UC-Berkeley Sued for Failing to Prevent Death of Alumni
When should a college or university be responsible for failing to protect its students?
The parents of a UC-Berkeley graduate have sued UC-Berkeley for failing to report domestic abuse that took place on campus. The lawsuit was filed after student Jose Lumbereras killed the two passengers in his car when driving while intoxicated, including Milanca Lopez and her six month son.
Lopez’s family sued UC-Berkeley, asserting that Lopez previously complained about domestic abuse in her home, but UC-Berkeley campus officials did nothing. They believe that UC-Berkeley could have prevented the accident if it had investigated Lopez’s concerns about Lambreras’ allegedly abusive conduct.
Tea Party Files Class Action Against IRS Asserting Discrimination
Tea Party Files Class Action
A California Tea Party group, NorCal Tea Party Patriots, has sued the IRS yesterday, in connection with the recently revealed news that the federal government was scrutinizing them disparately because of their political affiliations.
According to Ginni Rapini, the group’s founding president, as told to KGO-ABC7 in San Francisco, the IRS requested voluminous data when they were applying for tax-exempt status. ’They wanted every email I had ever sent out,’ she said. ‘They wanted the transcripts of every speech from any speaker at any event, meeting or anything that we had had,” Rapini reported to ABC7. More than two years passed while their application remained pending.
NorCal Tea Party’s lawsuit asserts that the IRS has violated its rights under the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. They claim that the IRS “engaged in systematic discrimination based upon the speech, expressed viewpoints, and association of NorCal Tea Party Patriots, its members, and similarly situated groups.”
It is unclear to what extent the lawsuit was brought merely to make a statement in and of itself, given the likelihood that it will not ultimately succeed. Class actions, by their nature, require the injured victims to have suffered nearly-identical injuries so as to prove typicality among the class. It is hard to imagine how individualized tax-exempt applications are not unique to each tax-exempt applicant. Further, the Supreme Court previously refused to hold in the famous Dukes v. Wal-Mart matter that gender discrimination claimed by the female employees of Wal-Mart could be certified as a class.
Citizens know soon enough – with every class action comes a motion to dismiss.
Skechers Paying $40 Million for “Toning” Shoe Claims
Sketchers Paying $40 Million to Settle False Advertising Claims
Skechers is going to be paying $40 million to settle a huge class action over its “toning” shoes, which advertised that the shoes would help people lose weight and tone leg/calf muscles. More than 520,000 claims could be made. Settlement claimants with approved claims will be able to obtain a repayment of up to $80 for Shape-Ups, $84 for Resistance Runner shoes, $54 for Padded Sole Shoes, and $40 for Tone-Ups. Last year, Skechers also settled a governmental investigation brought against it over “toning” shoes from the Federal Trade Commission.
U.S. Department of Justice Joins Lawsuit Against Lance Armstrong
U.S. DOJ Joins Lawsuit Against Armstrong
There is a new addition to the lawsuit against disgraced athlete Lance Armstrong – the United States Department of Justice. The lawsuit was originally brought against Armstrong asserting that the seven-time Tour de France winner defrauded supporters, advertisers, and the general public about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, which he always denied.
The DOJ became involved because of the long-time support provided to Armstrong by the U.S. Postal Service.
“Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than $30 million from the U.S. Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules – including the rules against doping,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen to the Associated Press. “The Postal Service has now seen its sponsorship unfairly associated with what has been described as ‘the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.’”
According to the Associated Press, Armstrong was the subject of a two-year federal grand jury investigation that the Justice Department dropped a year ago without an indictment. Last October, a report was released including affidavits from 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates, detailing how the U.S. cycling team was supplied with hormones through injections and blood transfusions, and that they were pressured to dope by Armstrong.
School Sued Over Yoga Classes Alleging Violation of “Separation of Church and State”
San Diego School District Sued For Yoga Classes
Does this one pass pass the straight-face test? A San Diego family, Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock, have sued their Encinitas school district for teaching yoga to their children and other students, alleging that the classes violate the “separation between church and state.”
According to their lawyer, ”
EUSD’s Ashtanga yoga program represents a serious breach of the public trust.” “This is frankly the clearest case of the state trampling on the religious freedom rights of citizens that I have personally witnessed in my 18 years of practice as a constitutional attorney.”
The legal position taken by the Sedlocks has also been strongly advocated for by conservative non-profit group The National Center for Law & Policy (NCLP). According to the NCLP’s white-paper, the yoga life skills taught in the classes are “
inherently religious”
and “conflict with the beliefs of Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Jews and others.”
