Robert Shapiro Loses Initial Round in Suit by Jailed Phil Spector Seeking Refund of $1M Retainer

Celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro will have to defend a lawsuit by a jailed former client seeking a refund of a $1 million retainer fee. Rejecting a motion to dismiss by Shapiro and his law firm, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ruled today that a jury must decide certain…

Dec 14, 2010 9:05 PM CST

As Jim Morrison Wins Pardon, ACLU Says Dead Rock Stars Shouldn’t Dominate Clemency Board Agenda

Backed by Florida’s outgoing governor, former Doors front man Jim Morrison won a posthumous pardon today of his indecent exposure and profanity conviction resulting from a raucous 1969 rock concert in Miami. However, the action today by the state’s clemency board wasn’t music to the ears of everyone attending the…

Dec 9, 2010 9:57 PM CST

Unhappy Holidays for Wesley Snipes: Judge Denies Request for Delayed Jail Term

Updated: Actor Wesley Snipes had sought a month’s delay before he begins serving a three-year sentence for failing to file tax returns, so he could spend the holidays with his four minor children. But the request received a “Bah, humbug!” response from a federal judge in Florida, reports TMZ. Wrote…

Dec 8, 2010 12:31 AM CST

Fla. Gov Studies Doors Front Man’s Wild Miami Night, Prepping for Pardon Hearing

Jim Morrison urged his fans at a 1969 concert to “love your neighbor ‘til it hurts!” But did the Doors front man expose himself? That is the critical question outgoing Florida governor Charlie Crist is studying as he prepares with a thick notebook of material for a Clemency Board hearing…

Dec 3, 2010 10:26 PM CST

Lawyer With ‘The Dragon Tattoo’: Business on Track to Pass Sony in Foreign Film Grosses

Dec 1, 2010 7:00 AM CST

Mel Gibson Movie Releases on Pause for Child Custody Case, Domestic Abuse & Extortion Probes

Put the pause on Mel Gibson’s recent movies–as Hollywood producers certainly have. The actor’s real-life saga right now is front and center, as the industry and fans wait to see how interrelated domestic abuse and extortion probes, as well as a child-custody case, play out. Sheriff’s detectives in Los Angeles…

Nov 23, 2010 10:54 PM CST

‘King of Bling’ Jeweler Sues Courtney Love, Claims Loss of Borrowed Diamond Baubles

A well-known celebrity jeweler has sued grunge-punk rocker Courtney Love, contending that she failed to return some of the diamond-studded baubles she borrowed in September, according to the New York Daily News and the Associated Press. Love allegedly indicated that she had lost the items she didn’t return along with…

Nov 23, 2010 9:00 PM CST

Beauty Queen’s Lawyer Sues Wildman Harrold, Claims Leaked Details Nixed Fee Deal

The lawyer for a beauty queen who sued over her lost Miss California crown says leaked details of a sex tape have nixed his agreement to accept lower attorney fees in the case. Lawyer Charles LiMandri claims in the suit that he reduced legal fees that would have been paid…

Nov 16, 2010 1:59 PM CST

Erin Brockovich Goes Back to Work on Hinkley, Where Residents Claim New Chromium Problems

An environmental contamination case that made paralegal Erin Brockovich famous, after she was portrayed by actress Julia Roberts in a Oscar-winning movie about the litigation, may not be over yet. Some residents around Hinkley, Calif., say they’re experiencing new problems with hexavalent chromium-tainted groundwater, after a contaminated plume spread beyond…

Nov 15, 2010 10:16 PM CST

Ex-Wife of Actor Michael Douglas Loses Bid for Share of Profits from ‘Wall Street’ Sequel

A former wife of Michael Douglas has lost a bid to split the money paid to the 65-year-old actor for reprising the role of greedy Gordon Gekko in the new Wall Street sequel. However, Diandra Douglas, 52, lost because a Manhattan Supreme Court judge determined that the case should have…

Nov 15, 2010 6:53 PM CST

Sole Surviving Defense Lawyer Recalls Jim Morrison’s 40-Year-Old Indecent Exposure Case

Talk of a possible posthumous pardon for former Doors front man Jim Morrison in a 40-year-old Florida indecent exposure case has put his sole surviving defense lawyer in the news. From what Robert Josefsberg tells the Arts Beat blog of the New York Times, it appears that he believes his…

Nov 11, 2010 10:56 PM CST

Fla. Officials Say They’re Open to Possible Pardon for Deceased Doors Frontman Jim Morrison

More than 40 years after a notorious incident at a 1969 Miami concert, Florida officials say they may be ready to pardon Doors front man Jim Morrison, who was convicted of indecent exposure and profanity after being accused of simulating a sex act there while apparently inebriated. Morrison, a native…

Nov 10, 2010 12:16 AM CST

Prince’s Case Is About Alleged Overcharges by His Lawyers, Not Sex or Harem, Judge Says

Limiting the evidence that can be introduced in an ongoing trial over alleged overcharging by the prince of Brunei’s lawyers, a New York judge today nixed as inadmissible both life-size statues of Prince Jefri Bolkiah having sex with a girlfriend and information about his many wives and harem, reports the…

Nov 9, 2010 8:33 PM CST

Nancy Grace Settles Suit Over Alleged Show-Related Suicide for $200K Trust Fund

Talk show host Nancy Grace and CNN have settled a suit brought by the family of a young woman who committed suicide in 2006 after being aggressively interviewed by Grace about the then-recent disappearance of her 2-year-old son from her home. Melinda Duckett, 21, shot herself on the day the…

Nov 8, 2010 11:29 PM CST

Production Company Promised ‘Morgan Freeman’ Ad, But Used Voice Double

A Republican congressional candidate who asserted that Morgan Freeman had narrated his attack ad against the incumbent says a contract gave him the wrong impression. The candidate, B.J. Lawson of North Carolina, had issued a press release on Monday stating that the commercial was indeed narrated by Morgan Freeman, the…

Nov 2, 2010 1:21 PM CDT