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…

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!

WTF: We Found your Leg in the Garbage

May 11th, 2015. By LucyC

What do you call garbage? Difficult question right? Well, maybe not so much, at least not in this case. A hospital in Coral Gables, South Florida, has found itself on the end of a lawsuit after a patient who underwent amputation of part of his leg, had the amputated limb returned to him by the police. How—you ask? Turns out medical staff threw out John Timiriasieff’s limb following surgery. Yup—the just chucked into the bin—complete with tags identifying who the limb belonged to. Not the brightest candles on the cake…

The mind reels—and we won’t even get into garbage collection and land fills …birds picking over the garbage, ugh—it’s disgusting alright.

So, Timiriasieff is suing the hospital for negligent infliction of emotional distress, alleging that after having his right leg amputated from below the knee, hospital employees threw it in the garbage where waste management workers found it later. They reported it to the police. The police contacted Timiriasieff’s family asking if he’d been the victim of “foul play.”

A foul play possibly… aren’t hospitals supposed to incinerate their garbage? Timiriasieff’s attorney thinks so. And I, for one, sure hope so.

Despite the disgusting nature of all of this, Timiriasieff might have a challenge on his hands proving emotional distress: the standard legal elements of an emotional distress claim are extreme and outrageous conduct that causes severe emotional distress. No doubt Timiriasieff was distressed by these actions, but extreme and outrageous? Extreme disgust I’m betting—but that’s not the same thing. Here, he must prove that the act of throwing his now defunct body part into the garbage was extreme and outrageous, not just unreasonable.

Well, if I were a garbage collector I would certainly think it was outrageous. You’d be wondering just what the hell you’re supposed to do with it—or if you were the victim of some very twisted joke. This is the stuff horror films are made of, to be blunt.

The other piece of this is that the hospital, unwittingly most likely, released Timiriasieff’s private medical information because the tags identifying who the leg belonged to remained on the amputated limb when it was tossed. Under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which controls the privacy of people’s health information, all health care providers must comply with the law and may not release personal medical information without the involved party’s permission. I’m thinking no one read that piece of information to the hospital employees involved in this incident. And it’s not very likely that Timiriasieff signed a medical records release form with the intent of having his amputated leg being made public, at least to waste management and law enforcement personnel. So there may well be a violation of HIPPA to boot.

I suppose the bright side to this is that at least the doctors didn’t amputate the wrong leg. What’s that expression, One man’s garbage…

Whoa! This Could be a New Record for Most Lawsuits Filed!

April 21st, 2015. By LucyC

We all know the squeaky wheel gets the most attention, and that filing lawsuits can be a bit of a pastime for some people but Dale Maisano has taken the exercise to new heights. This guy—who is currently serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated assault, in Florence, AZ has, since 1991, filed over 6,000 federal lawsuits, mostly about prison food and lack of what he considers to be proper health care. You can sue for that?

Sixty-two-year old Maisano has filed more than 1,800 lawsuits in Nashville alone and most of the lawsuits have been filed in the past two years.

Note—maybe it’s time the baton was passed to Maisano for the record for most lawsuits filed. Currently, according Google search results, that crown belongs to Jonathan Lee Riches. BUT…a quick PACER search shows that Maisano’s 6,150 lawsuits filed (as of 4/21/15) completely blow away the 3,683 ponied up by Riches. Heck, that’s almost 2,500 more lawsuits!

So, not wishing to reinvent the wheel—most of Maisano’s lawsuits are identical. For example: “Stop the torture and give me food that will not make me ill.” And: “Daily I’m given a diet that causes the Plaintiff to be severely ill.” And what’s his anticipated pay out? Ten trillion dollars (either in U.S. dollars or gold). Good luck on that one—I’d try lottery tickets—the odds have to be better.

But he does have a broad range of target—the lawsuits take aim at governors, wardens, attorneys general and Nashville-based Corizon Health, which provides medical care for inmates.

Despite all his hard work, he’s not optimistic about his chances. “I don’t have any delusions I’m going to get that kind of money. I don’t have any delusions I’m going to get any money,” Maisano told USA Today, in a recent interview. “A lot of them are just nuisance suits. We’re trying to get our point across.”

And what point would that be, precisely? He claims the inmates aren’t being given proper food and health care. Not surprisingly, the Arizona Department of Corrections says that just ain’t true. FYI—according to a piece in the Washington Post in March of this year Arizona prisons are not known for luxurious accommodation. Last October, the American Civil Liberties Association settled a case representing some 33,000 Arizona inmates. The ACLU had “discovered abuses like excessive use of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners and an “extraction only” dental care policy.” Hmm.