Encinitas school district is one of the few in the nation that has full-time yoga teachers at its schools, to help students de-stress before tests. The classes were funded by a $533,000, three-year grant from the Jois Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes Asthanga yoga.
$1 Million to be Paid in “Casual Pepper Spray” UC-Davis Lawsuit
$1 Million Awarded to Victims of Pepper Spray
A California federal judge has approved the $1 million settlement of the lawsuit brought against University of California – Davis by students who were the victims of the shocking “casual pepper spray” incident at the Occupy protests that took place on the campus back in November 2011. The students were videotaped being saturated with pepper spray at close range by UC Davis police officer John Pike, as they sat on the ground with their hands under their seats.
According to the ACLU, “What happened on November 18 was among the worst examples of police violence against student demonstrators that we’ve seen in a generation. The early resolution to this lawsuit means that the students can begin the process of moving on and we can work with the University to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again at the University of California.”
In the wake of the incident, UC-Davis formed a task force to investigate the incident and analyze the police officers’r esponse to the protests. Their report stated that “The pepper spraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented,” and determined that the police force as well as University administration were all responsible for poor handling of the incident.
As part of the settlement:
- $730,000 will be paid to the students who were arrested and pepper-sprayed;
- $250,000 will be paid to the attorneys for fees and costs;
- $20,000 will be paid to the ACLU for future work with UC-Davis to develop new policies on student demonstrations, crowed management, and the use of force;
- $100,000 has been set aside to compensate other students or individuals who were pepper-sprayed or wrongfully arrested;
- A formal written apology will be made by the UC-Davis Chancellor to each student or alumni who was pepper-sprayed or arrested;
- UC-Davis will assist students who were negatively affected in their academic performance to apply for an academic records adjustment.
Judge Orders Wal-Mart Included in Labor Lawsuit Brought By 1,800 Temporary Warehouse Workers
Wal-Mart ordered into labor code violation lawsuit by California federal judge.
The stakes have been raised in a California federal lawsuit brought by thousands of temporary warehouse workers against Schneider Logistics, a warehouse logistics company serving mega-retailer Wal-Mart. On January 10, 2013, the Judge overseeing the case, Carillo v. Schneider Logistics, ordered that Wal-Mart could be included in the lawsuit, which alleges violations of overtime rules, meal/rest breaks, and other labor code violations on behalf of approximately 1,800 workers.
What is monumental about this case is that none of the workers worked for Wal-Mart directly. According to the lawyers for the workers, ““Walmart has the ultimate say in how the warehouse work will be conducted,” says Michael Rubin, a plaintiff lawyer for the workers at the San Francisco law firm Altshuler Berzon. “The evidence shows a remarkable degree of control by Walmart. As a matter of economic reality, which is the ultimate legal test, Walmart should be held liable.”
Delta Sued by State of California for Violating Consumer Privacy Rights
Delta’s “Fly Delta” App Collects Consumer Info with Disclosure of Privacy Policy
Airline giant Delta has been sued by the state of California for violating consumer privacy rights, specifically, for collecting a wealth of private consumer information through its mobile app, “Fly Delta,” without providing consumers with any kind of clear privacy policy about how that information will be used. Continue reading
U.S. Supreme Court to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin Residents: Go Ahead and Record Police
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling refusing to hear the Illinois state government’s appeal of a court decision that blocked the state from prosecuting citizens who record the police. For citizens under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin), the Supreme Court’s decision means that it is basically unconstitutional for residents to be prosecuted for recording police in the performance of public duties, for example, when citizens are pulled over, arrested, or otherwise stopped, at least under any law that resembles the one at issue in this case. Continue reading
LegalZoom.com Sues Competitor Rocket Lawyer for Offering “Free” Legal Services
Robert Shapiro’s LegalZoom Sues Competitor
Well, this is an interesting one. Do-it-yourself legal forms website LegalZoom.com (founded in part by former OJ Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro) has sued a rival, Rocket Lawyer, which seems to provide similar services, but for free. LegalZoom charges ordinary individuals various fees for giving them access to legal forms to help them form businesses, prepare Wills, or prepare other divorce, adoption, or similar legal paperwork. Continue reading
Attorney Rabeh M. A. Soofi
Phone: (213) 632-9390
Fax: (213) 986-3485
Email: rsoofi@sb-lc.com
Twitter: @rabehsoofi