June 24th, 2009
After a Masschussetts-area author claimed in a copyright infringement lawsuit that Elisabeth Hasselbeck had boosted her celiac book ideas, the co-host of The View is answering those allegations.
"I just want to assure you the allegations are without merit and are being handled appropriately," she said on this morning’s show of her book, The G Free Diet-A Gluten-Free Survival Guide.
Susan Hassett published her own celiac book, Living with Celiac Disease, and claims she sent a copy of it to Elisabeth in 2008 with a cooking video, a story about the disease, a note and her business card.
Elisabeth recently discovered she suffers from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder linked to gluten proteins found in wheat, barley and rye.
A statement released on behalf of publisher Center Street and Elisabeth said "There is no basis for the allegations in the Complaint as published in the press. Ms. Hasselbeck worked diligently and tirelessly on her book and is disappointed in this attempt to discredit her work and her ability to bring this important message to the public."
June 23rd, 2009
Liberals aren’t the only ones unhappy with The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck these days: Susan Hassett, a self-published author of Livng With Celiac Disease, claims Elisabeth stole her book idea and infringed on her coyprights, reports the Boston Herald.
Elisabeth has also published a book on celiac disease, The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide, last month.
Hassett claims in her lawsuit that she sent a copy of her book, a homemade cooking video, a personal note, a newspaper article and a business card to Elisabeth, who recently discovered she suffers from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder linked to gluten proteins found in wheat, barley and rye.
A publicist for ABC and for Hachette Book Group, publisher of Elisabeth’s book, couldn’t be reached for comment by the Boston Herald.
June 16th, 2009
Rihanna might just have another reason to appear in court soon, as her current neighbor is suing mad that she’s allegedly letting cars drive over his lawn to get to his property, TMZ reports.
Christian Moeller lives next door to the house Rihanna has rented from Stephen Yacobian in L.A. Those two had a deal a few years ago called an easement, where Yacobian could drive cars on a portion of Moeller’s property.
But after a renovation, the easement wasn’t being used. And now Moeller says Rihanna lets cars drive on his lawn to get to her driveway, and he’s suing over it. He also says sometimes cars just sit there, ruining his lawn.
Moeller wants to end the easement, and is suing Rihanna for allowing people and cars to trespass on his property.
June 9th, 2009
Team Britney has issued its response to Sam Lutfi’s lawsuit against it.
According to TMZ, Britney Spears‘ conservators, who have to act on her behalf in the case, "shoot down Lutfi’s claims one by one" in the four page document.
The case is mainly a battle over whether Britney owes Sam for his services as a "manager."
The site reports that Sam says they had a verbal agreement, but Brit’s lawyers have now said that the deal is void because Sam "made false promises to her" in order to get her to agree to it.
Needless to say, Sam’s team isn’t backing down.
"I was hardly shocked that they didn’t agree with our position," Bryan Freedman told E! News.
"But I think there is ample evidence of this contract. There are writings that indicate the same. At the end of the day there won’t be much dispute about this."
June 5th, 2009
Kyle Madison, lawyer for the woman who claims Sacha Baron Cohen assaulted her during filming for Bruno, Richelle Olson, says the injuries she suffered are "life-altering," TMZ reports.
Olson says in her lawsuit Cohen showed up at her charity bingo match for the elderly back in 2007 in his Bruno character, and began calling numbers in a vulgar, offensive way. Olson alleges that when she tried grabbing the mic, Sacha physically assaulted her. She says that she then she suffered brain bleeds and sometimes requires assistance walking.
Madison tells TMZ, "The actions of Mr. Cohen and those acting in concert with him have resulted in life-altering injuries to my client. My focus is her well-being and to secure a fair, just and equitable remedy for her claims."
May 14th, 2009
Miley Cyrus‘ music might be the stuff of tweenage dreams, focused on young love and being young, but her legal team is nothing but serious.
A woman recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the star, claiming that the infamous picture of Miley slanting her eyes back with a group of others offended her, and now her attorneys are slamming those allegations, E! News reports.
Miley’s lawyers say that Lucie J. Kim’s claim is based on a civil rights statute involving equal access to public accommodations. So although she’s complaining that the picture of Miley insulted L.A.’s Asian-Pacific Islanders, the lawsuit doesn’t mean she should get money for being offended. A hearing in the motion to dismiss the suit is set for June 4.
The Hannah Montana star apologized at the time for her "goofy" picture, and legal documents state that she"did not intend to discriminate against Asian-Pacific Islander descent."
April 8th, 2009
Remember when Whitney Houston was famous for her singing?
The erstwhile legend is making headlines today by countersuing her stepmother, Barbara Houston, for $1.6 million, the Associated Press reports.
The legal wrangling all started last year when Barbara claimed her stepdaughter kept the $1 million insurance policy after her dad died in 2003. Barbara says $723,000 was supposed to go to her.
However Whitney says her stepmom owes her the $1.6 million for not making payments to her on the New Jersey condo she’s lived in since 1987. Whit claims she lent her dad the mortgage to buy the condo and hasn’t been paid back for the principal or any of the interest.
March 26th, 2009
Yesterday we reported that Kobe Bryant’s former maid is suing him and his wife, Vanessa.
Maria Jimenez claims that Vanessa was abusive to her, and once even demanded that she put her had in a bag of dog poop to find a price tag.
But now the Bryants have responded, saying it’s the claims — not the contents of the bag — that are a load of crap.
TMZ reports that the Bryants’ lawyers, Loeb & Loeb LLP, released this statement today: "We have learned that a former employee of the Bryants, Maria Jimenez, has filed a complaint against our clients.
"Ms. Jimenez’s outrageous allegations of improper conduct are totally unfounded and patently false.
"The Bryants intend to vigorously defend against these untruthful allegations and are confident that the baseless nature of the allegations will be proven."
March 3rd, 2009
The world is full of treacherous pitfalls, and according to one woman, Paula Abdul’s driveway is definitely one of those dangerous areas.
Jill Kohl filed a lawsuit yesterday in L.A. Superior Court against the American Idol judge as well as Bravo Television, NBC Universal and others, alleging she fell while walking down Paula’s driveway. The incident occurred during a taping of her new reality show, Hey Paula.
TMZ reports that Kohl claims the property "’was in a dangerous and defective condition" and is seeking more than $25,000 for her spill.
Hey, Paula, you might want to get that driveway fixed.
