Results tagged “lawsuit”

Universal Hub reports on a class action lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston by an Illinois man who claims that Zipcar's fees are illegal under Massachusetts law. Among the practices mentioned in the complaint are allegedly excessive late fees, fees for retrieving lost articles, fees for speaking to a live representative, and automatic debits from deposits on accounts that are "inactive." [UHub]

Aerosmith will return to the performing saddle much sooner than expected thanks to a court order stemming from a lawsuit over a canceled tour date in 2007 in Maui. The settlement requires the band to perform two shows in the Aloha State, October 18 and 20, that are required to be consistent with a typical Aerosmith gig. Someone named Brandee Faria said "They know they can't come out and do a 30-minute gig...because I'll be there watching." Ms. Faria was a councilor for the suit, and not a music critic. At RollingStone.com, where they know more about concerts than Ms. Faria, Joe Perry confirmed that Aerosmith will be back despite rumors of turmoil within the band following Steven Tyler's fall and resulting tour-date cancellations.

Alleged plagiarist/vandalist, would-be DJ, and street artist Shepard Fairey has creatively turned the tables on the AP, preemptively suing the organization for his supposed appropriation of an AP image in the now-infamous Barack Obama "Hope" poster. The AP had asked Fairey to pony up for use of Obama's face; in response, Fairey and his lawyers (including Anthony T. Falzone of the Fair Use Project) claim Fairey created a “stunning, abstracted and idealized visual image that created powerful new meaning and conveys a radically different message" from the AP photo. Will "fair use" be known as "Fairey use" from now on? We eagerly await a decision.

And many companies have made bundles of money by figuring out ways to use written content to lure consumers to their websites. Part of the profit equation has been the relatively low cost companies have to pay writers for content; a $5 per thousand clicks Google advertisement gives you a very slim profit margin if you are paying a staff of full-time writers.

In the ongoing game we imagine going on between Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, Dunkin' Donuts just scored a point. At least their local employees aren't suing them.

--Snow? Tomorrow morning? Surely you jest. We were hoping this long winter was over. Silly us. [WBZ]

After much fanfare, Bechtel Parsons/Brinckerhoff has agreed to settle a lawsuit from the state and will pay $407 million. Smaller companies involved with the Big Dig will pay $51 million.

Mark A. Flomenbaum, the former Chief Medical Examiner who was dismissed after the office of the Chief Medical Examiner was revealed to be an unsanitary hellhole, is suing because he feels "Governor Deval Patrick lacked grounds to dismiss him."

Donald Trump might be serious about putting a casino in Massachusetts after all. The Globe is reporting that Donald Trump and Charles Sarkis, who owns Wonderland, are talking. Matt Viser points out that this could touch off a battle between Trump Wonderland and Suffolk Downs. Sarkis and Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields had been in talks in the past to join forces, but Trump could drive a wedge in that relationship. Viser writes, Fields and...

Pollock Matters Through December 9 McMullen Museum of Art Boston College 140 Commonwealth, Devlin Hall 108, Chestnut Hill (T: Boston College. Directions by car.) Boston College is running an art exhibit addressing the relationship between painter Jackson Pollock and his friend Herbert Matter. The exhibit is national news because the paintings, which were discovered by Matter's son Alex, may or may not be original Pollocks. Numerous experts have evaluated these paintings to discover the truth,...

Scratch this subject off the list of what Senator Edward Kennedy will talk about in his memoirs--the love child the National Enquirer accused him of having with a Massachusetts woman. In 2006, the Enquirer claimed that Kennedy fathered a child with Caroline Bilodeau-Allen in 1984 and that a cover-up ensued. Bilodeau-Allen filed a lawsuit in Boston claiming that is completely false and that she and her 22-year-old son, who is also a plaintiff, have suffered...

The T announced that it is going to order 10 more of the infamous Breda cars for the Green Line. We wondered why the T would order more cars that don't work. The T's problems with Italian company AnsaldoBreda go waaay back: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority signed a $222 million contract in 1995 with an Italian company now known as AnsaldoBreda to provide the trains. The company was supposed to deliver 100 "Breda" cars,...

