Civil Trials

Judge Overturns Doctor's Multi-Million-Dollar Whistleblower Award

A few months ago, it appeared that all the years Dr. Michael Fitzgibbons spent struggling to clear his name had paid off--to the tune of $5.7 million. That's the amount an Orange County jury awarded him on Feb. 13, after finding that Integrated Healthcare Holdings, Inc, (IHHI) the company that owns ... More >>

Better Call Glew: Small Claims Court Edition

Hi Mr. Glew,I am landscaping my yard and my gardener burned me and didn't do the work after I paid him $3,000. I think this is the type of lawsuit you file in small claims court. Is that correct? If so, how does a lawsuit in small claims court work, and how likely will I get my money back?

Alfonso Bustamante, Psychologist Brother of Santa Ana Pervert Councilman Carlos, Facing Ethics Lawsuit For Alleged Affair with Female Patient

The twin brother of an embattled Santa Ana councilman arrested earlier this month on multiple sexual battery charges is facing his own messy ethics scandal.A lawsuit filed this week in Orange County Superior Court accuses Alfonso Bustamante of repeatedly abusing his position as a licensed psychologi ... More >>

Newport Beach Police Department Management Is a Cesspool of Adultery, Lies & Retaliation Against Honest Officers, Lawsuit States

You can't find a more ideal example of a great police officer in California than John Hougan was at the Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD).It is not just that Hougan was excellent at crime solving.Unlike some other Orange County cops--including several warped officers inside the NBPD, the 22-yea ... More >>

Wet Seal Sued By Former Black Managers For Racial Discrimination

If you're a female, you likely stopped shopping at Wet Seal when you were 13 (or whenever Forever 21 started becoming awesome), but here's more reason to avoid the mall staple (you know, aside from the fact that you no longer wear metallic booty shorts and T-shirts that read, "IF YOUR SINGLE, SO AM ... More >>

Surfrider: Florida Music Festival Promoter Stiffed Us $30,000

Surfrider Foundation is suing a Florida party promoter for stiffing the nationally prominent, San Clemente-based environmental group out of at least $30,000.According to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, Scott H. Mitchell--the managing partner of Five Flags Tourism Group--hosted an Oc ... More >>

Disabled Californians Have No Right to Smoke Weed, Federal Court Rules

This isn't exactly surprising, seeing as how marijuana remains illegal under federal law despite having been legalized for medicinal purposes in more than 15 states. But yesterday,a three-judge panel with of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the citie ... More >>

Man (Sorta) Drops Lawsuit Against TBN; Lawyers For Both Sides Talk Trash

An attorney for the Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, which is swimming in lawsuits involving Brittany Koper, who alleges lawyers for the company unlawfully distributed more than $50 million to its directors, says the religious media giant scored a victory when a lawsuit filed by her uncle, in ... More >>

Angels Settlement Has Wheelchair-Bound in Prime Seating for 2012 at the Big A

A week to the day after the Angels' April 6 home opener in Anaheim, a federal judge signed off on a class-action settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by a wheelchair-bound fan. Angels Baseball has agreed to sell Diamond Club tickets, which are normally $150 each for the seats behind home plate at ... More >>

Is the Laguna Beach Massage Envy Rubbing Women the Wrong Way?

​A Laguna Beach Massage Envy masseur, who is already facing criminal and civil allegations that he sexually assaulted one woman, has been accused this month of molesting a second female customer.According to a plaintiff identified only as "Jane Doe," masseur Mark Pergil Valenzon masturbated during ... More >>

OC Vietnamese Community Group Sued By Fired Whistleblowers For Illegal Retaliation

​Three former veteran employees who say they uncovered and complained about financial fraud, embezzlement and flagrant mismanagement at the Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Inc. (VNCOC) before they were fired have filed lawsuits claiming illegal retaliation.The ex-employees--Donna Mai Le, th ... More >>

