Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See Archive

‘Slut’ Actress has Mommy Sue for False Arrest

June 17th, 2015. By LucyC

A 17-year old girl, sorry, actress, who was arrested last August for possession of alcohol by a minor and disorderly conduct, is suing the NYPD for false arrest. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, Winnifred Bonjean-Alpart alleges the evidence was planted. Noteworthy here, is that the charges against her were dropped by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Ann E. Scherzer.

Winnifred, a “rising star in feminist theater and star of Slut: The Play” (source NYPost), (soon to be Slut: The Movie? – I think that one’s likely been done, but maybe not from the feminist viewpoint) isn’t satisfied with getting off ‘scott free’ as it were (pardon the pun). She and her mother, a lawyer (is that the sound of a penny dropping?) are alleging the NYPD violated Winnifred’s constitutional rights and planted evidence in her purse.

The backstory, Winnifred had a few friends over and they were drinking. Apparently it got loud and a neighbor called the police, as one does. When the police arrived they asked for identification from the party-goers but Winnifred apparently took it upon herself to inform her guests that they didn’t have to comply with that request.

Big surprise, the police responded by arresting Winnifred, claiming they found a fake Maryland’s driver’s licenses in her purse and a couple of empty bottles of booze. She claims the booze and ID were planted because she asserted her First Amendment rights. Um. Possible. But is it probable? Or does it even matter now?

Apparently it does. Winnifred and her mother have filed a civil suit. I guess she really does want her day in court. She and her mother are alleging the police cuffed her too tightly, slammed her against a wall, and put her in a holding cell with men for 18 hours in central booking. Mother and daughter are suing the city for $2 million. Wow—that’s some payday.

Only problem, mummy forgot to get the filing in by the deadline. Jennifer Bonjean, an experienced defense attorney who has apparently won lawsuits against the authorities in the past, missed a 90 day deadline. Seems, in New York, you must file a Notice of Claim with the city within 90 days of the incident. Once the notice is filed, you have one year to actually file the lawsuit. Bonjean missed the 90 day deadline. Now, she must petition the court for permission to proceed with her lawsuit against the city, according to the Post.

So will Winnifred fire her mother—or wait to see if the situation improves? We’ll have to wait and see. One thing’s for sure—the publicity can’t be hurting her. Might even improve ticket sales—or launch a sequel.

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Mistress Suing Octogenarian for on-the-Clock Work

June 10th, 2015. By LucyC

Heads up boys…

You’re not the first but you will definitely be the last, according to the wife. What could she be referring to? The latest lawsuit by the latest mistress, who alleges her 88-year old lover was to afraid to leave his wife—therefore—he must be sued. The 67-year old mistress is after Mr. James Greenwald for $2 million, for services rendered during the previous six years they were “together”. You gotta love this stuff–you just can’t make it up.

Mrs. Greenwald reportedly told her husband in some badly failed attempt to seek divorce, that she would rather see him dead than let him go. Well, there you have it.

The mistress, one Theodora Lee Corsell, a retired fundraiser from the Upper East Side in NYC, claims to have been both romantically and professionally involved with Greenwald—who has wandered down this path before, apparently. A previous mistress (not sure which number she would be) tried suing for $3 million—Corsell only wants two—stating that is what her work during those 6 years was worth.

That work involved Corsell handling everything from getting rid of unused New York Giants tickets to promoting Greenwald’s unpublished memoir. (That could be an interesting read). She even helped him make that $3 million threat by the other mistress disappear—a threat that involved outing Greenwald to his wife, according to court papers.

For her part, Mrs. Greenwald is not feeling the love, nor is she in the mood for sharing. “According to Greenwald, [his wife] Marilee told him, ‘I will see them bury you six feet under before I grant you a divorce. I’m the last Mrs. Greenwald,’ ” according to court papers. Yes, well, that narrows your options down a bit. FYI—This Mrs. Greenwald is the second one, so I’m guessing she knows the drill.

Why is Greenwald so popular? $$$$. From the 1970s through to the 1990s, Greenwald headed a national TV and radio sales advertising company, Katz Communications, which was sold for a sizeable chunk of dough—$300 million. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out the law of attraction here.

