October 2010 Archives

Sorry, Charlie. Now that the media has "unmasked" the girl that was Charlie Sheen's date the night of his alleged rampage at the Plaza Hotel in New York, you can see it coming. As predicted in Celebrity Justice's prior post on the topic, Sheen's companion, now named as adult actress Capri Anderson (or, Christina Walsh, or Alexis Capri, take your pick), would like the law to get involved.

As much of the western world knows, Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen had a really bad night this week as the result of either a) drugs and alcohol (per the tabloid press) or b) an allergic reaction to medication (per Sheen's rep). According to reports, Sheen damaged his room at the Plaza and scared Ms. Anderson into hiding in the bathroom. Security was called and the night ended with Sheen checked into the hospital.

Rapper T.I. is heading right back to prison. Again.

On October 26, U.S. Marshall Beverly Harvard ordered the in-again-out-again rapper to report to federal prison in Arkansas, due to the probation violation on federal weapons charges.

As previously noted in this blog, in September, T.I. and his wife were arrested in Los Angles on drug charges. Although The Star reports that the Los Angeles authorities have declined to press felony charges, the damage has been done. U.S. Marshal Harvard is enforcing an order from a federal judge handed down earlier this month for T.I. to serve and additional 11 months for the probation violation. T.I. (given name, Clifford Harris Jr.) will return to the same low security federal prison where he earlier served time on the original weapons charges.

Looks like the anger management and the rehab didn't take. Beyond bad-boy Charlie Sheen has been hospitalized after an "allergic reaction" to some medication caused him to become enraged, scare his date into the bathroom and wreck a hotel room at the Plaza. Business as usual.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Sheen was given the choice between hospitalization or jail by police, who were called to his New York hotel room early Tuesday morning. The room was in bad shape, according to reports, with chairs tossed around and even the chandelier damaged.

Charlie Sheen, meanwhile, was in worse shape.

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi have been arrested in Canada on a US warrant that was issued after the couple failed to appear in a Santa Barbara court on felony vandalism charges. Quaid, known for playing quirky roles like "Cousin Eddie" in "National Lampoon's Vacation," told a Canadian court that he and his wife are seeking asylum from "the murderers of Hollywood," reports The Washington Post.

For those of you who need a brief refresher: the couple was arrested for squatting in a guest house they previously owned. They apparently fled to Vancouver, Canada, were arrested in shopping mall, and are now seeking asylum as refugees.

The juice is not loose.

O.J. Simpson will remain incarcerated after the Nevada Supreme Court refused to overturn his convictions. Simpson was sentenced to nine to 33 years stemming from charges of armed robbery, conspiracy and kidnapping after storming a Las Vegas hotel room and taking property at gunpoint, according to NPR.

The court concluded that all eight of Simpson's robbery and kidnapping appeal arguments lacked validity and rejected them. Simpson, 63, will remain at Lovelock Correctional Center. Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter was not surprised, though he was disappointed, NPR reports.

It wasn't a 'Freaky Friday' in a Los Angeles courtroom today, unless of course you were expecting the Lindsay Lohan hearing to result in actual punishment for the probation violation she committed when she failed two drug tests last month. On October 22, Judge Elden Fox decided that rehabilitation was the better part of valor, and assigned our errant actress to just over two months in rehab in lieu of any additional jail time.

Judge Fox may have had his reasons for not tossing Lohan back in the big house for her failed drug tests. His order in September that she await this latest Lindsay Lohan hearing behind bars was overturned and LiLo was out on bail and voluntarily in rehab during the time between her last court appearance and this one.

Something smells funny at MTV. Perhaps that is because MTV is being sued by Smelly Old Man. According to the Daily Telegraph, an episode aired in August in which a man now only known as smelly old man (real name: Martin Ellyn), became an unwanted celebrity. So now he is suing for it.

The encounter went something like this ... while filming an episode of MTV's "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory" Rob and his friend were trying to locate an unpleasant smell. When they saw an elderly man walking down the street, they attributed the unpleasant odor to him -- simultaneously creating the nickname Smelly Old Man and the current lawsuit. Shortly after the episode was aired, Ellyn's nephew sent him the YouTube clip of the episode.

Smelly Old Man claims that the jokes did not stop after production crews closed up show, and he is now given air fresheners by friends and relatives. In the complaint, Ellyn argues that MTV used his image without his permission and now seeks $25,000 in damages stemming from the continued humiliation he has endured since the episode aired.

