July 2012 Archives

The parents of 'Expendables 2' stuntman Kun Liu have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the producers Nu Image and Millennium Films. The suit also names the movie's stunt coordinator as a defendant.

Liu was died last year while working on the movie in Bulgaria. He was performing on a rubber boat in Ognyanovo dam when a nearby explosion went wrong. The accident killed Liu and injured two others.

No one is arguing that the accident was intentional but Liu's parents are still suing for his funeral and burial expenses along with loss of society and companionship.

E.L. James's novel 50 Shades of Grey has taken the U.S. by storm and its erotic nature, including a steamy BDSM contract, has caused quite the buzz.

Love it or hate it, the book is big news, selling millions of copies.

If you haven't read it yet, there might be some spoilers below. But if you have read it, you must have been curious about the contract that Christian Grey offers to the book's narrator, Anastasia Steele.

The contract sets out terms for a BDSM sexual arrangement between Grey and Steele which made us wonder: would it survive in court?

Katherine Jackson's custody battle over Michael Jackson's kids is apparently resolved, as the late King of Pop's mother has agreed to share guardianship, CNN reports.

Katherine Jackson, 82, will share custody of the children with her grandson T.J. Jackson, 34, the son of Michael's famous brother Tito, the grandmother's lawyer said. A judge granted T.J. Jackson temporary guardianship earlier this week after Katherine was reported missing.

The new proposed custody agreement is designed to relieve the grandmother of some of the "day-to-day tedium" that being a guardian entails, her lawyer said. Those tasks include:

A hearing on the temporary guardianship of Michael Jackson's children is likely to happen sometime soon and T.J. Jackson may be applying to be their guardian. The 32-year-old cousin of Prince, Paris, and Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket) is having his attorney draft papers asking for temporary guardianship.

The executors of Michael Jackson's estate are also filing for temporary guardianship after the disappearance of Katherine Jackson. The matriarch's home was invaded by Michael's siblings and the kids were removed from the home for their safety.

Katherine Jackson is the legal guardian for the children. But her current disappearance means she may lose that role.

You have to expect a certain amount of abuse when you attend a live comedy show. Especially if you sit front row at an Eddie Griffin show. 

However, the abuse may have crossed the line last week during a club fight in Pleasanton, California. Griffin allegedly baited a lesbian woman and her partner, threw drinks at her and sent the woman fleeing.

The woman, Fiona Walshe, has already contacted a lawyer. Right now, they are asking for an apology and compensation from the comedian and the club. They still haven't formally filed a lawsuit, reports the Huffington Post.

The rapper Common found himself the target of a common foreclosure action by Bank of America. The bank says that Common is $345,389 arrears on his Chicago condo.

Common, also known as Lonnie Lynn, and his manager Derek Dudley apparently own the 1,248 two-bedroom, two-bath condo together as an investment property and have been renting it out, reports Chicagoist. Bank of America says that the rapper and his manager have not made a payment since March.

It's likely that some of Common's "people" simply forgot about the property and neglected to make the payments. Regardless of the reason, Common may now have to work out a plan with the bank if he wants to keep his property.

Life imitating art. Or art imitating life? Ex-Hot Boys rapper B.G. was sentenced to 14 years in prison for weapons possession and witness tampering charges.

Prosecutors also tried to link the former Cash Money rapper to two notorious local criminals. The link was allegedly provided by B.G. himself, in his own rap lyrics.

Actor Fred Willard was arrested at a seedy Hollywood adult movie theater called the Tiki Theater for lewd conduct, Fox News reports.

It's not clear what type of lewd conduct Willard was allegedly engaged in at the time of his arrest, but XXX movies with titles like "Step Dad No. 2" were reportedly playing at the theater. You probably won't want to create a mental picture.

Perhaps someone should tell the 72-year-old actor about the Internet, where one can watch limitless amounts of XXX movies and engage in all sorts of legal lewd conduct in the privacy of one's own home. That may have saved him from this embarrassing arrest.

Justin Bieber's chase on a Los Angeles freeway last week could set the stage for the first-ever prosecution under California's anti-paparazzi law.

Bieber, 18, got a ticket for reckless driving over 80 mph in his shiny Fisker Karma. Paparazzi were in hot pursuit of the pop icon, the witness who called 911 told the Los Angeles Times. That witness just so happens to be a Los Angeles city councilman.

"Any time you do 90, the paparazzi are going to go 90," the councilman told the paper. So what may allow prosecutors to press charges against at the paparazzi?

Jennifer Lopez says she left American Idol voluntarily, but it may be that the singer/actress was fired after asking for another raise.

