championship. In December, however, the Nevada State Athletic Commission sustained Ortiz for 8 months from the date of fight, changed the win to a “no contest,” fined him 10 percent of his purse, and compelled …
Continue ReadingGoodfellas Actor Suing The Simpsons Maker for $250M over ‘Louie’ Character
Frank Sivero, who played a mobster role in the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas, sued Fox Television Studios (“Fox”) for $250 million, claiming the ‘Louie’ character in its long-running popular cartoon show The Simpsons was based on his interpretation of ‘Frankie Carbone’ in Goodfellas.
In a suit filed yesterday, Sivero argued that “The Simpsons’ continued use of [his] image and likeness for commercial purposes are all done without [his] consent and without compensating [him].” Sivero claimed his rights were violated under California’s publicity …
Continue ReadingDuluth Trading Company Takes it Easy and Don Henley Takes Them to Court
Maybe Duluth Trading Company should’ve known better. Maybe it was just living life in the advertising fast lane. But on October 6, 2014, the Wisconsin clothing company circulated an ad to its customers imploring them to “Don a Henley and Take it Easy.” The “Henley” the ad refers to is the famous, three-button long sleeve shirt that has become a symbol of relaxation and “cool” since it was first placed on store racks. But in invoking the surname of Eagles’ co-founder and lead singer Don …
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Interns vs. The Wendy Williams Show
The landmark 2013 decision in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures that interns on two film production crews were entitled to payment with actual wages has opened the litigation floodgates. In the hotly debated ruling, Judge William H. Pauley III held that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying its interns.
In the latest example of the ongoing debate over the use of unpaid interns, television’s Wendy Williams Show and production company Lionsgate have been sued for wages by a former …
Continue ReadingDoes Disney Discriminate Against the Elderly?
On June 10, Kevin Brady, a 26-year veteran story writer for Walt Disney Pictures, filed suit against the studio alleging age discrimination. Brady further alleges that Disney has a “history and pattern of terminating long-term employees and replacing them with younger employees who have less experience at the company.”
Brady was hired as a full-time employee in 1988, and received several promotions over the following decades, culminating in his promotion to head of the story department in 2005. Brady says he consistently received excellent performance …
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