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Rolling Stones' Copyright Holder Sues Derivative Rapper
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/25 16:28
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Dwayne Carter, known as "L'il Wayne" to the two or three fans he has, illegally used the Rolling Stones' hit, "Play With Fire," in a "vile ... sexist and offensive" knockoff called "Playing With Fire," ABKCO Music claims in Federal Court.
ABKCO, founded by music mogul Allen Klein, says it owns most of the Mick Jagger-Keith Richards catalogue. The offending ditty is found on "Tha Carter III" album.
ABKCO cites the opening lyrics of the Stones' song: "Well, you've got your diamonds and you've got your pretty clothes / And the chauffeur drives your car / You let everybody know / But don't play with me, cause you're playing with fire" and L'il Wayne's knockoff: "So you've got so many diamonds / You wear all the finest clothes / And your grill is shining / As you're driving down the streets of gold / But you can't blame me if I set this stage on fire."
ABKCO says it hired "noted musicologist" Anthony Ricigliano, who reported that "the similarity [in the music] is apparent to even a layperson's ear." Ricigliano wrote, in a letter attached to the lawsuit, "(M)ost assuredly, the composition Playing With Fire infringes the copyright of Play With Fire."
ABKCO demands disgorgement, an accounting, punitive damages, destruction of the masters and copies, and an injunction. It is represented by Michael Kramer.
Here are the defendants: Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. pka Lil Wayne, Nicholas Mark Warwar pka StreetRunner, Jason Desrouleux, Cash Money Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Group Recordings, Young Money Publishing, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Warner/Chappell Music, and EMI Music Publishing. |
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Mother Loses Custody Due To Her Bizarre Behavior
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/24 16:15
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A California appeals court affirmed the appointment of a guardian ad litem for a girl whose mother led police on a 12-minute high-speed chase with her 7-month-old daughter in tow, kept feces and urine in jars near the kitchen sink, and told relatives to address her daughter, Esmeralda, as "Andrew," writing the new name on the girl's stomach in felt marker.
Justice McKinster concluded that the San Bernardino County Court violated Marlene G.'s due-process rights by appointing the guardian ad litem, but said the violation was harmless, because Marlene would probably have lost her parental rights, anyway.
After the high-speech police chase, Marlene was arrested, declared competent to stand trial and jailed for child endangerment. She later refused to take antibiotics for a fever that could have spread to her infant daughter.
She told the county Department of Children's Services that "she was hearing voices telling her that others are trying to break into her home and kill her."
She also mentioned Esmeralda likes to eat peanut butter and chocolate, though relatives said she was feeding her daughter peanut butter mixed with feces.
A psychological evaluation revealed that Marlene "feels sad, thinks of death, has racing thoughts, has difficulty understanding what people say to her, has problems understand what she reads, and cannot find her way home from familiar places," the ruling states.
The court ruled that Esmeralda should be kept in state custody, because her mother continued to show signs of mental illness and refused to take psychotropic medications. |
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Tommy Tune Sues Manager, Marvin Shulman
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/22 16:41
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Tommy Tune claims his manager Marvin Shulman took him for a long, expensive ride, overcharging for commissions, taking a commission even on the sale of Tune's home and his capital gains, and outsourcing management duties to third parties, using Tune's money to pay for services for which Tune already had paid Shulman.
Tune, of New York, a singer, actor, dancer, choreographer and director, says he has won nine Tony Awards and a plethora of other accolades. Shulman operates his co-defendant business, Marvin Shulman Management, out of Miami.
Here is an excerpt from the federal complaint: "(A)fter unlawfully persuading Mr. Tune to pay them a business management commission far in excess of industry norms through misrepresentation and breaches of fiduciary duty, defendants assessed commission charges against Mr. Tune in excess of even that inflated amount and, in derogation of the parties' agreement and governing securities regulations, paid themselves commissions on Mr. Tune's capital gains, including the proceeds realized on the sale of his residents. Defendants also improperly 'outsourced' to certain third parties a number of the central business management functions that Mr. Tune engaged defendants to perform, and then wrote checks from Mr. Tune's funds to pay for the fees charged by these third parties for the very services that Mr. Tune was already paying defendants."
Tune demands an accounting and damages for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. The complaint does not estimate the damages, other than to say they exceed $75,000. Tune is represented by John Rosenberg with Rosenberg & Geiger. |
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Citizenship Harder To Prove Through Fathers
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/21 16:31
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An immigration law that extends citizenship to children whose mothers are naturalized does not violate due process by not following the same rule for fathers, the 2nd Circuit ruled.