One of the most famous sights in Cambridge--MIT's Stata Center, designed by Frank Gehry--is leaking. MIT is now suing Gehry for negligence. The Stata Center may look amazing on the outside, and it got a shout-out in Doonesbury, but Shelley Murphy at the Globe reports that the inside is a mess of cracks, drainage backups, and mold. MIT paid $1.5 million to fix problems in the Stata Center's amphitheater--which is a rotten icing on top...

We thought it was weird when a former Nader advisor filed suit against Bill Belichick for Videotapegate. But Paul Flannery at the Boston Magazine blog came across what may be the weirdest lawsuit of all time. Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted felon who likes to file lawsuits. Flannery writes that Riches filed 36 of them in September. In the Pats-related suit, according to the Smoking Gun, Richman hand-writes, "Defendants cheated in the 2005 Superbowl...

A Jets fan took Videotapegate way too personally and is suing the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick for taping the Jets' signals. When this item appeared on Sports by Brooks, it looked like a clever gag. But someone is actually suing the Pats, and they want $148 million for himself and the disillusioned Jets ticket holders. Carl Mayer of Princeton Township, New Jersey, has some high-minded notions about the sports complex. Mayer's attorney said,...

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market...

Boston native Bobby Brown is known for many things. New Edition. A rather successful solo career. A tumultuous marriage with songbird Whitney Houston. A reality show in which Brown and Houston discussed highly inappropriate subjects on national television. Not paying child support. These days, Brown is probably best known for the child support issue. Every time he sets foot in Massachusetts to see his children from a previous relationship, he winds up in the cooler...

Just over a year ago (in June 2006) the ACLU threatened the MBTA with a lawsuit, alleging that their unwritten policy against amateur photography on the nation's oldest subway system was unconstitutional. Specifically the ACLU asserted that it was a violation of the first amendment rights (free speech specifically, though a fair argument could be made for freedom of press, we challenge you to give us a legitimate application for freedom of religion.) The...

All of Fung Wah's accidents were kind of cute, in a twisted sort of way. Fung Wah is the cheap transportation of choice for all the cool kids wanting to get out of town. But Fung Wah's latest scrape with the law isn't cute at all. Fung Wah must pay a blind couple $50,000 because the company wouldn't let the couple take its seeing-eye dog on the bus. Fung Wah must also cough up a...

--Forbes announced that former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney placed fourth in their "creepiest candidate" poll. We can understand why – and it has nothing to do with Mormonism or big sticks. It's simply the fact that the man has not aged for several decades. Of course he's creepy – he's hiding a portrait in the attic! --Romney's new "crazy eyes" ad certainly won't help him get off the creepy list. Earlier in...

After the groper and the shouter from yesterday, it seems that everything settled down a little bit last night. The big news is the potentially large blotter that might result if people don't start shoveling their sidewalks. According to Fox 25, you'll get fined if you don't shovel, and 4,000 citations have been given since Wednesday. If you are a business or homeowner reading this, and you haven't been shoveling - then start! Not only...

The spring semester is just underway. The student population has brought back an influx of students into Boston and across the Commonwealth. But a student, Brian Marquis, at UMass Amherst won't let the fall semester go. He's holding on and disputing a grade he received. He's exchanged the emails with the TA, talked to various higher-ups in the department, and taken it to the next step. He's filed grievance in the courts – fifteen counts...

Is the hoody a Yoda thing or a Darth Vader thing? It all comes down to that hoody. Pats coach Bill Belichick uses it to woo women, but the hoody might also empower him to treat his players badly. Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson has gone public with accusations that Belichick made him get back into the game when he hadn't fully recovered from a concussion. Johnson feels Belichick's decision to put him back on...

In case you haven't heard the next week promises to show us the winter we've been missing out – only minus the snow. Cold temperatures (below freezing every day!) will be the rule according to the current outlook. Perfect time to head out to your favorite music venue. There's no better way we can think of to stay warm. This week you'll find the old, the new, the nerd, and some classical among the...