Family Law

‘Sex Object’ Ex-Client Sues His Ex-Lawyer, a Judge & Their Ex-Firm, as Jurist Steps Aside, for Now

Updated: After reporting yesterday the jaw-dropping details of an ex-client’s legal ethics complaint against his former divorce attorney and the lawyer’s wife, who is now a family court judge in Canada, CBC News reports that the man filed suit today against the lawyer, the judge and their former Winnipeg law…

Sep 1, 2010 11:12 PM CDT

‘Sex Object’ Client Complains: My Lawyer Showed Me Nude Photos of His Wife, Now a Judge

Corrected: When Alexander Chapman retained a family lawyer in 2002, he was seeking a divorce. But he got a lot more than he bargained for from his then-counsel at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman in Winnipeg, Canada, the computer specialist contends in ethics complaints against husband-and-wife attorneys Jack King and Lori Douglas,…

Sep 1, 2010 12:37 AM CDT

Texas Appeals Court Says Trial Judge Lacked Jurisdiction to Order Same-Sex Divorce

Reversing a trial court, a Texas appellate panel has ruled that the judge lacked the power to divorce a same-sex couple who married in another state. Although same-sex marriages are prohibited in Texas, District Judge Tena Callahan found that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution required the state to…

Aug 31, 2010 9:13 PM CDT

Squire Sanders Motion Hits Lawyer’s ‘Delusions’ that LeBron James Is His Son

A onetime lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission who says he may be the father of LeBron James is basing his lawsuit on “rank speculation” and groundless damages claims, according to a motion to dismiss filed today. Leicester Bryce Stovell, a 1980 graduate of the University of Chicago Law…

Aug 30, 2010 6:11 PM CDT

Lawyer Found Dead in Home After Suicidal Gunman Shoots at Downtown Indy Firm

The body of Mary Jane Frisby, 44, a former partner at the Indianapolis-based Barnes & Thornburg, was found in her home, the apparent victim of homicide. Police discovered her body after her estranged husband, David Frisby, shot himself at a parking garage near the firm, which she’d recently left, reports…

Aug 27, 2010 2:59 AM CDT

Chihuahua Bought By Wife Isn’t Community Property, Appeals Court Rules

After a trial court awarded custody of a pet Chihuahua to the wife in a divorce case, a Texas man appealed the ruling. But a three-judge panel of the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin yesterday affirmed the lower court decision that the diminutive dog belongs to Brooke Ashley Calder,…

Aug 27, 2010 12:06 AM CDT

Billionaire Bren Owes Adult Kids Zip, Jury Rules; They Had Sought $134M in Child Support

If their mother had taken their billionaire father to court for child support years ago, she would have gotten some $400,000 a month, contend Christie Bren, 22, and David Bren, 18. So Donald Bren should now be required to pay them some $134 million, they and their mother, Jennifer McKay…

Aug 26, 2010 8:11 PM CDT

Is Prop 8 Judge’s Sexual Orientation Relevant? LA Times Editor Thinks So

An editor at the Los Angeles Times is defending the newspaper’s decision to disclose that U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker is gay. Assistant managing editor David Lauter says the sexual orientation of the judge who struck down California’s ban on gay marriages is relevant. The newspaper reported that Walker is…

Aug 26, 2010 1:43 PM CDT

Judge Blocks White House Plan to Expand Stem Cell Research

Finding that a plan by the Obama administration to expand federally funded research using human embryonic stem cells likely is prohibited by a federal law banning the use of government funds for projects that destroy embryos, a federal judge today has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the plan. “This court…

Aug 23, 2010 10:25 PM CDT

City’s Graffiti Suit Seeks to Force Parent to Pay for Damage Done by Son

In a lawsuit that may be the first of its kind in Texas, a town is suing to try to force the parent of a teenager to pay for damage done by his son’s graffiti. The suit by the city of Corpus Christi seeks to obtain $7,000, plus attorney’s fees…

Aug 19, 2010 11:09 PM CDT

In LA Trial, Billionaire’s Kids Seek $100M in Retroactive Support

A 78-year-old billionaire who gave $20 million to a new law school is defending a lawsuit by two grown children who claim they are owed more than $100 million in retroactive child support. Donald Bren’s children, 22-year-old Christie and 18-year-old David, say they should have received $400,000 a month in…

Aug 19, 2010 1:35 PM CDT

9th Circuit Blocks Same-Sex Weddings in Calif. as Prop 8 Case Is Appealed

A federal appeals court today blocked a plan to allow same-sex marriages in California later this week, while the so-called Proposition 8 case ruling overturning a state referendum that banned same-sex weddings is challenged. However, this may not be the final answer: The temporary ban on same-sex weddings imposed by…

Aug 16, 2010 11:45 PM CDT

Suit Says Traumatized Mom Is Afraid to Breastfeed Baby in Public After Restaurant Rebuke

Allegedly rebuked and ordered to leave a New York City restaurant for breastfeeding her baby in public, a mother has sued, contending that she is now too traumatized to breastfeed outside her own home without great anxiety. But manager Cathal Queally of Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Cafe says plaintiff Julia Acevedo-Taylor…

Aug 16, 2010 11:05 PM CDT

Judge Lifts Stay; Same-Sex Marriages May Resume Aug. 18

The federal judge who ruled California’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional has declined to permanently stay his ruling. But he did allow a temporary hold on his order, giving Prop 8 supporters time to appeal the ruling. Supporters have until Aug. 18 to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Aug 12, 2010 8:06 PM CDT

Judge Orders Skype Visits as Condition of Mom’s Move

A New York judge has ordered that a Long Island mother make her two children available to talk to their father via Skype, an online video conferencing service, as a condition of her move to Florida. This is the first time such a condition has been made on a case…

Aug 12, 2010 5:03 PM CDT