Otis Grant, a Jamaican citizen, was convicted in 1996 of second-degree murder. He challenged the Board of Immigration Appeals' ruling that he should be deported, arguing that his father was naturalized before Grant's 18th birthday and that he should have derivative citizenship. The immigration judge disagreed, stating that Grant was not entitled to citizenship because his father did not have legal custody of him.
A three-judge panel decided not to focus on the custody issue. Instead, it ruled that in order for a father to confer citizenship on his child, the father must legitimize him, acknowledge him or prove paternity.
"A mother's parental status is verifiable from the birth itself," the court ruled. "There is no such obvious or compelling proof of a father's status."
Using that reasoning, the court ruled that Grant's rights to equal protection and due process were not violated. The court denied Grant's petition to review his deportation. |
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Class Action Challenges Mandatory Electronic Filing
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/18 16:22
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Questions regarding whether LexisNexis Courtlink is licensed to do business in Georgia and the location of its registered agent prompted attorney Steven J. Newton to amend his complaint against the company and Fulton County State and Superior Court officials. Newton filed the federal class-action in June, claiming LexisNexis Courtlink and the court officials are running an illegal, mandatory, electronic filing system.
Newton contends that filings in Fulton County State and Superior Courts, filed through the LexisNexis File & Serve system, can cost up to $11 per filing in cases for which electronic filing is mandated by orders from Fulton County State and Superior Courts, and authorized by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Shortly after filing the complaint in June, Newton said he realized the location of the registered agent of LexisNexis Courtlink had changed since he filed the original lawsuit in December 2007.
Newton withdrew his original lawsuit in March. He said that defendants' attorneys told him that LexisNexis Courtlink no longer existed in Georgia. After checking the Secretary of State Web site, Newton said, he saw that LexisNexis Courtlink had filed a certificate of withdrawal on Jan. 15, and was no longer licensed to do business in Georgia.
But Newton said the company continues to do business in Georgia, as he still receives invoices from it, and the company recently conducted training sessions in Atlanta. So, Newton said, he amended the first complaint to state that LexisNexis Courtlink can be served at the Atlanta address where it held training, or in Newton, Mass.
Attorneys for the defendants have requested more time to respond to the amended complaint. Newton said no additional time should be granted.
"It's pretty much the same complaint I filed (months ago,)" he said.
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Man Says Eminem Sucker-Punched Him
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/15 15:43
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Eminem sucker-punched a man as he used the urinal in a Detroit nightclub, the man claims in Oakland County Court. Miad Jarbou demands more than $100,000 from the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers.
Jarbou says he was using a urinal at Cheetah's "exotic dancing bar" in the early morning hours of July 13, 2006, when Mathers entered, with a large bodyguard, who stood at the door. Jarbou says a friend who accompanied him to the club entered the john and said, "Hey Eminem, what's up man?"
The complaint continues: "The individual who had accompanied Mathers into the restroom, who was still standing at the door, spoke words to Jarbou's friend to the effect, 'Shut the fuck up man! Don't say another word!'
"Jarbou, still standing at the urinal, spoke words to the effect, 'Hey man, my friend ain't starting trouble, it's just cool to see Eminem.'
"Mathers then stepped back from the urinal and without warning or provocation, as Jarbou continued to urinate, drove his fist in a violent punching manner into the side of Jarbou's face, knocking him to the ground. ...
"The conduct of Defendant as described herein, in 'sucker punching' in a vicious, violent and completely unprovoked manner, the Plaintiff as he was in the extremely vulnerable position of standing at a public urinal and urinating, is the very definition of extreme and outrageous conduct."
Jarbou is represented by Leon Weiss of West Bloomfield. |
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Man Says Social Security Guards Beat Him
Areas of Focus |
2008/07/11 15:41
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Private contract guards hired by the Social Security Administration assaulted a man, fracturing his hand, and maliciously prosecuted him because he clipped his fingernails while waiting in the Social Security office, the man claims in Federal Court.
Leon Bailey sued Securitas Security Services, Paragon Systems, and the four guards who allegedly assaulted him. He claims defendant John Robinson Jr. started the fracas by ordering him to stop clipping his fingernails as he waited in the Seattle office. Bailey says he complied, and "put away his clippers and began pushing the cuticles back," which apparently enraged Robinson, who ordered him to leave.
Bailey said he did leave, though he had unfinished business to transact in the office. He says Robinson followed him to the street, and enlisted the help of three other men, also security guards, who struck him with a baton, fracturing his hand, forced him to the ground, handcuffed him and arrested him. They charged him with four offenses, which were dismissed.
Bailey demands punitive damages for constitutional violations, negligence, and malicious prosecution. He is represented by Patrick Kang with the Premier Law Group. |
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