Playboy Playmate of the Year is a huge honor in the bunny ears circle. Attempted murder is a huge charge in any circle. Note the inconsistency here. Playboy Playmate Angela Dorian has been charged with attempted murder. Angela Dorian was Playboy's Playmate of the year in 1968. The now 66 year-old former model was recently in a fight with her lover when she decided it would be a good idea to shoot him in the chest.

The NY Daily News reports that Dorian (real name: Victoria Vetri, also known as Victoria Rathgeb) has been charged with attempted murder and bail has been set at $1 million. The boyfriend was rushed to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. The Daily News adds that the couple was in some type of argument that turned physical during the time of the shooting.

The name "The Real Housewives" is becoming an increasingly deceiving adjective for the popular show that chronicles the lives of wealthy women in Atlanta, Orange County, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Beverly Hills. Case in point, OC housewife Vicki Gunvalson files for divorce. So doesn't that mean she isn't really a housewife anymore? There are others in similar single positions on every version of the show. Good thing the show is more about the women and their lavish lifestyles than it is about the actual act of being a housewife.

People reports that OC Housewife Vicki Gunvalson filed for divorce from her husband of sixteen years, Donn Gunvalson. The couple renewed their marriage vows just last year in an episode for the show, after a very public broadcasting of the many marital woes between the two. Gunvalson is one of the few original cast members on the OC version of the Bravo show and is best known for being a very career-driven insurance agent. Donn was her second husband.

Actress Jill Quigg was made famous for her role in the film "Gone Baby Gone". The Boston native, who grew up in a housing project near the site of the movie's filming, was a success story among her neighbors. Now it looks like Quigg really is gone baby gone ... to jail that is. 35 year-old Jill Quigg was arrested in Boston and charged with stealing a television and computer printer from a her neighbor's apartment.

The Boston Herald reports that Quigg and her accomplice were stopped by police fifty yards from the crime scene and began telling the police a very questionable story which included chasing down the supposed burglars and storing the goods in Quigg's apartment for safe keeping. The pair also claimed to have heard the break-in was drug-related. Unfortunately, their story has a lot of holes in it and the victim of the break-in was able to easily identify the suspects.

The mother of a self-proclaimed teen sex addict is suing the Tyra show for featuring her child on her show discussing her sexual proclivities without her permission. According to Reuters, 15 year-old Jewel Washington answered an open call for sex addicts to come on the Tyra show to discuss the problem.

Jewel Washington was flown from her home in Georgia to New York City to tape the show. The problem? She was unaccompanied and her mother never signed any type of release. A release, she claims she never would have signed. Beverly McClendon is now seeking $3 million in damages ($1 million in compensatory, $2 million in punitive) as well as injunction against continued broadcasting of the TV episode.

Looks like Jessalyn Gilsig is taking a cue from her Glee character. Glee star Jessalyn Gilsig, famous for playing the slightly neurotic ex-wife on hit show Glee, is now becoming an ex-wife in real life as well. The 39 year-old Gilsig filed for divorce from her husband of almost six years, producer Bobby Solomon. Gilsig and Solomon have been separated for over a year, and have a 4 year-old daughter together.

Access Hollywood reports that the couple, "intend to enter into a marital settlement agreement that will divide all community assets and obligations. The issues of child custody, visitation, and support will be addressed in the parties marital settlement agreement." Of course, irreconcilable differences was the cited reason for the divorce.

Looks like things are heating up outside the hot tub for Katherine Heigl. Cops were called to Heigl's house in a hot tub dispute between Heigl and her neighbors. TMZ reports that the actress and her husband, musician Josh Kelly, were enjoying some quality time in their outdoor hot tub when a neighbor began "yelling profanities" at the couple for being too loud.

The celebrity couple's security guard called authorities and the noise issue died with the hot tub bubbles. There are, however some interesting legal lessons to be learned here. Mainly, although neighbor disputes are best resolved by communicating directly with the noisy neighbor at first, yelling profanities is not the ideal mode of communication. Why? Because tensions can remain long after the noise (or other neighbor problem) dies down.