[UPDATED w/ Lawsuit Announced] Opponents of Anaheim Hotel Bed-Tax Giveaway Lawyer Up, Threaten Lawsuit

​UPDATE FEB 29 12:31 P.M.: The clock ticked past the Friday afternoon deadline last week given by Anaheim community leaders who vowed to legally challenge the $158 million dollar tax giveaway GardenWalk hotel project. An invitation to city officials and one of the hoteliers to sit down at the tab ... More >>

Fullerton Gym Sued For Erect Dick & Anal Snake Incident

​A female custodian has sued a Fullerton gym for wrongful termination after protesting against a supervisor who allegedly begged for sex, plopped his erect penis on a table and told her a graphic story about a snake invading a woman's anus and exiting through her mouth.According to the lawsuit fil ... More >>

OC Couple Claims Real Estate Seminar was Scam to Secure $245,000 Loan Against Their Property

​An Orange County couple that attended a real estate seminar is suing 12 people and seven corporations, claiming information they put on an event form regarding property they owned was used to "brazenly forge" their names and get "a fraudulent $245,000 loan" secured by their real estate.Gerald a ... More >>

Kansas City Art Institute Sues $5 Million Donor For Breaking Financial Pledge

Art Institute officials: wealthy OC couple reneged on pledge to fund this building​The historic Kansas City Art Institute, which had ties to Walt Disney, is suing an Orange County couple for "accepting the publicity" of pledging a $5 million donation, getting an entire building named in their hono ... More >>

Federal Judge in Santa Ana Sets Trial For First of Hundreds of Lawsuits Against Toyota In February 2013

​A Santa Ana-based federal judge has picked the bellwether case in the slew of freak-acceleration lawsuits lodged against Toyota. The trial, which will undoubtedly influence the litigation of the other cases, is set to start on Feb. 19, 2013, according to a timetable housed on the court' ... More >>

Lawsuit: Massage Envy Trip Turned Into Sexual Assault in Laguna Beach

Massage only, please...​For one California woman, Mother's Day 2011 will always been remembered as a horrific nightmare after her massage therapist yanked down her underwear as well as his own and tried to mount her at Massage Envy in Laguna Beach.That's the sensational accusation contained in a l ... More >>

Mixed Jury Results in Dana Point Deputy Force Case

Exercise?​A federal jury this afternoon issued mixed results for a group of South County residents--including a male supermodel and world champion athlete--who sued Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies in Dana Point for false arrest and excessive force during a 2007 incident.The panel rejec ... More >>

OC Law Firm Wins Award for Local Victim of Scam Exposed by the Weekly

Illustration by Nathan Santistevan​Remember Medical Capital Holdings (MCH), the Tustin-based medical lending firm that was actually bilking investors of millions of dollars while using the cash to fund a shady Internet-porn advertising company, an outfit that makes downloadable slideshows of bikin ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Fate of the OC Fairgrounds Stalled Until January 2011

​Update, December 22, 2:15 p.m.: The non-money grubbing side won in the matter of the OC Fairgrounds. Sort of. Yesterday the Fourth District Appellate Court agreed to hear the case, which will prevent the sale of the property until at least Jan. 10, 2011.Why is this a victory? By that time the new ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Gay Cameraman Sues Sacha Baron Cohen Over Prop 8 Riot in Bruno

​Update, November 26, 3:51 p.m.: A cameraman has dropped his lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen over an alleged assault at a Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood.Mike Skiff, who is openly gay, cited his own "emotional well being" as being the reason for ending the legal claim filed last month in Los Ange ... More >>

Santa Ana is Ground Zero for Toyota Legal War

​Santa Ana will be ground zero for sudden-acceleration lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. after a panel of judges last week consolidated the cases to the federal court there. The world's largest automaker faces at least 177 consumer and shareholder lawsuits seeking class-action status and at le ... More >>

Judge Denies Restraining Order to Keep Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Open

​A federal judge has denied a restraining order aimed at keeping medical marijuana dispensaries open in Costa Mesa and Lake Forest while the court considers a lawsuit filed on behalf of four MedMar Patient Care Collective patients and based on the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

Orly Taitz Gets In On the Suing Healthcare Reform Game

Taitz photo by John Gilhooley / OC WeeklyThe two most powerful women in America.​The cluster of attorneys general filing suit against the federal government to stop the just-passed health-care reform bill aren't alone in their battle.We'll give you one guess on who else has taken up their cause.

