May 1, 2016

Black Michigan State Police Troopers Claim Targeting for Suing State

Black troopers say they’ve faced retaliation after winning lawsuit against department struggling with diversity Buy Photo Michigan State Trooper Darzeil Hall assists at the scene of an accident on the Southfield Freeway in Detroit n April 2013. (Photo: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo In 2013, two black Michigan State Police troopers won a high-profile lawsuit against their …


Sinead O’Connor Calls Arsenio Hall’s $5 Million Defamation Lawsuit ‘Laughable’

A $5 million lawsuit was filed against singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor in relation to the death of musician, Prince. The lawsuit comes after the Irish singer alleged Arsenio Hall of providing drugs to the late singer on a social media post. Comedian Arsenio Hall filed a defamation lawsuit against Sinead O’Connor last Thursday following the singer’s Facebook post wherein she alleged that …


Suspended Pittsburgh Police Clerk’s Lawsuit in Federal Court

The trial started today in federal court for the Pittsburgh Police officer who is suing the city, claiming her civil rights were violated. In 2013, Officer Tonya Montgomery-Ford was suspended with pay. It was one day after former Pittsburgh Police chief Nate Harper resigned as the FBI investigated possible corruption in the police bureau.


HRC & Equality NC Respond to Gov. McCrory’s Reckless Lawsuit

Today, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC issued the following statements in response to the news that Governor Pat McCrory has filed a lawsuit defending his deeply discriminatory HB2. “North Carolina’s HB2 law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates federal civil rights law,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Department of Justice has already been clear that it violates the civil …


Two Plaintiffs Voluntarily Withdraw From NYC Marathon Sweepstakes Lawsuit

This January, we reported on a proposed class action sweepstakes lawsuit filed on behalf of all runners who entered the New York City Marathon’s (“Marathon”) general entry drawing (“Drawing”) between 2010 and 2015. Last month, two of the named plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew their claims against the Marathon’s organizer and operator – New York Road Runners, Inc. (“Road Runners”) – after Road …


Facebook Must Fight for Its Facial Recognition Tech in Court

Stop that tag! A judge ruled last week that a US class-action lawsuit arguing that Facebook’s use of its facial recognition tech violates Illinois law will go ahead, despite the company’s attempts to dismiss it. People upload millions of photos to Facebook every day.


Groupon Sells Breadcrumb to Providence Company

Rich Williams continues tidying up at Groupon, selling off some of the bits and pieces collected over the years that the company no longer wants or can afford. Groupon sold Breadcrumb, a point-of-sale checkout system for restaurants that uses iPads, to Upserve, a Providence, R.I.-based company that makes software used by restaurants to manage operations. In the past year, Chicago-based Groupon …


ACLU Files First Lawsuit Against HB 1523: ‘Separate but Unequal’

The ACLU has filed the first federal lawsuit contesting House Bill 1523. The lawsuit names the Mississippi State Registrar of Vital Records as the defendant because that state office would have to collect a list of clerks who are recusing themselves from issuing same-sex marriage licenses as allowed in House Bill 1523, the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” …


California Federal Judge: Facebook Can Face Privacy Class Actions Under Illinois Biometrics Law

A federal judge has ruled that even though a putative class-action suit against Facebook – which alleges the company lifted users’ biometric information without permission – was moved from Illinois federal court to California federal jurisdiction, Illinois law regarding privacy will apply in the case. The decision was delivered May 5 by California Federal Judge James Donato, who struck down …


Mississippi Governor Slams ACLU Over Lawsuit

The Latest on a federal lawsuit over a Mississippi religious objections law (all times local): 1:58 p.m. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is criticizing the American Civil Liberties Union over the group’s federal lawsuit that seeks to block a law that will let workers cite their own religious objections to same-sex marriage to deny services to people. Republican Bryant signed House Bill 1523 in …