Dennis Hopper may be having a hard time with the whole rest in peace concept. Issues surrounding his estate have been going on since the actor died of cancer in May of this year. First it was his estate suing his wife, Victoria Hopper (Duffy), for taking valuable art work from their home following his death. At the time of Hopper's passing, the couple was estranged and in a heated divorce battle. Now, Victoria is fighting back and filed a $45 million creditors claim against the estate.

Duffy was Hopper's fifth wife, and twenty one years younger than the departed actor. TMZ reports on some of the funds Victoria is seeking: hundreds of thousands of dollars in laywers fees, a share of Hopper's properties, money to help raise the couple's seven year-old daughter, $2.26 million in lost income during her marriage, $10 million for defamation (stemming from the couple's unfinished divorce proceeding), $4,000 for horse expenses.

Dora the Explorer is a wildly popular cartoon on Nickelodeon that follows the bi-lingual Dora on her, well explorations. Now Dora is exploring the legal world. The Dora the Explorer actress is suing Nickelodeon, claiming the network (owned by Viacom) cheated her out of millions of dollars. 14 year-old Caitlin Sanchez, who has been the voice of Dora since 2007, claims that Nickelodeon misrepresented itself in the initial contract negotiations and has been cheating her out of her money ever since.

The Daily Finance quotes Sanchez's attorney, John Balestriere:

"Through the contract and repeated promises, which Nickelodeon did not keep, defendants Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Consumer Products, along with Caitlin's talent agency .... took advantage of the young girl and her family, and in doing so, received enormous value from Caitlin without paying her promised compensation for the reasonable value of her services."

Balestriere also argues that the contract contained, "convoluted, vague, and undefined terms."

The latest love to lose its luster in Hollywood is songstress Christina Aguilera and producer husband Jordan Bratman. After five years or wedded bliss and one child, Aguilera and Bratman split. However, unlike most Hollywood couples, the couple did not go straight to divorce but are instead trying out a separation arrangement.

People quotes a source close to the couple: "Yes they are separated. Right now they're just trying to figure things out. There are no divorce proceedings at this point. They have their ups and downs like all married couples. They argue like everyone else." Recognizing the ups and downs of a marriage, and the potential for reconciliation, makes a separation the best option in this situation.

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

-Eminem, Lose Yourself

Eight Mile Style LLC, Eminem's publisher, has told a U.S. District Court judge that Apple Computer Inc. and Aftermath Records have already had their one shot to pay up on a $2.2 million settlement. The lawsuit originally arose over iTunes downloads. The settlement from Apple was originally less than the $2.2 million figure, but has grown due to interest and attorney fees, The Detroit News reports.

"Did I do that?"

You know its a sad say when Screech is getting his house foreclosed yet again, and Urkel is accused to slapping around his baby's mama.

Jaleel White, star of '90s sitcom Family Matters, is accused of domestic violence by Bridget Hardy, the mother of his child and former girlfriend. According to Hardy, Jaleel punched her in one of her breast implants while their child was in the car with them. Their fight continued until they made it home, where Jaleel allegedly slapped Hardy and pushed her into a toilet hard enough to break the tank.

Former "Dallas" star Larry Hagman is walking tall these days. The 79 year-old actor was recently awarded an $11 million judgment in a securities arbitration suit with Citigroup. A financial industry regulatory authority arbitration panel recently ruled that the financial giant must pay $10 million in punitive damages to charities selected by Hagman, $1.1 million in compensatory damages, and $440,000 in legal fees.

The New York Daily News reports that Larry Hagman sued Smith Barney brokerage division (which was previously owned by Citigroup) for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, failure to supervise, and violations of state and federal laws relating to securities. He originally sought $1.35 million in damages. All the causes of action stem from various securities accounts and a life insurance policy held by Hagman. Very few details have been released in this case.

Oh no she didn't. Keeping up the with Kardashians is hard! The latest headline to come from the reality television family is straight out of a New York night club where a women throws a drink at Kim Kardashian.

Kim was out with her sisters Khloe and Kourtney when a male fan asked her for her autograph. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend was not too happy about the encounter and instead of throwing her drink on her boyfriend (or not throwing it at all) she decided to take aim at Kim. And yes, the cameras were rolling to catch the liquid assault. Perez Hilton reports that the girlfriend threw her drink on Kim and then a frenzy ensued in which Khole grabbed the girl and others try to dry up the situaiton.

