Stupid Laws / Lawsuits / Rulings, -and other stupid legal related stuff

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I never understood why this guy has so many names.

I think this is insane. How can a court (this is in Britain) tell someone they cannot professionally use a nick name? How can someone have a monopoly on a name (I'm talking about personal names, not brand names such as Pepsi, Coca Cola, etc.)

Combs Must Get Riddy of Diddy

Sep 11, 2006, 10:30 AM PT

Sean Combs is the man of a thousand nicknames. Make that a thousand and one.

The rapper otherwise known as Diddy is going to have to dream up another moniker to use in Great Britain after agreeing to drop his current nickname in an out-of-court settlement with an English music producer named Richard "Diddy" Dearlove.

Britain's Diddy sued the American version after the latter changed his stage name four-plus years ago.

Combs, who called himself Puffy, then Puff Daddy, then P. Daddy and then P. Diddy before abandoning the P altogether, was targeted in a lawsuit by his namesame across the pond, who claimed the British music market wasn't big enough for two similarly named artists.

"Mr. Combs is an international star who has been known by several artist names over the years," a publicist for the rapper said Monday. "When he learned that Mr. Dearlove objected to him using the name 'Diddy' in the U.K, Mr. Combs agreed to continue to use 'P. Diddy' in that territory and the matter was amicably resolved.

click link to read the rest...

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Mans calls 911 after Burger King runs out of lemonade

By ANDREW MARRA and STEVEN BERGER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 07, 2009

BOYNTON BEACH — A man was charged with misusing 911 today for a midnight complaint that a Boynton Beach Burger King had run out of lemonade, police say.

Jean Fortune, 66, dialed 911 and told dispatchers he was "unhappy with his order" at the Burger King at 1521 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., according to an arrest report.

When a Boynton Beach police officer arrived, the cashier told him she had informed Fortune at the drive-thru that the store no longer served lemonade. He became angry when he picked up his order at the window and threatened to call police.

The cashier told him to "Go ahead."

The officer noted in his report that Fortune could not explain why he resorted to calling 911 for a "civil dilemma."

He was issued a notice to appear in court.

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Victoria Principal sues former housekeeper

Excerpts:

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer
Tue May 5, 12:01 PM PDT

Victoria Principal is embroiled in a legal fight with a former housekeeper that's worthy of a prime-time soap opera. It involves allegations of a gun, a sick dog and extortion.

Maribel Banegas claims she was fired by the former "Dallas" star on Dec. 26, but instead of paying her, the actress threatened to shoot her.

Principal, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, states she pulled the gun only after Banegas injured her dog and was acting aggressively toward the actress and another worker. She claims Banegas repeatedly demanded money during an argument and refused to leave her home.

...Principal's lawsuit claims Banegas took her dog on Dec. 26, and that when she returned with it an hour later, the dog was "visibly choking and shaking." The suit states she and Banegas got into a shouting match, and that it was the worker's aggressive behavior that compelled her to grab her gun.

Principal, 59, is suing for several claims including trespass, civil extortion and animal cruelty.

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12 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits

Excerpts (to see the full list, click link above):

Man sued Bud for not getting beautiful women

In 1991, Richard Overton sued Anheuser-Busch, creators of Budweiser, for $10,000. He claimed to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss because drinking beer did not make his fantasies of beautiful women in tropical settings come to life, as he claimed it had advertised, driving him to buy and drink more and more Bud Light. The case was dismissed.

Rapist sued employer for not preventing him from committing crime

In 2002, a Sandusky man serving a 10-year sentence for raping a patient at the former Providence Hospital sued the hospital for negligence. Edward Brewer sued the hospital for $2 million, claiming they were negligent by not preventing him from raping one of its patients. The judge ruled that any damage Brewer suffered due to his crime was his responsibility for choosing to commit the crime, and that the hospital had no legal duty to protect him from that choice.

Shop Owner sued a homeless for $1 Million

In 2007, a Manhattan antique shop owner's lawsuit against hobos who camped in front of his store generated debate about what to do with New York's homeless, many of whom spend winter nights on the street. Karl Kemp, owner of the posh Karl Kemp & Associates Antiques on Madison Avenue, sued three men and a woman for $1-million, alleging they scare away customers when they drink alcohol, urinate and warm themselves above a heating duct in front of his shop. Kemp's suit, filed in state Supreme Court, also seeked an order to keep them 30m away.

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Denny's Sued over salted food

Some meals contain more sodium than a person should eat in two whole days. The New Jersey lawsuit wants the restaurant chain to list sodium content on its menus and warn about health risks.

By Jerry Hirsch
July 24, 2009

Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. Order a Denny's double cheeseburger and you'll consume 3,880 milligrams in one sitting, almost double the suggested daily allowance of salt.

Denny's meals "are dangerously high in sodium," according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by a New Jersey man with the support of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group active in nutrition and food safety issues.

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Warning: The Wrong Tweet Can Get You Sued

Twitter post gets renter sued by landlord

She only had 15 Twitter followers.

And, according to CBS2 Chicago, Amanda Bonnen, a local resident, wanted those followers to know about her mold.

Well, not her mold exactly, but the mold she claimed had taken up residence in her residence.

So she reportedly tweeted: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon Realty appears not to think it's OK, as the company has sued Bonnen for publishing false and defamatory information in her tweet. (Her Twitter account is now inactive.)