Recently in Federal Courts Category

Dr. Phil’s production company has filed suit against Gawker Media for posting footage of the TV therapist’s interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man behind the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, on Deadspin.com.

The suit was filed Monday in a Texas federal court by Peteski Productions, one of the producers of the Dr. Phil show.

The complaint alleges the sports gossip website posted the juiciest parts of the interview online before it had aired in the majority of Dr. Phil markets.

In its copyright infringement lawsuit, Dr. Phil’s producers also include an artful “suckerfish” reference:

“A remora is a fish, sometimes called a suckerfish, which attaches itself to other fish like sharks,” the complaint states. “The host fish gains nothing from the relationship but the remora is enriched by obtaining benefits (usually food and transportation) from the host… Gawker received substantial benefits from its infringement but Pateski received nothing…”

Three college friends of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect removed a backpack with fireworks emptied of gunpowder from his dorm room three days after the attack, according to the attached FBI affidavit.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev are charged with conspiring to obstruct justice. A third man, Robel Phillipos, is charged with making false statements to federal investigators.

The FBI affidavit says Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev agreed to get rid of the backpack after concluding from news reports that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was one of the bombers.

The FBI alleges that on the night of April 18, after the FBI released photos of the bombing suspects, the three men went to Tsarnaev's dorm room. The men noticed a backpack containing fireworks, which had been opened and emptied of powder.

Kadyrbayev knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the bombings and decided to remove the backpack from the room "in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble," the FBI said in the affidavit. He also decided to remove Tsarnaev's laptop.

After the three men returned to Kadyrbayev's and Tazhayakov's apartment with the backpack and computer, they watched news reports featuring photographs of Tsarnaev. The affidavit says Kadyrbayev told authorities the three men then "collectively decided to throw the backpack and fireworks into the trash because they did not want Tsarnaev to get into trouble."

Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev have been held in jail for more than a week on allegations they violated their student visas while attending UMass, The Associated Press reports.

A criminal complaint against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been filed in federal court. In charging Tsarnaev with using a "weapon of mass destruction," he would not be tried before a military tribunal as an "enemy combatant."

If convicted, Tsarnaev could face the death penalty, a Justice Department news statement said. The complaint said he had his initial court appearance Monday from his hospital room, where he is currently being treated for wounds sustained before his capture on Friday.

The Justice Department unsealed the attached criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. It said he is "specifically charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (namely, an improvised explosive device or IED) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death." The bombings resulted in the deaths of three people and injuries to more than 200, the department's news release said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that under U.S. law, American citizens such as Tsarnaev cannot be tried by before military commissions.

"[Tsarnaev] will not be treated as an enemy combatant," Carney said at a White House news briefing. "We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice. Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions."

Calling it a "close call," a federal judge on Wednesday allowed victims to pursue wrongful death and liability claims against Cinemark, which owns the Colorado movie theater where 12 people were shot to death last summer.

U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson indicated that it wasn't an easy decision but said the 10 lawsuits pose questions of interpretation and application of law.

"I suspect that many people, despite overwhelming sympathy and grief for the victims of the Aurora theater shootings, might upon hearing about these lawsuits have had reactions like, 'How could a theater be expected to prevent something like this?' " Jackson wrote. "I confess that I am one of those people."

James Holmes has been charged with murders and attempted murder in criminal court. Ten separate civil lawsuits were filed against Cinemark USA, which responded by saying that it couldn't have foreseen a shocking criminal act.

Jackson dismissed a claim of negligence but let stand a claim of wrongful death and another claim filed under Colorado's Premises Liability Act.

The morning-after pill for emergency contraception, popularly known as “Plan B,” must be made available over the counter to girls 16 and under, a New York federal judge has ruled.

The ruling could end a long battle over how easy or difficult it should be for teenage girls to obtain emergency contraception. The ruling would also make it easier for all women to obtain the morning-after pill because it wouldn’t have to be kept behind drugstore counters anymore.

The judge’s order effectively overturns a controversial 2011 decision by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius that barred over-the-counter sales of the pill to girls under 17.

After years of study and internal debate, the FDA had decided that Plan B One Step should be allowed for sale without a prescription — and without age restrictions. Sebelius’ controversial ruling overturned the FDA’s decision.

Senior Judge Edward R. Korman, of the Eastern District of New York, ruled that Sebelius’s ruling on Plan B was “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” Judge Korman went on to call Sebelius’ decision “politically motivated, scientifically unjustified, and contrary to agency precedent ….”

Thinking about making some cash selling your massive iTunes library? Think again.

A federal judge has declared a unique website enabling the online sale of pre-owned digital music files unlawful. "The first sale defense is limited to material items, like records, that the copyright owner put into the stream of commerce," ruled U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan.

This is bad news for ReDigi, which launched in October, 2011 with a bold idea: If the "first sale" doctrine in copyright law permits the re-selling of acquired copyrighted material, let's create an online market for "used" digital music.

Judge Sullivan's ruling has, for now, dampened the idea of reselling of digital goods. If it holds up, the ruling could mean digital sales venues would have to get the permission of right holders. Stay tuned for updates on this evolving area of the law.

A federal judge rejected a motion by the N.C.A.A. to preclude live broadcast revenues from a lawsuit by men's football and basketball players. The judge's ruling means college sports may end up owing a substantial sum of money if players win their class action lawsuit. Granted, that remains a big if at this stage.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken ruled Tuesday that the suit led by former U.C.L.A. basketball star Ed O'Bannon could proceed on its course as a class action suit and can be amended by the players to include live broadcast revenue.

The former and current NCAA athletes can now advance to the next round in a high-stakes battle that challenges the underpinnings of amateur sports and potentially puts billions of dollars of TV money on the line.

A federal defamation suit by New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was dismissed Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan in New Orleans said Vilma failed to show that Goodell acted with “actual malice” in making six reportedly libelous or slanderous statements between early March and early May of last year.

These statements came after the NFL determined that some Saints players, coaches and officials were involved in a program that awarded cash to players for knocking opponents out of games between 2009 and 2011.

Vilma’s lawsuit was one of the last open issues arising from the team’s so-called bounty scandal.

Walmart Stores Inc. has been sued by temporary workers in a Chicago federal court on charges of minimum wage and overtime violations. In the proposed class action, temporary workers, who have worked for the retail giant since early 2009, claim that Walmart and its temporary agencies required temp workers to begin work early, stay late to complete work, work through lunches or breaks and participate in trainings without compensation. All of these activities resulted in wage and overtime violations.

The suit also alleges that Walmart failed to keep adequate records of workers’ time as required by federal and state laws. The suit seeks all unpaid wages and an injunction against Walmart Stores Inc. and its temporary agencies.