CHiPs star Larry Wilcox has come a long ways from his a role as a motorcycle officer on the '70s hit TV show. Actually, he has assumed the exact opposite role from a law enforcement officer, and is now learning how seriously some laws are enforced. The 63 year-old Larry Wilcox has been charged with securities fraud as part of a larger penny-stock promoters circle.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Wilcox, "perpetrated interrelated kickback schemes with two other penny-stock company executives. What the promoters and insiders did not know is that was that the people with whom they arranged these illegal transactions were actually undercover FBI agents or confidential sources participating in undercover operations." Wilcox was the CEO of the company UC Hub Group.

Two's a charm? Unfortunately the saying is three's a charm, but hopefully a second round in bankruptcy court will be the last for the latest celebrity to fall so deeply in debt that she is forced to file for bankruptcy. Toni Braxton filed for a second bankruptcy in California claiming to owe somewhere between $10-$50 million in multiple states.

TMZ reports that the 43 year-old songstress, who has sold more than 40 million records in her career, just can't seem to handle her finances. Braxton filed for a very public bankruptcy in 1998, and had a lien placed on her property by the IRS earlier this year. Her debts have more range than her vocals --owing money to everyone from Neiman Marcus to the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Braxton also claims she owes money to both the Nevada and California DMV, as well as several outstanding parking violations in Los Angeles.

An accident on the set of Transformers 3 has led to a major lawsuit against Paramount Pictures and Ryerson Inc., a metal distributor from Chicago. Cabriela Cedillo was thrilled when she landed a role as an extra on the Transformers film. She was making minimum wage but was excited about the opportunity as she wanted to become a feature actress.

However, on September 1, things took an irreversible turn for the worse. It's "something that certainly should never have happened, something that we believe occurred as a result of carelessness," said her attorney, Todd Smith. Smith was speaking of the stunt injury accident that left Cedillo brain damaged, paralyzed on the left side and with her left eye stitched shut. 

From New Jersey Housewife Danielle Staub settling a defamation case to reports that New York Housewife Ramona Singer punched a show producer, these ladies don't seem to be much in the way of housewives these days. The Examiner reports that 53 year-old Singer got mad while shooting a scene for the upcoming fourth season of the hit Bravo show, and punched one of the producers.

The Examiner quotes a source present when the punch took place, "She was furious and felt like the producers were ganging up on her. She literally lost her mind. No one is really sure what exactly spurred the craziness. But she got herself worked up over filing this scene and one thing led to another and she punched the producer. Literally." The crew was scheduled to be filming in her apartment all day with fellow cast mates Sonja Morgan and Alex McCord, but cut the shoot short after the incident.

Pop sensation Ke$ha (her real name does not have a dollar sign in it) claims her former manager is an unlicensed agent. So what? He got her jobs, right? Well, in the state of California it is a big problem when an unlicensed agent is working for their client. Such a big deal that Ke$ha has asked the California Labor Commissioner to declare her contract with her former manager void based on his lack of a license.

Reuters sheds some light on the case: Ke$ha was sued by her former manager, David Sonenberg (of DAS Communications) for unpaid commissions to the tune of $14 million. This suit was filed in New York and is still being fought. Ke$ha's current countersuit against DAS communications was filed in California because it is illegal to "procure" work for a client without a license. In her petition, Ke$ha claims that there was lots of California procuring going on, ranging from performing at house parties to songwriting gigs.

The Real Housewives franchise is like the show that just keeps giving. Legally speaking, that is. The New Jersey cast has been especially generous in their legal lessons, teaching the audience about everything from restraining orders to assault to drunk driving to bankruptcy. Let's now add defamation and settlement to the list.

New Jersey Housewife Danielle Staub settled with her ex-husband Kevin Maher over a defamation lawsuit he brought against her when she called Maher a wife-beating rapist, among other things in various press interviews. Oh yes, and she also called him a dog killer. Although the terms of the Danielle Staub defamation settlement are private, Maher originally sought $5 million dollars from the reality television star.

Let Me Love You is just one of the many chart-topping songs singer Mario has produced. It seems that he has a funny way of showing his love. Mario was recently arrested for assaulting his mother, Shawntia Hardaway.

According to the New York Daily News, 24 year-old Mario (real name: Mario Dewar Bennett) was arrested on Friday morning for second degree assault and later released on $50,000 bond. The NY Daily News adds that police found several broken items in the apartment Mario shares with his mother, including a broken mirror, china cabinent, and hole in a hallway closet. 45 year-old Hardaway called police in the early morning hours to report the incident, and also told police that Mario pushed her, causing "minor pain." She also told police that she feared for her life.

