lawsuits

Back in the News: Jeffrey Epstein and His Special Friend

cityfile · 07/07/09 02:06PM

Jeffrey Epstein, the shadowy money manager who pleaded guilty in 2007 to soliciting underage teen girls for sex, is expected to leave a Florida prison in a couple of weeks. (Not that he's been spending much time behind bars in recent months: As part of a work-release program, he's been allowed to leave the jail from 10am to 10 pm, six days a week, to "work" out of his "office" in West Palm Beach.) But while Epstein has something to be cheerful about these days, one of his old acquaintances was handed a major defeat last week. Maximilia "Ava" Cordero, the transgender teenager who sued Epstein and claimed she'd been forced to engage in "bizarre and unnatural sex acts" with the billionaire in exchange for his help advancing her career as a model, just lost her libel and defamation lawsuit against the New York Post.

Bret Michaels, Bee Gees Square Off Against Pianos

cityfile · 07/01/09 11:41AM

The music industry isn't in the best shape at the moment. How are record labels, performance rights organizations and artists hoping to make up for plunging revenues and non-existent profits? They're taking aim at New York bars and clubs, that's how. Earlier this week, BMI and collection of labels and artists filed suit against Pianos on the Lower East Side for having the nerve to play hits like the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" and Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" without having the permission to do so. You didn't think the day would come when Bret Michaels would be facing off against a bar on Ludlow Street? That day has arrived!

Roger Friedman Wants Millions from Fox

Richard Lawson · 06/30/09 01:09PM

As we know, Roger Friedman—the writer who got fired by Fox for reviewing an illegally leaked online version of the film Wolverine but claimed it was really a crazy Scientology conspiracy—is suing. The amount? $5.18 million.

The End of Vibe, Wall-to-Wall Jackson Coverage

cityfile · 06/30/09 11:45AM

• The urban/music magazine Vibe is shutting down. [Daily Finance]
• Media coverage of Michael Jackson's death is now "receding." Not that there was any other place for it to go but down: A report finds that 93% of the coverage on cable late last week was Jackson-related. [AP, Journalism.org]
• Or maybe not. Katie Couric anchors a big Jacko special on CBS tonight. [NYO]
• Fired Fox News columnist Roger Friedman has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against Fox News, News Corp, 20th Century Fox and Rupert Murdoch. He'd like $5.2 million, please. [HuffPo]

More Headaches (And Lawsuits) at the New York Times

cityfile · 06/23/09 03:27PM

The New York Times Co. has been tangling with Boston newspaper unions ever since it threatened to shut down the Boston Globe if the unions didn't agree to wage and benefit concessions. Now its union troubles are hitting closer to home. Last fall, Times Co. decided to shut down City and Suburban Delivery Systems, a Times subsidiary that was responsible for distributing the Times as well as other papers like the Wall Street Journal and New York Post. Closing C&S eliminated 550 full-time jobs, many of whom were union employees; the paper said it planned to rely on independent distribution companies instead, since they're "generally nonunion and pay drivers less." The decision has since stirred up quite a bit of controversy, not surprisingly, both with employees who took a buyout offer the Times and those who didn't. And now it's ended up in court. If you've ever wanted to pore over a ream of newspaper union agreements, you'll get your chance by clicking through and reading the complete lawsuit below.

World's Worst Artist, Jesus Team Up For Scam

Hamilton Nolan · 06/19/09 09:46AM

Thomas "Painter of Darkness" Kinkade, the world's single most objectionable mass-producer of wall-hangings for middle American Baptists, is not just a terrible offender against aesthetics—he's also a crook!

Madoff Boys Slapped With Suit

cityfile · 06/17/09 08:14AM

Bernie Madoff has been sued by a long list of former investors. Now his sons will get to share in the excitement. Two former employees of Bernard L. Madoff Securities have filed suit against Andy and Mark Madoff and claim the two brothers were well aware of the $65 billion Ponzi scheme and made efforts to "cloak the massive fraud of the Madoff investment advisory business." Richard Stahl and Reed Abend are now demanding $2 million in deferred compensation from the Madoff boys. And while it's unlikely the sons could come up with that kind of cash even if they wanted to, Abend, at least, could always resort to extra-legal justice if he's forced to. He's the same ex-employee who allegedly shoved and punched Andy Madoff when he ran into him on the street back in May. [NYDN]

Girlfight at Citigroup!

cityfile · 06/10/09 01:00PM

Citigroup could be focusing its attention on salvaging what remains of the broken bank, or restoring what remains of its reputation. Or it could just keep filing lawsuits against people over silly little things and charge it back to taxpayers. Not content, apparently, with flexing its muscle in the mobile billboard market and illustrious pawn shop industry, Citigroup's team of $900-an hour attorneys is now focusing its firepower on a website called Womenco.com, which bills itself as a networking site for "career-minded women," and is owned by Monster.com. Citi, you see, operates a female-centric money management business called Women & Co. and the bank is now concerned that the public will confuse its "women" with their "women." So Citi slapped the company with a lawsuit on Monday, arguing that WomenCo.com violated its trademark and is threatening its status as "one of the largest and most renowned banking and financial institutions in the United States and throughout the world." (Citigroup's words, not ours, obviously.) The full suit is below, if you'd like to have a look. You might as well. You paid for it.