One of the problems with the all-too-common Internet troll is that he or she is mostly anonymous, making it hard to pin down a person in court. And even if you are able to zero in on your particular troll, there may be little the law can do to compensate you. Sometimes “trolling” is just a very deplorable and infuriating (but legal) part of our Internet lives. So can you actually sue anonymous Internet trolls?...
A Hawaii couple was shopping in a local grocery store when the wife, Nicole Leszczynski, felt faint. She was 30 weeks pregnant, so she and her husband decided to munch on two $5 sandwiches while shopping. Granted, their daughter was returned 18 hours later, Leszczynski and her husband were both appalled that they were charged with fourth degree theft. They even offered to pay for the sandwiches when a grocery store employee pointed out they hadn’t paid....
Don’t forget about the student loan interest deduction this year. The 1098-E form lays out how much interest you paid. If you haven’t gotten your 1098-E form yet, you should check with your student loan servicer. They are required to either mail you a copy or deliver one electronically. Individuals that opted for paperless billing may need to log into their loan accounts to see if the form is uploaded online....
Recent findings from a major DOJ report show that many juvenile inmates were victims of sexual abuse. According to the Los Angeles Times, the federal report by the Justice Department revealed that three in 25 juveniles in detention centers are sexually abused. In addition, 13 detention centers around the country were “high rate of sexual misconduct” – at least 20 percent of young inmates said they were raped. Reacting to the report, some advocates say that the Obama administration is moving too slowly on reforms that would reduce rape in U....
Victims of Friday’s Empire State Building shooting may soon sue the NYPD, after police confirmed all nine bystanders were hit by police gunfire, Reuters reports. But it’s not entirely clear how the bystanders’ potential legal claims will fare in court. In Friday’s incident, a man fired from his job a year ago shot and killed an ex-coworker on a busy Manhattan sidewalk before pointing his weapon at police officers. The officers opened fire....
So, your fiancé turned out to be a con-artist? That’s the lesson allegedly learned by Roger Adler, a hopeless romantic who popped the question six weeks into dating and placed a $58,000 ring on the finger of Rena Hope Friedman. But he was not the first man to place a ring on her finger. And his ring was not the first ring that she had tried to keep, after supposedly sabotaging the engagement....
The powerful Halloween storm is to be blamed for 11 deaths. The “freaky” nor’easter storm was unprecedented in scope, catching millions of Americans off guard. Some communities in Massachusetts received 27 inches of snowfall - in October. The October storm was unexpectedly wet, rainy, and plentiful. The storm felled trees and power lines, sending thousands of Americans into the dark. 800,000 customers in Connecticut were without electricity Monday. The storm has also affected the commute....
The LPGA players, collectively, just hit a hole in one. The players voted to remove the “female at birth” requirement from the association’s constitution during their year-end meeting at the LPGA Tour Championship in Florida. One woman who will certainly call the change a win is transgendered golfer Lana Lawless, whose suit against the LPGA spurred the move. As discussed in a prior post, former police officer and women’s long-drive champ Lana Lawless filed suit in October claiming the policy of the LPGA discriminated against her on the basis of her sex in violation of California’s civil rights law, the Unruh Act....
We’ve all wondered about our posthumous digital existence and our emails just sitting there in limbo. However, it looks like Google’s Inactive Account Manager can now put your digital soul to rest. The company unveiled a new service that lets users decide how their data should be disposed of after they pass away. According to Google’s press release, the “Inactive Account Manager” – which the company admits is “not a great name” – allows people to tell Google how to dispose of their emails, photos and other data associated with accounts they no longer use, ABC News reports....
Is it legal to sell a kidney or other bodily organ? You may have heard of it happening in China, where a 17-year-old boy allegedly sold his kidney and used some of the money to buy an iPad and iPhone. Chinese authorities arrested nine people and put them on trial for the allegedly unlawful operation, CNN reports. But what if the teen’s kidney sale had happened in the United States?...
Starbucks has been sued by a customer who alleges she suffered second degree burns after being served tea that was too hot. Plaintiff Zeynep Inanli claims that she ordered a tea at a New York Starbucks that was “unreasonably hot in containers that were unsafe,” causing her the injures, which also let to pain and mental anguish. Inanli ordered her drink at the Starbucks at 685 3rd Avenue in Manhattan....
Jahi McMath was thirteen years old when a routine tonsillectomy went wrong and left the teen brain dead. After the surgery in 2013, she was pronounced dead, and the county coroner even signed a death certificate a month later. However, Jahi was never taken off life support. Her parents insist that she is still alive, based upon their Christian faith, regardless of the fact that she has been declared brain dead....
Is it legal to prohibit employees from discussing their salaries? It depends on how far your prohibition goes. While many employers don’t like it, workers are generally allowed to talk about their salaries with coworkers at the water cooler. With the popularity of social media, discussing salaries online with other workers is also lawful. The National Labor Relations Act provides some guidance on how to proceed when it comes to employees talking about their salaries....
A 99-year-old Italian man is filing for divorce from his wife of 77 years. The split started after the husband, Antonio C, discovered a secret cache of letters. His wife, 96-year-old Rosa C, had an affair in the 1940s. Antonio confronted Rosa about the relationship. She confessed, but was unable to salvage their marriage. Some might wonder why he’d end the marriage when he’s so far into his golden years. Or if the fact that one spouse cheated on the other will impact their divorce....
How serious are cyberbullying laws in your state? Well, if you live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you could serve jail time for it. A New Jersey cyberbully will be facing 45 days in prison as a result of forwarding sexually explicit photos of a teenage boy to the boy’s school, AP reports. Matthew Bean, a 20-year-old from Bergenfield, N.J., is accused of attempting to drive the teen to commit suicide....
The White House is keeping its plan on track to buy an Illinois state prison to incarcerate prisoners, possibly including Gitmo Bay detainees. President Barack Obama is forging ahead with the plan to buy Thomson Illinois state prison, and to upgrade and convert it to house federal inmates which may or may not include the Gitmo detainees, the Chicago Tribune reports. But the U.S. House Armed Services Committee voted recently on a measure to require the President get permission from Congress before redesigning or building on the prison grounds any facility to house detainees like those now held in Guantanamo....
Are you relocating your business, or thinking about it? If so, then you’re going to need a few legal tips before you make your move. There are many reasons why small business owners make the decision to move. Maybe you’re looking to expand, or maybe it’s simply because your lease has expired and you’ve found a nicer space in a more ideal location. Whatever your reasons may be, you’ll want to keep this legal checklist handy before you relocate your business....
With a vote of 14-9 the Senate Finance Committee approved the proposed 10-year, $829 billion health care reform measure that has been under review over the past weeks and months. The reform measure aims to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans. Of note, Senator Olympia Snowe cast the only Republican vote (of the 10 Republicans sitting on the Committee) in favor of the reform. All 13 Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of the reform....
Michelle Kosilek, a convicted murderer who was born Robert Kosilek, is entitled to a sex-change paid for by Massachusetts taxpayers, according to a court ruling Tuesday. Kosilek was convicted in 1990 for killing his wife. Twelve years ago, he sued the state corrections department for the right to receive treatment for gender-identity disorder. He won and began receiving hormone therapy but later petitioned for gender-reassignment surgery. ‘He’ is now living as ‘she’ and is being held in an all-male prison....
One recurring theme of the ongoing recession has been the seemingly incessant stream of foreclosures. However, South Carolina’s highest court late yesterday afternoon issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) putting a freeze on thousands of imminent foreclosure sales in the state, reports the AP. The ruling provides some very needed relief to qualifying homeowners in distress by providing them with some time to seek mortgage modification under new government programs....
