7 of the strangest lawsuits making headlines
The following lawsuits exemplify the lighter, and sometimes bizarre, side of the legal world.
April 18, 2012 at 07:12 AM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Angry Analyst
We've all heard about the war on women, but is the Federal Bureau of Investigation waging a war on men? FBI analyst Jay Bauer is suing the bureau for gender discrimination, claiming that its fitness test is biased against men.
Bauer passed an initial fitness test when he first joined the FBI in 2009, but failed a second exam when he completed just 29 of the required 30 push-ups. Female trainees only have to do 14 push-ups—the equivalent of 27 to 29 for men, according to Bauer's suit. He also claims that a female trainee who failed the firearms portion of the test was allowed to retake it, while he was not given a second chance.
Sizeable Stock
In a case that the judge has dubbed “a new version of the Beverly Hillbillies,” the family members of a California man claim that an antique stock certificate entitles them to a $130-million share in the Coca-Cola Co.
Tony Marohn, now deceased, bought a Palmer Union Oil Co. stock certificate at a 2008 garage sale. The line assigning the certificate was blank, so Marohn signed his name, only to discover that Palmer's successor company was none other than the soft drink manufacturer. If the certificate is valid, the family would own 1.8 million shares of Coca-Cola stock, making it one of the largest non-institutional investors in the company.
In response, the beverage giant sued Marohn's relatives, seeking to prove that their claims are “meritless and unfair to the company's millions of legitimate shareholders.”
© Luke FordHairy Hullabaloo
Hair-removal company Radiancy Inc. has joined the never-ending list of companies suing Kim Kardashian. The reality star endorses hair removal products for rival company TRIA, claiming that she no longer needs razors or shaving cream. But Radiancy says those claims are exaggerated, as TRIA cannot permanently remove hair and is not safe to use on all body parts.
Fearing that Kim's glowing TRIA endorsement will damage sales of their own No No Hair Removal System, Radiancy filed suit. Kardashian maintains that all her claims were true, and that “being Armenian and hairy, I thought [TRIA] was the perfect product.”
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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