A New Jersey teenager has been absolved of liability in a case involving text messages that she sent to her then boyfriend who was involved in a car accident and charged as a distracted driver.

Kyle Best, 19, pleaded guilty to charges of careless driving, improper use of a cell phone and failure to stay in his lane after being involved in an auto accident when his pickup truck crossed the yellow line and struck the motorcycle on which David and Linda Kubert were riding.  According to phone records and Best's own admission, Best had exchanged several texts with his girlfriend, Shannon Colonna, 17, while driving home from work that day.  Best was fined, given a probated sentence, and ordered to speak at 14 local high schools about the dangers of texting while driving.

The Kuberts' attorney then decided to add Colonna to the lawsuit on the novel theory that she was "electronically present" in Best's vehicle, that she knew or should have known that he would be driving, and that she owed third parties a "duty of care" to prevent Best from getting into an accident.  Attorney Stephen "Skippy" Weinstein likened the girlfriend's actions to "aiding and abetting" charges and wanted the court to hold her to share in the blame for the accident.

Colonna testified that she did not know whether Best was driving at the time and phone records indicate he was typing, and not reading a text from Colonna, at the time of the accident.  Colonna's lawyer, Joseph McGlone, argued that it is both impractical and unfair to impose a duty on the texter since she has no control over when, where or how a recipient would read and respond to a text.  “Quite simply,” he says, “once the message sender transmits an electronic message, it is the message receiver’s responsibility to read it at the appropriate and safe time.”

N.J. State Superior Court Judge David Rand agreed with Colonna and her counsel and dismissed the claims against her, saying it is reasonable for text message senders to assume that recipients will behave responsibly.  He also observed that drivers today are bombarded with all sorts of distractions, including GPS devices and signs along the road, and that “were I to extend this duty to this case, in my judgment, any form of distraction could potentially serve as the basis for a liability case.” 

—Source: royalcityheraldbanner.com (Greenville, TX)

The Pittsburgh Penguins professional hockey team is being sued in a class action lawsuit for allegedly sending too many text messages to its fans.

Penguins "fan" Fred Weiss claims that when he signed up to receive weekly text messages from the team he was told that he would receive up to three texts per week.  Weiss claims he received five messages the first week, then four the second week, prompting him to sue the NHL franchise on charges that it "intentionally and systematically transmitted text messages to individual consumers in excess of that weekly limit.”

Weiss claims the additional messages violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and caused him "actual harm” because of “the aggravation that necessarily accompanies the invasion of privacy caused by unsolicited text message calls.” The lawsuit also claims that the “excessive” texts (3 extra texts all together), cause him to pay for additional messages.

The terms and conditions of the franchise's message service state the following:  "By subscribing, you consent to receiving, from time to time, further text messages from us which may include offers from us, our affiliates and partners.  Available on participating carriers.  Maximum of 3 messages a week.  To end this service, text "STOP" to 32623."

According to the court documents, Weiss is seeking an injunction requiring the Penguins to cease all text messaging activities beyond the agreed three per week and an award of statutory damages to the members of the class, plus reasonable attorneys fees and costs.  News reports estimate the actual damages to range from 20 cents to 50 cents per each additional text, with total damages amounting to no more than $1,500.

—Sources:  Courthouse News and inquisitr.com

Hollywood star Sharon Stone is being sued by her long-term nanny who, among other claims, accuses the actress of calling her stupid.

Erlinda T. Elemen has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages for harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation claims.  Elemen claims that Stone insulted her accent, her religion and other aspects of her culture in the final months of her employment because, among other things, Stone forbade her from reading the Bible in her home, suggested Eleman is stupid because she's Filipino and told her that she couldn't speak to her three kids because the actress didn't want her children to "talk like you."

The lawsuit further claims that Elemen was fired from her head nanny, live-in position, after the actress discovered she was paid for overtime.  According to news reports, Stone's accountants issued the payments because the nanny worked on vacations and holidays, which the actress did not approve.

Stone's publicist countered by saying Elemen was a disgruntled employee who first sought disability and worker's compensation payments.

"Now, she is obviously looking for another opportunity to cash in," Mr. Bloch wrote in a statement. "This is a frivolous lawsuit for absurd claims that are made-up and fabricated. Sharon Stone will be completely vindicated in court."

—Sources:  laist.com and csmonitor.com

A group of five Las Vegas “Stripper 101” erotic dance instructors is suing their employer for installing surveillance cameras in their classroom.  “Stripper 101” is a non-nude show and class which is a popular tourist attraction on the Las Vegas Strip. 

Charging that the cameras are an invasion of privacy, the instructors claim they were secretly installed in their classroom, which doubles as a dressing room, and the video feed of the instructors and students in various stages of dress and undress, performing erotic dance routines, was viewed by managers.  The suit was filed in Clark County District Court. 

According to news reports, Stripper 101 Producer David Saxe claims the cameras were installed as part of a routine security upgrade and denied anyone’s privacy was violated.  “When did they tell the instructors that? When did they tell the customers?” said Las Vegas attorney Eva Garcia-Mendoza, who represents the erotic dance instructors suing Saxe and associated companies and individuals. 

Saxe recently proposed a $1 million challenge for the girls to take a lie detector test to determine the validity of their allegations that they were secretly videotaped. “We’re not going to do it. It’s a gimmick. It sounds like it came from a circus barker,” added Garcia-Mendoza. 

A July hearing is planned on a motion by Saxe that the suit be dismissed.

—Source:  vegasinc.com