That bastion of investigative journalism—The New York Post—reports that according to court documents filed by Corsell, she dug up information on Mrs. Greenwald’s telephone calls and purchases, in an attempt to find some means to leverage a divorce, but came up empty.

Greenwald’s attorney, Steven Mintz, said his client “remains happily married to his wife” and called the suit a “shameless shakedown.” That’s some definition of “happily married.”

According to Corsell’s suit, Greenwald promised Corsell: “I owe you everything and I will compensate you.” Hey—never make a promise you’re not willing to keep…Corsell’s claiming she’s due the money because her “professional services were separate and apart from form the parties’ romantic relationship.”

All I can say is Mr. Greenwald certainly likes to stay busy in retirement. He’s a regular one-man job creation program.

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KFC Serves up Chicken Leg Special: Lawsuit

June 5th, 2015. By LucyC

How many legs does your chicken have? According to some folks in China, Chinese KFC operators are using chickens with 6 and 8 legs. It’s all part of some weird social media campaign by competitors, presumably, to manipulate customers feelings about the products they’re buying. So, KFC, which operates some 4,600 restaurants (use the term loosely) in China, has filed a lawsuit, as one does.

Of course, rule number one in telling a tall tale and hoping others will buy it is to come with something, well, believable, right? That’s where these folks made their first mistake. If you’re selling a sh*tload of crunchy fried chicken breasts, wings and legs for a living (i.e., as KFC does), would you want more scrawny legs to be more profitable, or breasts? C’mon, you’d be looking to cash in on some GMO breasts. So that was your first clue re: the bogusness of this one.

Regardless, this KFC lawsuit coincides with a government crackdown to clean up rumors on social media spread by Internet marketers, some of which have reportedly been convicted of attempted manipulation of online sentiment—whatever that means. What it translates to is falsifying posts about competitors and in some cases even deleting critical posts. Who knew?

So it’s one big game of chicken….

KFC posted an announcement on its Chinese website, stating that one of the best-known rumors, specifically that chickens used by the company are genetically modified and have six wings and eight legs, is false. Ya think?

The posts are apparently coming from three accounts on the popular mobile phone app WeChat. KFC is looking for 1.5 million yuan ($242,000) and an apology from each of three companies that operated account. Oh yes, and an immediate stop to their infringements. (But look at all this free publicity it’s generating)

The CEO of KC China, Qu Cuirong, said in a statement that it was hard for companies to protect their brands against rumors because of the difficulties in collecting evidence. “But the stepped-up efforts by the government in recent years to purify the online environment, as well as some judicial interpretations, have offered us confidence and weapons,” she told the Associated Press. But seriously—who would believe a chicken could be modified to have 8 legs? Think it through people.

The case has been accepted by Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Court, according to AP. I would love to see discovery on that one.

FYI—the companies being sued were named as Shanxi Weilukuang Technology Company Ltd., Taiyuan Zero Point Technology Company and Yingchenanzhi Success and Culture Communication Ltd. in Shenzhen city.

Authorities launched a renewed campaign 2 years ago to clean up what they called online rumors, negativity and unruliness. Unruliness? On the Internet? Well good luck with that one boys and girls. An eight legged chicken? It defies imagination…but then we do live in interesting times…

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Taco Wars Lawsuit in a Galaxy Somewhere in NYC…

May 21st, 2015. By LucyC

A Star Wars sequel no one’s been waiting for? Two restaurant owners in New York who sued each other have been likened by friends to Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader—and it’s all over tacos…

One of Manhattan’s trendiest taco shacks (key word: shack)—Rockaway Taco—was the subject of a legal battle—by its two owners, ok, not new. David Selig, the alleged business brains behind the operation, (AKA Darth Vader—surprised?) thought something was fishy (bad, I know) when he saw that his business partner and chef—Andrew Day Field (Luke Skywalker) had taken out ads for his new Tacoway Beach in Queens in the local media. Furious, Selig filed suit claiming his now former business partner was engaged in “unfairly and deliberately destroying his business,” according to court papers obtained by The New York Post.

