Celebrities

Tony La Russa Sues Twitter over Imposter’s Page

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has sued Twitter claiming that the microblogging site refused to take down an imposter’s page that contained “derogatory and demeaning” remarks. The suit alleges trademark infringement, cybersquatting and misappropriation of likeness and name, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bird Land blog. Two Wall…

Jun 5, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

Bingo Melee Shot for New Movie Sparks New Litigation for ‘Borat’ Actor & Studio

A new reality-based movie in which observers react to the outlandish antics of Borat actor Sacha Baron Cohen is creating work for defense lawyers even before its scheduled July 10 release date. Claiming that she was disabled during a struggle for a microphone at a California bingo tournament after Baron…

Jun 5, 2009 12:46 AM CDT

L.A. Lawyer and Comic Kenneth Kahn Dies After Falling from Mountain in Peru

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney and comedian has died, after falling while mountain-climbing alone above the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. Kenneth Kahn, who recently retired from the full-time practice of law, was fulfilling a lifelong ambition to travel to South America. He died Wednesday in a…

Jun 1, 2009 4:45 PM CDT

Phil Spector Gets 19 Years to Life

Famed pop producer Phil Spector faced the music today, as he was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court to 19 years to life for the second-degree murder of Lana Clarkson, reports Reuters. Prosecutors argued at trial that Spector’s shooting of Clarkson was part of a pattern of violent behavior he…

May 29, 2009 5:51 PM CDT

Legal Journalist More Optimistic About BigLaw than Big Newspapers

Legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin advises unhappy lawyers looking for a new career to follow their hearts—although his own career change was not motivated by dissatisfaction. “My only advice is to try to do what you love,” Toobin says in an interview with the blog Bitter Lawyer. “And be lucky. I…

May 29, 2009 4:55 PM CDT

Website Casts ‘Sotomayor: the Movie’ with Nine Justice Look-alikes

Actor Danny DeVito would have a starring role—as Justice Antonin Scalia—in a website’s “dream cast” for its dreamed-up movie starring Sonia Sotomayor. The Daily Beast suggests the Supreme Court nominee should be played by actress and singer Sara Ramirez in Sotomayor: the Movie. The justice Sotomayor would replace, David H.…

May 29, 2009 3:42 PM CDT

Media Atwitter over Al Roker’s Twitter Photos from Jury Duty Wait

Today show weatherman Al Roker got caught in the middle of a media storm when he took pictures of potential jurors on his iPhone yesterday and posted them to Twitter while waiting to be called for jury duty. The postings spurred a lesson in courthouse decorum and an apology from…

May 29, 2009 2:08 PM CDT

Court Battle Over Peter Falk is Latest High-Profile Case Concerning Dementia

A beloved actor perhaps best known for hiding his keen detective skills under a bumbling police persona in the Columbo television series is now reportedly more than absent-minded in real life. The daughter and wife of 81-year-old Peter Falk are battling in court for control of his affairs, in one…

May 28, 2009 5:46 PM CDT

Texas Blogger Jailed for Contempt in Case Filed By Anna Nicole Smith’s Mom

A Texas real estate agent who blogged about celebrity Anna Nicole Smith’s mother spent the weekend in jail after being cited for contempt by a state-court judge. Lyndal Harrington, 53, of Houston lied when she said a computer she was ordered to produce for forensic examination in a defamation case…

May 27, 2009 4:48 PM CDT

Katie Price Hits Nuclear Button, Retains ‘Fearsome’ Fiona Shackleton for Divorce

Supermodel Katie Price has hit the “nuclear button” in her ongoing divorce. She has retained as her counsel “fearsome legal eagle Fiona Shackleton—dubbed the Steel Magnolia—to help protect her 45-million-pound fortune,” reports the Daily Star, a British tabloid. Shackleton, 52, has also represented Madonna, Prince Charles and Paul McCartney in…

May 22, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Former Judge Cleared in Fla. Probe of Woman’s $400K Gifts to His Family

A former Florida judge who made headlines when he presided over custody hearings concerning Anna Nicole Smith’s infant daughter has been cleared once again in a second state agency investigation of over $400,000 in gifts reportedly made to his family by an elderly woman. There were no indications of exploitation…

May 20, 2009 8:32 PM CDT

Woody Allen Settles Billboard Lawsuit Against American Apparel for $5M

A clothing company known for its racy advertising and aggressive litigation tactics has agreed to settle for $5 million a lawsuit by Woody Allen over its alleged unauthorized use of his image in a billboard campaign and Internet advertising. But Dov Charney, the founder and chief executive of American Apparel,…

May 18, 2009 5:52 PM CDT

Woody Allen’s Wife and Ex Won’t Be on Witness List in Billboard Spat

Woody Allen may take the stand in a suit against American Apparel for using his image without permission, but his wife and ex-girlfriend won’t be called to testifiy. American Apparel lawyer Stuart Slotnick told Reuters that Allen’s ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow and her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, now Allen’s wife, won’t…

May 15, 2009 4:23 PM CDT

Oops. Donald Trump, Tenant, Signed His Own Landlord Lease

A New York lawyer suing to evict Donald Trump’s company from several Manhattan co-op apartment units it is renting is chortling over the real estate mogul’s lease. Seems that Trump, when leasing out his own property, has tenants sign a rental agreement that is highly pro-landlord, reports the Am Law…

May 14, 2009 12:12 AM CDT

Farrah Fawcett ‘Sting’ Put Spotlight on National Enquirer

It wasn’t just dozens of high-profile medical files that a rogue worker at UCLA Medical Center peeped into between 2003 and 2007. It was nearly 1,000, reports the Los Angeles Times in a lengthy article today that focuses on one of the victims of the illegal invasion of privacy, actress…

May 12, 2009 12:19 AM CDT