Entertainment & Sports Law

Man Punched on ‘Jersey Shore’ Episode Sues to Block DVD Release

A man who was beaten on an episode of Jersey Shore is suing to prevent Tuesday’s planned DVD release of the first season as well as any re-airings of both that episode and a subsequent one in which cast member Ronnie Ortiz-Magro “brags about the beating.” Stephen Izzo Jr. filed…

Feb 22, 2010 7:08 PM CST

Injured Luger Considers Suit, While Father of Killed Olympian Dismisses the Idea

The father of the Olympic luge athlete killed in an accident last week is dismissing the idea of a lawsuit. But a luger injured in a November accident is considering the possibility. Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a training accident Feb. 12. His father, David Kumaritashvili, bristled when a…

Feb 19, 2010 2:46 PM CST

‘Pants on the Ground’ Breakout Star Hires Lawyer

The man whose offbeat “Pants on the Ground” audition during American Idol’s recruiting session in Atlanta became an overnight sensation has hired a lawyer to claim royalty rights from those eager to profit from his performance. “General” Larry Platt’s performance quickly went viral, showing up on YouTube and spurring a…

Feb 10, 2010 12:04 PM CST

Court Says ‘Down Under’ Hit from 1980s Copied ‘Kookaburra’

An Australian judge has ruled the 1980s song “Down Under” by the band Men at Work copies a song written more than 70 years ago, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson said the flute melody in the Men at Work song “replicates in material…

Feb 4, 2010 2:56 PM CST

La. AG Steps into ‘Who Dat’ Controversy, Says Some T-Shirts OK

Do T-shirt makers need permission from the National Football League to sell their wares with the words ‘Who Dat,’ the popular cheer of fans of the New Orleans Saints? Not necessarily, according to Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. Caldwell told the Associated Press he spoke with the NFL general counsel…

Feb 2, 2010 12:32 PM CST

After Guilty Pleas in Gun Cases, NBA Suspends 2 Wizards Guards for Season

After an alleged locker-room confrontation in December over a gambling debt in which apparently unloaded guns were reportedly displayed, two Washington Wizards guards have now been suspended by the National Basketball Association for the rest of the season. The action announced today by commissioner David Stern followed guilty pleas earlier…

Jan 27, 2010 10:24 PM CST

Unswayed By ‘Tiger Woods’ Defense, Judge OKs Charges in Letterman Extortion Case

Unpersuaded by a defense argument that a television producer accused of attempting to extort money from David Letterman should be treated just like women who received seven-figure payoffs from golfer Tiger Woods, a New York judge has OK’d the continued prosecution of Robert “Joe” Halderman. In a bid to get…

Jan 19, 2010 6:35 PM CST

Star Wizards Guard Pleads Guilty in Felony Gun Case, Could Get 6 Months

A star Washington Wizards guard pleaded guilty today in a felony gun possession case concerning a much-publicized locker-room incident in December. A conviction on the charge qualifies for a sentence of as much as five years in prison, but a plea agreement calls for Gilbert Arenas to get no more…

Jan 15, 2010 10:02 PM CST

Star Wizards Guard Charged With Gun Felony in Locker-Room Incident

Already in hot water with the National Basketball Association over a Dec. 21 incident in which he admittedly brought unloaded guns into the locker room in apparent violation of league rules, star Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is now facing a felony gun possession charge over the situation. Filed this…

Jan 15, 2010 12:45 AM CST

NFL Lawyer Faces Skeptical Justices in Bid for Antitrust Pass

U.S. Supreme Court justices yesterday appeared skeptical of an assertion that the National Football League is a single entity that is exempt from the antitrust laws. The argument was that as a single unit, the NFL can’t be accused of conspiring with itself to violate the antitrust laws, the Los…

Jan 14, 2010 1:11 PM CST

Google IDs Defenses in YouTube Suit, Faces New Smartphone Name Claim

Attorneys for Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. are sharpening their legal weapons as they prepare for a federal court battle over an asserted $1 billion in damages over thousands of unauthorized third-party postings of copyrighted movie and television videos on YouTube. In letters to a Manhattan federal judge that were…

Jan 9, 2010 12:28 AM CST

Law Prof’s Advice to Suspended Wizards Guard: Turn Off Twitter

Providing a legal analysis tonight of the National Basketball Association’s stunning indefinite suspension today, without pay, of Gilbert Arenas, a Vermont Law School assistant professor offered a succinct suggestion to the star Washington Wizards guard: Turn off your Twitter account. It was bad enough to bring guns, which apparently may…

Jan 7, 2010 1:39 AM CST

A League of Their Own

The NFL wants to run up the score on its antitrust exemption

Jan 2, 2010 2:49 AM CST

A League of Their Own: NFL Wants to Run Up Score On Its Antitrust Exemption

Usually winners in lawsuits count up their take and go home. They don’t ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take another look. So the National Football League received plenty of attention when it asked the high court to review an antitrust decision that gave it the exclusive right to license…

Dec 29, 2009 5:17 PM CST

Dad in ‘Balloon Boy’ Hoax Gets 90 Days and Mom Gets 20 Days

The parents who falsely reported in October that their 6-year-old son was aloft above Colorado in an experimental helium balloon that accidentally launched have been sentenced to brief jail terms followed by four years of probation. During that four-year period, ruled Larimer County Judge Stephen Schapanski, neither can profit from…

Dec 23, 2009 6:52 PM CST