In what would have been her third season on the popular Fox show, Jennifer Lopez reportedly asked for a $2-million-dollar raise. This comes just a year after she got a $3 million raise boosting her salary from $12 million her first year to $15 million in her second (and last) year, reports Reuters.

Instead of countering Jennifer Lopez's raise demands, Fox reportedly just let her go, reports Reuters.

Katie Holmes' car crash with a garbage truck left the divorcing actress and daughter Suri a bit shaken but unhurt. The parties involved are now likely trying to figure out who will pay for damages.

Holmes, 33, and Suri, 6, had hopped into a black Mercedes Benz sedan about 9:30 p.m. Monday, after the girl's gymnastics class in Manhattan, the New York Daily News reports. A driver, not Holmes, was behind the wheel.

A few blocks later, a garbage truck somehow crashed into the back of the Mercedes, leaving a dent in the car. So who's going to pay?

Perhaps no one can whip up teenage girls into a frenzy quite like Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber is being sued by an Oregon woman because she claims that Bieber drove his concert audience a little too wild. The woman says that Bieber got the mostly female teen crowd screaming to a fever pitch as he swung over them in a gondola.

With the crowd screaming, Bieber encouraged even more noise, causing Stacy Wilson Betts to suffer extensive hearing damage, the mom claims. Betts had accompanied her daughter to the concert.

Usher's stepson, Kile Glover, may be removed from life support in a month if someone does not step up and pay his medical bills.

Glover has been on life support since a tragic Jet Ski accident last week. Reports are that Glover's insurance company is willing to continue paying for the expensive life support only for a couple of months.

Without the insurance, Tameka Raymond, Glover's mother, may have to pay for the life support herself or find someone who will foot the bill, reports Fox 8 Cleveland.

Fair or not, Usher may catch a lot of flak if he does not offer to pay support.

Talk about first-world problems. Rapper Missy Elliot sued a Westmont, Illinois Lamborghini dealer for delivery of her car.

Elliot says she worked out a deal with the car dealership to buy a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador for $375,000. As part of the deal, Elliot agreed to put down a $30,000 down payment as well as trading in her 2005 Bentley for $85,000.

But as the Aventador's market value apparently has risen far above the original asking price of $375,000, Fox Valley Motor Cars has now refused to deliver Missy Elliot's Lambroghini, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

A Jay-Z lawsuit seeks $7 million in allegedly unpaid royalties over the iconic Roc-A-Fella Records logo.

It's apparently been a hard-knock life for New York City clothing designer Dwayne Walker, who claims he came up with the Roc-A-Fella design when the record label began making its mark in 1995, the New York Daily News reports.

But despite an alleged deal, the designer claims he's been short-changed by Jay-Z and the other fellas behind Roc-A-Fella.

Celebrity chef Cat Cora was busted for a DUI in June after she rear-ended another vehicle in Santa Barbara.

No one was hurt in the accident but when police arrived they reportedly found Cora showing signs of intoxication. She admitted to having three beers earlier in the night and reportedly told the officers that she was on her way home. She also had an argument with her partner earlier in the night reported the Santa Barbara Independent.

Three beers may or may not put you over the limit, but Cora is a diminutive 4'11" according to Google and she looks pretty slim on camera.

Robin Thicke crashes his very expensive looking Porsche into a parked car... then gets a ride home from cops. Talk about star treatment.

A look at Thicke's mangled Porsche and you would think someone was seriously injured. Fortunately for Thicke, he was not hurt and there was nobody inside the parked Volkswagen that he hit.

Thicke stayed at the scene of the accident and gave police a statement. He said that a car cut him off as he pulled onto Sunset Boulevard. When he swerved to avoid that car, he ended up crashing into the parked car, reports Monsters and Critics.

The quick divorce finalized Monday between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise may have been accomplished in part by her cell phone.

Cruise may have been surprised by the divorce, but Holmes was ready. She spoke to divorce lawyers and had her affairs in order before she broke the news. But she didn't talk on her own cell phone. Presumably, Cruise could have seen the calls and known what was up.

To cover her tracks, Holmes turned to a friend who provided her with a disposable cell phone according to CBS News.

That small step may have saved her months in family court over a drawn-out divorce.

She may play a good lawyer on TV but that doesn't make Julianna Margulies immune to lawsuits. The Good Wife star was sued by her former management company on Monday for breach of contract.

D/F Management represented Margulies from 2009 until 2011 when she fired them. During that time they helped her land her current role on The Good Wife as well as a lucrative deal as a spokeswoman for L'Oreal according to Deadline Hollywood.

They now claim she owes them $420,000 in unpaid commissions and they want an order entitling them to a continued 10%.

