Hulk Hogan Trial Update: Jury Hears Lover’s Testimony

Jurors in the $100 million invasion of privacy trial between wrestling superhero Hulk Hogan and gossip-site Gawker heard the previously recorded deposition of Heather Cole — formerly Heather Clem, ex-wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge — better known as the woman Hogan was caught having an affair with in a secretly videotaped intimate rendezvous dating back to 2006. She testified that her former husband told her to have sex with Hogan but never informed her that the encounter was going to be filmed. …

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Real or Fake? Attorneys in Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Trial Showing Litigation Can Be as Entertaining as Wrestling

The Hulk Hogan sex tape civil trial against gossip-site Gawker ended its sixth day of in-court proceedings Monday, March 14, 2016. The case itself is being heavily covered by the media, with defendant Gawker even livestreaming the trial on its website, and comes out of an incident in which the media company published an edited, unsolicited version of a sexual encounter between wrestling-icon Hogan and his former best friend’s wife, Heather Clem. According to Hogan, the affair happened in 2006, and although the rendezvous was …

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Criminal Case Against Bill Cosby Moves Forward

On February 3, 2016, in Norristown Pennsylvania, a judge denied Bill Cosby’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against him. The newly elected Montgomery County District Attorney, Kevin Steele, has filed three felony charges of second-degree aggravated indecent assault based upon the allegations from Andrea Constand. She claims she was sexually assaulted by Cosby in 2004. According to an attorney from Toland Law, if Cosby is convicted he can face up to 10 years in prison and along with civil fines in State of Pennsylvania.…

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“The O.C.” Star Sues Mother for Fraud

Mischa Barton — former star of the hit TV show “The O.C.” — filed suit against her mother, Nuala Barton, in April, alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duties, among other causes of action. On January 3, 2016, a California judge determined that Mischa Barton’s suit did not adequately allege fraud, but told the actress that she may amend her complaint.

Barton’s complaint writes that the “action arises from the tragic tale of a greedy stage mother posing as a talent manager who, instead of …

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Camille Cosby Wins the Battle, Not the War

Camille Cosby was set to be deposed in a sexual misconduct and defamation lawsuit filed by seven different accusers against her husband, comedian Bill Cosby, on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 in Springfield, Massachusetts. In an attempt to block the subpoena, Mrs. Cosby’s attorneys filed a motion to quash the subpoena for the deposition on the basis that information gathered would be protected by the marital privilege. The motion to quash was denied by United States Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy. The Magistrate wrote that he …

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Celebrity Vulnerability – Man Accused of Hacking Stars’ Emails, Stealing Private Info and Explicit Material

In a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, December 22, 2015, top New York prosecutor Peeta Bharara accused a 23-year-old Bahaman native of hacking into the email addresses of professional athletes, actresses, and celebrities, stealing personal identification information and private sexual material and then attempting to sell the illegally-obtained items for a quick buck. The defendant, Alonzo Knowles, has been charged with copyright infringement and identity theft, and was arrested early last week in New York after trying to fence the stolen items to an undercover agent.…

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Taylor Swift Shakes Off Lawsuit with Settlement

Taylor Swift appears to be out of the woods as she has reached a settlement to resolve a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by clothing brand “Lucky 13” last year.

The bad blood started in May 2014 when Lucky 13 filed its complaint alleging that Taylor Swift and her affiliated companies, such as Taylor Nation LLC and Taylor Swift Productions, Inc., infringed on the registered trademark “Lucky 13.” According to the complaint, Taylor Swift, who claims her lucky number is 13, began using “Lucky 13” to …

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Bill Cosby to be Deposed in Defamation Lawsuit

Janice Dickinson, former supermodel and judge on “America’s Next Top Model,” told Entertainment Tonight (ET) in a November 2014 interview that Bill Cosby drugged and raped her in 1982. Cosby’s ex-attorney Marty Singer immediately fired back, calling Dickinson’s story “a fabricated lie” that is a “complete contradiction” from her earlier accounts of interactions with Cosby. The result of the back and forth is a defamation lawsuit brought by Dickinson against Cosby in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The presiding judge— Judge Debre Katz Weintraub …

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Taylor Swift Sued Once Again; R&B Artist Claims “Shake It Off” Lyrics Were His

Taylor Swift is once again being haled in the courtroom as a defendant.  This time she is being sued for allegedly ripping off the lyrics to her hit “Shake It Off.”  Jesse Braham, a U.S. based R&B singer, reportedly has filed a lawsuit claiming Swift stole the words to “Shake It Off” from his 2013 song called “Haters Gone Hate.”  Braham is seeking two things in his suit; financial compensation in the form of $42 million, and he wants his name added to the song’s …

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Drug Promotion on Social Media By Consumers: Can It Be Regulated?

This post first appeared on Goldberg Segalla’s Life Science Matters blog. 

Kim Kardashian recently used social media to promote the use of a prescription drug. In her Instagram post, Ms. Kardashian told her followers that a physician recommended use of the drug Diclegis to alleviate her symptoms of morning sickness. Ms. Kardashian is not the only public figure to recently deal with morning sickness as the Duchess of Cambridge also dealt with this issue, reported here.

Having experienced positive results following the use of …

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