Sooner or later 

2/12/13

By Caitlin Tremblay 

A Dallas man has been slapped with a lawsuit  by the University of Oklahoma for allegedly cybersquatting on a domain name, reports NewsOK,  a site that covers Oklahoma. The school, whose sports teams are known as the Sooners, has sued Michael Glenn in Oklahoma City federal court for registering www.soonernetwork.com in order to later sell it to the school for profit.  

Glenn said he was using the domain for legitimate purposes and originally bought it to use as a network.

The university says the name is “confusingly similar” to its other domains and networks that it owns, like soonersports.com and Oklahoma Sooner Radio Network. It is seeking an injunction barring Glenn from using UO trademarks in the future and is asking for $100,000 in damages, any profits Glenn has made and the rights to soonernetwork.com. 

NewsOK reported on Monday that the site seemed to be a service that connected Oklahoma residents to eldercare providers, but now the URL redirects to a page of website hoster GoDaddy, suggesting it has been taken offline.

Award to assault victim 

2/12/13 

By Eileen Daspin  

A Florida jury has awarded $1.7 million to a girl who was sexually assaulted on a school bus when she was 3-1/2 years old, reports Lawyers.com.  

The girl, now a fourth grader, was left alone with 15-year-old J.C. Carter on Jan. 16, 2007, when he allegedly raped her. During the trial, the school claimed the incident only involved “inappropriate touching” because Carter did not take off his pants. The school board’s lawyer, Tom McCausland, said the girl, who was a special needs student, didn’t remember the incident because of “infantile amnesia.” Carter was found not mentally competent to stand trial. 

An attorney for the girl’s family, Stephan Le Clainche, argued that Carter would not have had to take off his pants to open his zipper and that the girl, who he described as “profoundly traumatized” by the encounter, requires a lifetime of medical care.   

To receive the entire $1.7 million award, the girl’s parents will have to seek special approval from the state legislature since a state law caps payouts by the school board at $100,000. 

“My daughter finally got justice,” the girl’s mother said. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this.” 

Divested interests   

2/12/13

By Dan Brillman 

Mary Jo White is headed for confirmation hearings as SEC chair, where she’ll have to answer questions about possible conflicts of interest that might affect her job as Wall Street’s top cop. In other words, let the resignings and maneuverings begin, writes the American Lawyer. White, a soon-to-be-retired Debevoise & Plimpton partner, already disclosed her finances, in accordance with the nomination process. (As a retiree, White is entitled to secretarial services, a Blackberry and office space but says she will forego these as long as she is at the agency. As for the $510,000 a year she is entitled to as part of her retirement package, she will take four years’ worth as a lump sum upon her confirmation.) 

Now AmLaw reports that White’s husband John is changing his professional arrangements as well, converting from an equity partner to become the first nonequity partner in the history of Cravath, Swaine and Moore. He will earn a salary and be eligible for an annual performance bonus but will no longer share in the overall profits of the firm. 

White’s disclosure letter to the SEC’s ethics board says that her husband is planning to sell three hedge fund investments but does not explain why, other than to say she will not “participate personally or substantially” in any regulatory matter, that could potentially become a conflict. As AmLaw notes, the SEC is currently rewriting the rules for hedge funds. 

According to her letter, White is also resigning from positions with the Columbia Law School Board of Visitors, the Riot Relief Fund, the Citizens Crime Commission of New York and the ASPCA. 

Blame game  

2/12/13

By Anna Louie Sussman 

Defense lawyers for Christopher Harris, a 33-year-old Armington, Illinois, man accused of murdering five members of a family, are planning to argue that Harris killed one member of the family, Dillen Constant, in self defense; that Constant murdered his parents, Ruth and Rick Gee, and two of their children; and that videogames may have played a role in Constant's murderous rampage.   

Harris claims that he walked in on Constant, who had already killed four family members, and that he then killed Constant in self-defense. Harris and his defense team say that Constant was mentally unstable, and that videogames may have influenced his behavior, Illinois newspaper the Pantagraph reports.  

Defense lawyers asked that the director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University be allowed to testify. Michael Atterberry, the assistant attorney general for Illinois, made no objections to them hiring the expert. 

Harris’s younger brother Jason, 25, has also been charged with murder.  A hearing is scheduled for March 1 in Peoria County court. 

Peeved audience  

2/12/13

By Suhrith Parthasarathy 

If letters written to the Federal Communications Commission are to be believed, the cast of "Saturday Night Live" has for years been running a human trafficking ring and might even be responsible for the British phone hacking scandal (hat-tip: Huffington Post).

The letters come to light thanks to the website governmentattic.org, which submitted a Freedom of Information request to the FCC asking for every complaint the agency received about SNL between 2008 and 2012.

Viewers, Gothamist reports, were seemingly peeved about everything in the show from swearing and cursing to a sexual parody that included the Hindu deity Ganesh and "weird sex." Sample this complaint: "Jamie Foxx was talking about his new movie on SNL and explaining how he got to kill all the white people in the movie."

Another sounded off thusly: "I would like to report that the cast of this (sic) from 1988 onwards have run a fraud, racketeering, human trafficking, illegal surveillance and identity theft ring. They may even be behind, ultimately, the British phone hacking scandal."

A less irate person wrote: "In regards to actress Jenny Slate's use of the word (redacted).... I do not find this at all objectionable, obscene or profane, and I am asking that the FCC refrain from fining the actress, the show's producer, and/or NBC."

Summary Judgments for February 11 

Summary Judgments for February 8 

Summary Judgments for February 7 

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