Results tagged “dismissed”

George Adde, 66, claims he sustained a herniated disk in his lower back when other passengers fell on him during the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, which killed 11 people and injured many others. Taxpayers have spent $66.9 million settling 161 of the 171 cases filed in the aftermath of the accident, including a $6.5 million payout to a man who lost part of his right leg. Adde was probably counting on a million or two to help him cope with his back pain, but there was just one teensy problem with his lawsuit.

A grand jury has decided not to move forward with assault charges against a man arrested in connection with a September 7th fight at the Staten Island ferry terminal in Manhattan that left firefighter Matthew Dugan, 34, in critical condition. Doctors had to put Dugan, who is still hospitalized but in stable condition, into a medically induced coma after two operations to reduce the pressure on his brain. Police say the fight started after Dugan entered the terminal with his girlfriend, Sandy Wong, around 1:30 a.m. after a night of drinking. When Wong slipped on some stairs, Rasheeim Turner and two pals started laughing; Dugan told them to shut up, and was attacked.

Chrissie Brodigan, the pug owner whose shocking arrest gripped the city this summer, has had her final ticket dismissed. Issued for disorderly conduct because Brodigan was vehemently arguing with arresting officer Joel Witriol, the ticket was ultimately tossed today because it was written incorrectly (as were the other two, in addition to being manually altered after the fact). Brodigan's lawyer speculates that Witriol may have intentionally made mistakes on the tickets so they would be dismissed on a technicality and ensure that Brodigan could not challenge the charges on their merits.

Yesterday a federal judge threw out a cookbook author's plagiarism lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld, but left open claims of defamation against Jerry. It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous! You'll recall that back in 2007, "Sneaky Chef" author Missy Chase Lapine sued Jessica Seinfeld because her hit book "Deceptively Simple" contained striking similarities to Lapine's book—which was rejected twice by HarperCollins, the publisher that later bought Seinfeld's book and got her on Oprah to promote it. Then, appearing on Letterman, Jerry tore into Lapine on air, calling her a "wacko" and noting that "if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins. Mark David Chapman. And you know, James Earl Ray. So that's my concern." So Lapine slapped the comic with a defamation lawsuit, which is still pending. Lapine's lawyer, Howard Miller, told reports yesterday that his client would appeal the copyright ruling and pursue the defamation claim: "Her young daughter came home from school and said, 'Mom, what is an assassin?' That's not helpful. That can't just be excused as a joke." But maybe that's just how funny-boy Seinfeld gets his kicks—him and his good-time buddies.

Since Michael Jackson coverage officially died on Sunday (R.I.P.), it's time for Janet to get some headlines. The Daily News reports that a Manhattan judge has finally ruled on a 2005 case involving a Bronx man who claimed to have been beaten by the singer's bodyguards at Marquee. The man, Leonard Salati, was attempting to give Jackson his phone number in February 2004 at the Chelsea hotspot, and that's when the alleged beating occurred. He promptly sued Jackson for $120 million and, in 2007, a judge had allowed the case to go forward and said Jackson had to give a deposition. Recently, a new judge told the man to "Beat It" (sorry) due to a lack of evidence. Now that his case has been dismissed, there's no word on if he'll attempt to sue the security company involved... but we're guessing Janet never called.

Fulfilling what must have been a life-long dream, a federal judge quoted from Caddyshack in dismissing Andrew Giuliani's golf lawsuit against Duke University. All together now: So he's got that going for him. You may recall that Andrew, son of Rudolph the Red Faced Mayor, is suing the school for kicking him off the varsity golf team. He says he was promised "lifetime access" to Duke's golf facilities by ex-coach Rod Myers, but then a new coach tossed him into the rough.

Last summer Lorne Michaels's "stalker," 31-year-old Evans Pidhajecky, went to court for allegedly "mailing, calling or visiting Michaels at least six times" in 2007. Well how else was he going to accuse the SNL producer of stealing ideas from his brain telepathically? Oh right, telepathically! Today reports are coming in that the case has now "been adjourned for six months. The judge says it will be dismissed and sealed if he stays out of trouble." Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum also "ordered Pidhajecky to undergo therapy twice a week for six months," and of course leave Lorne alone. This also means that Lorne is still to blame for his own bad ideas.