They weren't working for Margulies during any of the time that they claim she owed them money, but they still may have a case.

The Octomom's strip club debut has set the stage for a lawsuit.

Nadya Suleman, the unemployed mother of 14 including her famous octuplets, allegedly signed a contract to shake her money-maker at T's Lounge (get it, "Tease"?) in West Palm Beach, Fla., the Palm Beach Post reports. Her debut was set for Friday.

But after some teasing by a T's staffer on TV, Suleman bailed on the deal, and now plans to make her dirty dancing debut at a rival strip club instead.

That's grounds for a lawsuit, T's owner says.

Deadbeat dads are getting more creative in avoiding child support.

And those looking to capture deadbeat dads are taking extraordinary measures.

In Pennsylvania, a woman and her bounty hunter (yes, her bounty hunter) came up with a ruse involving Jennifer Aniston to catch a deadbeat dad. The bounty hunter contacted 40-year-old Joshua Garlathy to tell him that he was up for a starring role in Aniston's new rom-com. Eager to jump at his big chance, Garlathy boarded a plane from Hawaii, where he lived, to Pennsylvania. When he stepped off the plane, he was arrested.

Usher's stepson, Kyle Glover, was declared brain dead Monday morning after an accident. The 11-year-old boy was tubing on Lake Lanier in Georgia on Friday, when he and a friend were run over by a man on a personal watercraft, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Glover and the other victim were airlifted to a hospital. Glover has not shown any signs of brain activity since his admission, according to his doctors.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported that alcohol was not involved, but officials still don't know how the crash occurred.

It wasn't a bird or a plane, but the silver bullet-like Biebermobile that got pop star Justin Bieber pulled over for speeding in Southern California this morning.

Believe it or not, the Biebs was allegedly clocked going more than 100 mph on U.S. 101 in Los Angeles about 11 a.m., KCBS-TV reports. A pair of California Highway Patrol officers stopped Bieber in his shiny chrome Fisker Karma -- a birthday present from his manager that cost $100,000, according to the Los Angeles Times.

So what's the likely penalty for Bieber's 100 mph joyride?

When you hear that Rihanna filed a lawsuit, it may be natural to assume that she's suing her ex Chris Brown, her ex Drake, or any other celebrity ex of hers that is constantly in the news.

But surprisingly, Rihanna is suing something called Berdon LLP.

Berdon served as Rihanna's accountants for several years as the young star rose. In her lawsuit, Rihanna says that Berdon abused their position of trust and fleeced her for tens of millions of dollars, reports Entertainment Weekly.

"Raging Bull" may have been Martin Scorsese's best work. The classic boxing biopic featured a young Robert DeNiro portraying the rise and fall of boxer Jake LaMotta.

"Raging Bull 2" is just a horrible sequel that is so bad that it threatens to ruin the original classic, claims Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the producers of the first movie.

The giant Hollywood studio has now brought a lawsuit against the "Raging Bull 2" producers and boxer Jake LaMotta to shut the movie down.

A young father from MTV's "16 & Pregnant" is behind bars. Weston Gosa was arrested for an alleged DUI on the Fourth of July, but he wasn't driving drunk, police say.

Gosa, 23, who appeared in Season 1 of "16 & Pregnant," crashed his car on a road not far from his home in rural Floyd County, Ga., the local Rome News-Tribune reports. Cops found the prescription drugs Xanax and Lorcet, along with a pipe with residue, in Gosa's wrecked vehicle, a police report states.

Gosa was allegedly driving under the influence of prescription drugs, for which he did not have a prescription, gossip website TMZ reports. So how does a drug-related DUI differ from an alcohol-related DUI?

"Jersey Shore" cast member Deena Cortese is $106 poorer, after a judge fined her for failing to use the sidewalk on a busy Jersey street, New Jersey's Asbury Park Press reports.

Cops busted Cortese, 25, after drivers complained she was drunk in the middle of traffic in Seaside Heights, N.J., last month. Cortese was allegedly slapping cars as she danced in the street.

A judge Tuesday dismissed Cortese's disorderly conduct charge and slapped her instead with a traffic code violation. A glance at that code suggests it's not just sidewalks that could get Cortese in more legal trouble down the road.

The Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise divorce is moving forward, as both actors lawyer up ahead of what could be a dramatic court saga. One of the first issues will likely be: Where will the divorce case take place?

As a couple, TomKat lived at a home in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Times reports. But Katie Holmes filed for divorce in New York last week, when Tom Cruise was busy at a film shoot in Iceland, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

So can a New York divorce court even hear their case? It depends on whether the couple meets New York’s residency requirements.