And the feds take on all this? “Inmate Maisano has access to appropriate health care and his diet needs are met,” said Doug Nick, the spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections. “The sheer volume of the lawsuits he has filed and the financial demands he makes speak for themselves.”

Ok—wait—about the food thing—meeting dietary needs and having good food are, arguably two different things. Astronauts’ dietary needs are met when they’re in space—but would you want to eat that stuff on a regular basis?

So, Maisano’s not giving up. And the sheer number of lawsuits do speak for themselves. He’s gotten the attention of multiple federal judges, just not the favorable kind. In fact, in 1992, a judge attempted to stop the nuisance suits by forbidding Maisano from filing any lawsuits without the court’s permission. Maisano ignored the order but did slow down his production over the following years. However, since 2013, he seems to be making up for lost time. USA Today reported that in 2014 he filed more federal lawsuits than all the federal cases lodged in the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming combined. Wow! Wouldn’t that earn him some kind of honorary degree? Apparently, he filed 249 lawsuits in one day…

Maisano told USA Today that he’s not crazy but “could use some mental health help.” Despite having thousands of his complaints dismissed just as quickly as he’s filed them, he believes his hard work is making an impression—”If I would have filed five cases and let them go,” he said, “would you be talking to me?”

Uhh, probably not.

Single Discrimination? Chick Sues for (Alleged) Restaurant Diss

April 20th, 2015. By LucyC

Valentine’s gone sideways? Maybe. This is an interesting and slightly odd lawsuit filed by one Kathleen Hampton of Portland, OR. She is suing Enzo’s Caffe Italiano, in Portland, alleging they refused to serve her on Valentine’s Day because she came into the restaurant solo. Yeah, well, it was Valentine’s deary, one of the top business nights in restaurant land.

But Kathleen, not faint of heart I must admit, bravely decided F@*! it, when her husband allegedly declined to join her for dinner out, and off she went to Enzo’s. When she arrived, they were busy, no surprise there, and instead of giving her the reserved table for two, they ignored her, refused to take her order, and wouldn’t allow her to do take-away. That’s her version. Oh, and that they didn’t serve her because of her race (African-American).

Needless to say, on a busy restaurant night, a cover’s a cover and if you’re one person taking up two seats well….

So according to the restaurant owner, they offered her a seat at the bar, with other singletons. Ok, this is the stuff of Bridget Jones nightmares! She had two glasses of wine and left without paying. (Who knows what she had, but a 2007 Gaja Barbaresco would’ve gone down nicely…)

What to do with all those allegations of lousy service? Drumroll please—Kathleen decided to sue the restaurant. For $100,000 and an apology. Now, she may not have grounds for the lawsuit except if she can prove deliberate infliction of emotional distress. She can’t claim, for example, that Enzo’s refusal to seat her at the table was negligent or an assault, or that it resulted in personal harm or trespass, oh no—most certainly not trespass.

If we take a page from our aforementioned singleton heroine, Bridget Jones, being shuffled off to the bar with other similarly situated people—i.e. Singletons, at least on the premises—is certainly cause emotional distress. It’s enough to warrant walking out of the restaurant, sobbing, proceeding straight home and polishing off that bottle of Pinot Grigio (the horror!) and possibly the remnants of the vodka, passing out on the sofa, only to wake up the next morning—well actually more like noon—feeling like sh*t, physically and emotionally, then remembering you’ve missed half a day at work. Awesome! And ALL because you couldn’t get the f%#@ing spaghetti bolognese, seated, as planned. It’s a terrible state of affairs!

On the other hand, if you’re married like Kathleen, and your hubby just chose to stay home, it probably wasn’t the best night of the year to have dinner out stag, and perhaps ordering in some pizza might have proven the wiser choice. That might’ve netted a convenient (read: no need to cook) dinner at home with the hubby and a little Valentine’s Day celebration away from the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant.

Thrilling? Probably not. Haute Cuisine? Definitely not. But then again, you wouldn’t have wound up trying to sue anybody. Worst case, you might only have woken up the next morning reflecting on the previous night with a “gee whiz” and feeling a bit of a gluten-belly bloat–at least you wouldn’t have a hangover and/or a possible attorney fee.

Kathleen opted for the lawsuit route, as we know…

Severe emotional distress—FYI—varies in definition from case to case. Some courts have held that emotional distress is severe if it manifests as some kind of bodily harm, such as an ulcer or headaches. What about hangovers?

PS…so far, the quiet party in all this has been Kathleen’s husband. No matter…KOIN 6 reports that the case has been dismissed with prejudice. (Isn’t it ironic?)