Although reality television supposedly gives a realistic and uncensored eye into the lives and times of the cast, it is not a bad idea to be aware that broadcasting one's activities can come with side effects. Take Teen Mom star Amber Portwood. Portwood got into an on-air fight with ex-fiancé Gary Shirley in a recent episode of the MTV reality show. The Teen Mom fight episode has now lead to a police invetigation.

Aptly titled "Lashing Out", the episode shows Portwood hitting and kicking the much bigger Shirley. The National Ledge quotes a spokesperson from the Anderson Police Department: "We were made aware of the domestic violence abuse following the episode that aired on MTV. Based on that there was a case drafted and a detective assigned. The Department of Child Protective Services in Indiana notified us that they had been aware of the incident as well."

Long time CBS radio reporter Howard Arenstein arrested. That's the latest headline coming out of the nation's capital. Howard Arenstein was arrested for growing marijuana, according to the Huffington Post. Howard Arenstein is an award-winning journalist and long-time resident of Washington D.C.

The 60 year-old Arenstein and his 57 year-old wife, Orly Azoulay, were arrested early Sunday after police were tipped off that the couple was growing marijuana plants in their Georgetown backyard. The couple has four children together. According to the police report, Arenstein had eleven cannabis plants (each standing over eight feet tall) and six two-ounce baggies of marijuana at the time of the arrest. Each plant can produce up to one pound of pot.

Paris Hilton has finally found her soulmate, or at the very least, someone who gets in legal trouble as frequently as she does. Fresh off an arrest on DUI in Las Vegas in the company of the Blond One, Cy Waits is again in legal trouble with a report of a hit and run incident with a paparazzi in Los Angeles.

In a typical celeb vs. paps scene, E!Online reports that Hilton and Waits were leaving a restaurant on the evening of September 29, when their car was swarmed with paparazzi. According to comments from Los Angeles Sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore, the car was surrounded by the photographers (the name paparazzi, in case you did not know, comes from the Italian word for mosquito) when Waits tried to move the car forward. One female photographer reportedly jumped in front of the car and was hit. Waits claims he did not know at the time he hit someone.

Not quite sure how many readers are going to be surprised by the headline "Heidi montag calls off divorce from husband Spencer Pratt," but here's to hoping. The 24 year-old Montag and her 27 year-old husband have decided to give love another chance.

ABC News quotes the reality star on her decision to dismiss her divorce: "We do love each other and we realized we do want to spend the rest of our lives together. We are back together and we are trying to make things work." The couple's reconciliation will most likely be followed by tabloids every step of the way. There are, however, legal lessons to be learned from this reality television couple.

"All current orders remain in full force and effect." Those were the words from Los Angeles judge Reva Goetz in the Britney Spears conservatorship case. After a forty minute meeting with a Los Angeles judge, Britney Spears will remain under conservatorship, with her father Jamie Spears and attorney James Wallet in full control of her estate.

The NY Daily News reports that Spears and her father met with Goetz individually before the determination was made. Spears has been under the control of her father since February 2008 when the pop star had a series of events that required placing her under involuntary psychiatric treatment on two separate occasions. After a very public downfall (head shaving incident may ring a bell), Spears lost control of her assets and temporarily lost custody of her two young sons. Spears described her downfall on her blog: "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. I was like a bad kid running around with ADD."

Eat, Pray, Love, Adopt. It seems like actress Julia Roberts enjoyed shooting her hit film in India so much that she is looking to adopt a baby from the country. Already practicing the primary religion of the country, Hindu, Julia Roberts adopting from India will make it four for the actress.

The 42 year-old actress and her husband of eight years, Danny Moder, have three children together -- twins, Finn and Hazel, and son, Henry. The Julia Roberts adoption is reportedly already in place according to NDTV, although very few details are known at this time. A close friend of the couple is quoted in NDTV:

"Julia has wanted more children for years. But her past pregnancies were fraught with complications and she was forced into extended hospital stay right before she had her twins. After all she has been through, she realizes that adoption is perhaps the best way forward. Julia and Danny love the idea of having another baby in the house. And it feels so right that the next member of the family should come from a different culture."