July 2008



Poorly Faked Heart Attack Fails to Result in Mistrial

This story shows the importance of proper training before appearing in a courtroom, even (well, especially) if one has decided to represent oneself.  And depending on the strategy, acting lessons may be a good idea. Keison Wilkins may have thought…


Gay Italian Wins Lawsuit for Driving-Test Discrimination

A 26-year-old Italian man who was told he had to retake a driving test because he is homosexual has been awarded $150,000 in damages.  A court in Sicily ruled that the government agencies involved had discriminated against Danilo Giuffrida after…


UPDATE: Church Answers Lawsuit of Fallen Man

We learned last month about the Knoxville man who sued his church claiming he had been injured in a fall caused by the holy spirit.  (It wasn’t capitalized in the complaint).  Matthew Lincoln did not blame the spirit, however (let…


German Legislation Would Give Infants Right to Vote

In what appears to be a true story and not one found in The Onion, sources report that a bill introduced in the German parliament would lower the voting age to zero. A spokesman for German embryos and fetuses said…


Rule 8 Invoked Against 465-Page Complaint

Rarely granted is the Motion for More Definite Statement under Federal Rule 8(a), which requires complaints to contain "a short and plain statement of the claim" being made.  But now we know it is appropriate at least where a plaintiff…


Crocodile Dundee Taunts Tax Authorities

I guess after you’ve conquered New York, humiliated Colombian drug dealers, and . . . well, whatever happened in that third movie I didn’t even know existed until now, the Australian Tax Office does not seem very daunting. Paul Hogan,…


Naked Cowboy v. Mars Lawsuit Allowed to Go Forward

On June 23, a federal judge in New York denied a motion to dismiss Robert Burck’s trademark-infringement claims against Mars, Inc., and its ad agency.  Mars is the maker of M&Ms, among other things.  Mr. Burck is better known as…


McCain Gets Endorsement From His Former Jailer

In a development that John McCain must have been very happy to hear about, the man who was in charge of the "Hanoi Hilton" while McCain was a prisoner of war has endorsed him for the presidency.  Tran Trong Duyet…