And all from the humble taco. Well, maybe a bit more than that. The eatery has been mentioned in Vogue and New York magazines, and is famous for its lineups as well as its food. But, lineups or not, the tilapia tacos, which sell for $3, have netted the boys more than $600,000 a year—shelling out 1,200 tacos a day. If you do the math—that’s a whole lot of fish…

Sadly, despite their success, the two men just couldn’t agree on how to run their business—not an unfamiliar story. So, Field thought—there’s more fish in the sea, and set about opening his own shack just nine blocks away.

But meanwhile, back in their old universe, Selig had other plans, and filed for a restraining order to prevent Field from opening a “rival business,” according to the lawsuit.

So, scaling things up, Field shot back, arguing that such a move would leave his workers unemployed and he would be “wiped” out financially. Wait—there’s more—he also accused Selig of not paying him $30,000 of his salary, despite his having worked “no less than 13 hours a day seven days a week” for their joint venture. Nice…that’s the entrepreneurial spirit.

According to the Post, the relationship between the two men became so bad that one of Field’s friends got a little creative with an original “Star Wars” poster, casting Field as Skywalker and Selig as Darth Vader, and put it on Instagram, for posterity…?

“In a galaxy far far Rockaway,” @rockawaymilitia said.

But, there is a happily ever after here, which doesn’t involve a Princess Leah, likely for the best. Selig and Field reached a deal, giving Selig full control of Rockaway Taco and permission for Field to open Tacoway Beach… in a galaxy near Queens…

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Black Lab Sues Con Ed after Manhole Cover Blast

May 13th, 2015. By LucyC

Ok—this ain’t so crazy—well the circumstances are—but not the lawsuit.

Abby the Black Lab is suing Con Edison—together with her owner, 71 year old Salvatore Grillo—both of whom were seriously injured in a random explosion near Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in February.

Random explosion, you ask? Why yes—an exploding manhole cover actually. (I never did trust those things). Abby and Grillo were out for stroll when a cast-iron manhole cover exploded, as they do, apparently. Who knew?

It’s all a bit scary, when you begin pondering the whys and wherefores. However, there was a spate of exploding manhole covers last winter, hundreds apparently, which resulted from salt in melting snow seeping underground and damaging wires, and KaBOOM. But—back to our story.

According to the lawsuit filed by Grillo, “Plaintiffs Salvatore Grillo and Abby Grillo, canine, were walking upon said sidewalk when they were struck by a manhole cover that exploded, upon information and belief, due to an underground and/or subterranean explosion and fire,” the papers state. “Abby Grillo, canine, sustained multiple and severe injuries including but not limited to injuries to her head, body, singeing of the body, fur and paws and psychological injury including fear to leave the home,” the lawsuit states. PTSD perhaps?

Abby’s owner was even more seriously injured. Not surprising when you realize the blast was so strong that it sent the cast iron lid shooting 25 feet skyward, according to CNBC.

Apparently, Abby was so spooked by the blast that she ran off into Prospect Park and was eventually found about an hour later at a pharmacy blocks away. She was taken to Sean Casey Animal Rescue, which tracked down her Salvatore and his wife Ilene.

Interestingly, although Ilene was not on the ill-fated walk, she is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which states that she is suffering from “the loss of her husband’s love, services, society, consortium and companionship.” Not good.

According to the New York Post, which naturally covered this story, a Con Edison spokesman said only, “We will address this in the courtroom.” So they’re going to court? Really?

According to the lawsuit, Con Ed is accused of negligence, in part because it failed to prevent the wiring from eroding, didn’t install a manhole cover that “would not fly during underground vault explosions,” and didn’t warn the public to stay away from the potential threat.

Con Edison, I suppose in an effort to offer some reassurance, has said that New York City has about 250,000 manhole covers. They are typically 2 feet wide and can weigh as much as 260 lbs. That’s a great comfort. But most of the lids are lighter. Great. You know, I really don’t want to find out.

So, note to self… keep a large distance from manhole covers… you just never know what’s going to happen when you go for a walk.

Here’s to a full recovery for both Salvatore and Abby!

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