Lawyers in the News.
A week full of break-ups…
Heartbreak = Divorce Lawyer.
1. Breaking up is hard to do… Larry Ginsberg was busy this week… He represents Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, who officially annulled her marriage to Rick Solomon on Monday. Documents cite fraud as the reason for end of this marriage, which only lasted from October 6th to December 13th.
2. Laura Wasser, who represents Philip John Clapp (better known as Jackass Johnny Knoxville) also had divorce papers to deal with. Knoxville split from his wife Melanie Lynn after 11 years of marriage. She is represented by Ronald Rosenfeld. The “jackass” filed for divorce last July citing irreconcilable differences.
3. Robin Williams once said “Ah, yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals through his wallet.” He’s probably not laughing so much about now… His lawyer Robert Kaufman of Beverly Hills reported that Williams split with his wife of 20 years due to irreconcilable differences. His now ex-wife, Marsha Garces Williams, should have thought twice about her vows after Williams said in his comedy act “I’m looking for Miss Right, or at least, Miss Right Now”.
4. Time to face the music. Gibson Guitar Corporation, represented by F. Leslie Bessenger, sued Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Amazon and other retailers this week that sell the Activision Incorporated’s “Guitar Hero”, claiming the game infringed it’s patent. Activision’s lawyer, George Rose, said “We disagree with the applicability of their patent and would like legal determination on this.”
5. What would you rather: English or Incarceration? Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. sentenced three Hispanic men to 24 months in prison for conspiracy to commit robbery. They can, however, avoid the jail time if they agree to learn to read and write the English language, earn their GED, and, within 30 days of release, get a full time job while on parole. If they don’t complete all these tasks in a years time then they will serve the 24 months. The Judge said “The ruling is supposed to help, not punish.” Attorneys representing the suspects (and translating the judges ruling for them) Joseph Yeager and Ferris Webby, were pleased with the outcome.
6. And finally, what would Lawyers in the News be without a little rap? Kanye West is being sued this week over allegedly sampling a 1985 song for his hit single “Good Life”. Dayna Staggs (aka D’Mystro) is suing Mr. West and his record label, Roc-a-fella, for copyright infringement. The presiding judge is Peter Messitte. D’Mystro says he wrote the song when Kanye was only 6 years old. He says he’s offended by the vulgarity of “Good Life” and that the image painted by the song damages his reputation. He’s seeking 85% of all sales connected to the sample Kanye stole.
