Entertainment & Sports Law

‘Lawyer Norman Tugwater’ Ready to Sue for Pro Athletes’ Fantasy Rights

“Lawyer Norman Tugwater” is fighting mad because fantasy sports leagues are misappropriating the bragging rights of pro athletes. “I’m getting ready to clean up with the mop of justice,” Tugwater proclaims in his YouTube video. “If you refuse to pay our athletes, we’ll come find you, and squeeze it out…

Aug 30, 2010 1:24 PM CDT

Music Downloader Appeals $67.5K Award, Calls It ‘Equally as Insane’ as Earlier $675K Verdict

A Boston University physics graduate student has announced that he will appeal a reduced $67,500 award for downloading copyrighted music, calling the amount “equally as insane” as the $675,000 jury verdict he originally faced after a federal trial last year. Joel Tenenbaum, 26, says he will have to declare bankruptcy…

Aug 25, 2010 11:16 PM CDT

Judge OKs Suit re Maker’s Claimed Failure to Warn of ‘Addictive’ Nature of Lineage II Web Game

A federal judge in Hawaii has given a green light to part of a pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit contending that he wasted some 20,000 hours playing Lineage II between 2004 and 2009, due to the maker’s failure to warn him in advance of the addictive nature of the Internet game.…

Aug 20, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

Baseball Great Roger Clemens Indicted on Charges He Lied to Congress

Renowned baseball pitcher Roger Clemens has been federally indicted on charges he lied to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs. He is accused of obstruction of Congress, making false statements and perjury concerning his testimony in February 2008 to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, reports the Washington Post.…

Aug 19, 2010 7:02 PM CDT

Josh Groban Fan Files Suit Claiming Unexpected Encore Caused Fall

A Josh Groban fan claims an unexpected encore led to a fall and injuries at a 2007 concert in Milwaukee. The suit by Geraldine Grunwald claims the Bradley Center turned on the lights after Groban had apparently wrapped up his concert, but then the pop singer came back for an…

Aug 17, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Sypher Convicted in Rick Pitino Extortion After Her Divorce Lawyer Testifies Against Her

Charged with attempting to extort money from Rick Pitino by falsely accusing the University of Louisville basketball coach of raping her, Karen Sypher has been convicted on all of the six counts she faced. She never testified and her defense counsel presented no witnesses on her behalf. But he said…

Aug 6, 2010 7:17 PM CDT

Star Student-Athlete’s Dilemma: Should He Play Pro Tennis or Go to Harvard Law School?

Faced with a career dilemma, Blake Strode obviously has little to complain about: A star student as well as a star athlete, he was recently admitted to Harvard Law School just as his professional tennis career is potentially about to take off. So now he must decide whether to continue…

Aug 2, 2010 6:41 PM CDT

The Umpire

For the love of the game or the pursuit of some prize money, about 30 million people actively play in fantasy sports leagues across the United States and Canada. Competitors build rosters of professional sports athletes and set lineups in pursuit of statistical achievement. Nothing rankles fantasy enthusiasts more than…

Aug 1, 2010 5:16 AM CDT

Lawyer Says He Helped Client Show That $45 Garage-Sale Buy Is Worth Some $200M

Updated: After paying $45 for a box of old negatives at a garage sale a decade ago, a Fresno, Calif., painter noticed that some looked like the published work of famed black-and-white nature photographer Ansel Adams. Although the family of Adams pooh-poohed the possibility, Rick Norsigian finally hired a lawyer…

Jul 28, 2010 12:31 AM CDT

Divorce Lawyer to Testify Against Ex-Client in High-Profile Rick Pitino Extortion Trial

A little over a year ago, matrimonial attorney Dana Kolter wrote a letter for his client Karen Sypher. In it, he asked for $10 million from University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, threatening to make public, in Karen Sypher’s divorce case from Pitino’s equipment manager, Tim Sypher, an allegation…

Jul 26, 2010 11:27 PM CDT

Hollywood Reporter Names its ‘100 Power Lawyers’

Looking for help turning that novel of yours into a movie? Think that new reality TV series sounds suspiciously like the idea you pitched to the network last year? Then you’re in luck. The Hollywood Reporter’s 2010 list of 100 Power Lawyers in Entertainment is out. The complete list includes…

Jul 23, 2010 7:04 PM CDT

Naked Cowboy Sues Female Competitor, Says She Stole His Shtick

A New York man who has made a business out of playing a guitar in Times Square while seemingly wearing very little except a cowboy hat and his shoes has filed a federal lawsuit against a female competitor. Best known as the Naked Cowboy, Robert John Burck contends that comedian…

Jul 21, 2010 7:46 PM CDT

Ex-Microsoft GC Said to Be Ready for Another Legal Fight, This One Involving MLB

Former Microsoft general counsel Bill Neukom spent 15 years in an antitrust battle with the federal government, fending off an effort to break up the company. Now Neukom, 68, has a new career as managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants, but that doesn’t mean he’s finished with legal…

Jul 19, 2010 5:22 PM CDT

ESPN Sportscaster Erin Andrews Sues Hotel Chains Over Stalker’s Secret In-Room Taping

In a lawsuit likely to resonate with other women who travel alone on business, a well-known sportscaster for ESPN sued several hotel chains today in Illinois state court over video footage widely circulated on the Internet in which she is seen in a state of undress while in her room.…

Jul 15, 2010 11:12 PM CDT

Onetime Law Student Sues, Claims Beer Pong Prowess Wasn’t Meant for Prime Time

A Southwestern University law graduate says a beer ad featuring his beer pong trick shots was intended to be broadcast only on Danish TV, where it would remain in relative obscurity. But Scott Tipton says in a lawsuit that the ad for Carlsberg beer he made as a law student…

Jul 15, 2010 6:46 PM CDT