A group of Yelp reviewers have filed a class action lawsuit in California claiming that they should be paid for their reviews like actual, professional writers.

According to the lawsuit, Yelp, the online urban city guide, has "devised a system of cult-like rewards and disciplines" to motivate writers in lieu of monetary compensation. The group of volunteer Yelpers are seeking "just compensation of wages, benefits, and reimbursement for the reviews they created," arguing that Yelp "could not exist, nor make its enormous returns, without its domination and control over non-wage writers."  The plaintiffs also claim the network of unpaid "employees" gives Yelp an unfair business advantage over its competitors.

In a published statement, Yelp claims, "the argument that voluntarily using a free service equates to an employment relationship is completely without merit."

—Source: techdirt.com

Legendary rock band Van Halen is suing member Alex Van Halen's ex-wife claiming trademark violation because of her intended use of the band's name in her construction and interior design business. Kelly's defense? It's her last name too, and has been for 30 years.

When Kelly Carter married Alex Van Halen in 1984 she changed her name to Kelly Van Halen.  After their divorce in 1996, Kelly kept the Van Halen surname.  According to news reports, she is now using the name for her own private businesses, including swimsuits, blankets and interior design services, which the band alleges dilutes its trademark. In the legal filings, the band further claims that Kelly Van Halen's proposed trademark (Kelly Van Halen) is confusing similar to the band’s (Van Halen) trademark.

In reporting on the case, the Hollywood Reporter cited the U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown Chemical Co. v. Meyer (1891), noting that, "A man's name is his own property, and he has the same right to its use and enjoyment as he has that of any other species of property. If such use be a reasonable, honest and fair exercise of such right, he is no more liable for the incidental damage he may do a rival in trade than he would be for injury to his neighbor's property by smoke issuing from his chimney, or for the fall of his neighbor's house by reason of necessary excavations upon his own land."

—Source: blog.findlaw.com

A middle school assistant principal sued five students and their parents for creating fake social media accounts in his name.

Adam Matot, assistant principal at Judson Middle School in Oregon, charged the students and parents with "cyberbullying" after the fake accounts were used to post material, some of it obscene, which "caused his reputation to be diminished."  Matot was seeking relief under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") and for defamation of character.  However, the court recently disagreed with Matot's CFAA claim, saying it simply didn't hold up, even under the broad definitions of "unauthorized access."

Judge Michael McShane pointed to precedent that calls on the courts to construe criminal statutes narrowly so as not to unintentionally turn ordinary citizens into criminals, and he found the focus of the statute to apply to hacking rather than the "creation of sweeping internet-policing mandate."

The court also rejected plaintiff's attempt to bring the case under a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) claim noting, "Congress did not intend to target the misguided attempts at retribution by juvenile middle schools students against an assistant principal in enacting RICO."

In addition to seeking $5,000 in monetary damages, plus costs and attorneys fees, Matot was also seeking to find that defendants violated CFAA, that their conduct was reckless and willful, and that they be enjoined from using or accessing accounts on Twitter or Facebook for a reasonable period of time.

—Source: Techdirt.com

The Yonkers Police Department is the latest defendant in a series of high dollar lawsuits, this one seeking $975 septillion; that’s 975 followed by 24 zeros.

Charles Oji, a two-time graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is known as a vexatious litigant. In previous lawsuits, he demanded $1 million from the FBI, more than $4 million from his former landlord and another $4 million from Verizon.  Now, he’s upped the ante, demanding $975 septillion from the Yonkers Police Department. His latest beef, number 13 to be exact, claims many of the city’s cab drivers are “street criminals and dirty lawless undercover cops,” in the course of complaining that the police did not arrest young men who smoked in his apartment building.

“There is a way people should conduct themselves,” Oji, a native of Nigeria, said in an interview. “They ignore me. They’re not supposed to ignore my complaints.”

Later, in a text message he wrote: “When someone has the audacity to call himself Jesus Christ, he should be taken seriously,” adding, “AND I KNOW THAT I AM JESUS CHRIST.”

“The only ‘new fact’ cited by Plaintiff — his proclamation that he is Jesus Christ — fails to offer any basis for reconsideration of the order” to dismiss, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos wrote in September, dismissing the suit against the Yonkers police.

But Oji doesn’t seem deterred, and scoffs that septillions of dollars is too much to ask for.

“At one point, I can’t continue to be polite,” he said.

—Source: lohud.com