Western Medical Center's Owners Sued Their Doctors to Muzzle Them, But One Wouldn't Shut Up

Anti-Obama 'Eligibility' Movement Members Breaking Ties With Laguna Niguel Birther Orly Taitz

Man at Center of Florida Ponzi Scheme Rented Newport Beach Home, Allegedly Assaulted Guest There

Courtesy of Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Beau DiamondA Sarasota, Florida, man with the too-good-to-be-true-name of Beau Diamond used part of the $36.5 million he stole from investors in a foreign currency Ponzi scheme to pay for a Newport Beach home where is also accused of having a ... More >>

OC Cities Fail to Crack 10 Meanest List, Must Try Harder

Photo by HulagwayBoxed in.No Orange County cities cracked the top 10 Meanest Cities list included in a report released today by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless. But Laguna Beach, Santa Ana (by way of Dana Point) and just-beyond-our-re ... More >>

Pedo-Priest Gus Krumm Fighting to Keep His Personnel Files Personal

If you want to fight for the side of truth and justice, join members of SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests) this Sunday around 8:30 in the morn as they distribute fliers outside Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach. They'll alert parishioners about what Diocese of ... More >>

The Latest Pedo-Priest Settlement: Denis Lyons (Again)

Just got off the phone with V. James DeSimone, attorney for a man who says pedo-priest Denis Lyons molested him as a child during the 1990s. They have settled their civil suit against the Catholic Diocese of Orange for an undisclosed amount. "Our client is pleased with the settlement, and looks forw ... More >>

[Moxley Confidential] DA Tony Rackauckas Wins Civil Suit, Does Not Cry

Bishop Brown Breaks His Covenant with the Faithful for the Trillionth Time

IUpdated, with new info on the bottom...Both the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register revealed today that Jon Kirrer of Fountain Valley filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Orange and its pedo-priest Denis Lyons alleging sexual abuse during the mid-1990s, and isn't it refreshing t ... More >>

When Mariners Church Fired Choir Director Bob Gunn for Being Gay, It Sparked a Six-Year Legal Battle

Is Orange County Injecting Itself Into a "Judicial Hellhole"?

Our stuck-up neighbor to the north, Los Angeles County, is among America's leading "Judicial Hellholes," which is what the American Tort Reform Association calls finalists on its annual list of the nation's most unfair civil court jurisdictions. But don't gloat too hard, Orange Countians, because we ... More >>

Nightlife Mogul Anton Posniak Had Plans for the OC Scene, But Now Has More Lawsuits Than Restaurants

Historic $618,000 Settlement Was Money Well-Spent for Owners of Low-Income Stanton Apartment Complex

Is Irvine Industrial Launderer Prudential Overall Supply Cheating Workers Out of a Living Wage?

Smashing Pumpkins Sue Virgin, World Sheds Most Insincere Crocodile Tears Ever

Here's a case where one only hopes both parties lose. Whom do you root for: the whiniest, most annoyingly precious recording artiste extant or a huge record label (now owned by the cuddly Capitol Music Group) that is flailing for its existence in a dismal economic climate? Gosh, I'm torn, even if Vi ... More >>

Poorman Sues KDOC

As predicted, on January 18th Jim "The Poorman" Trenton and his attorney Brian D. Boydston filed suit against KDOC and its parent company Ellis Communications. The suit alleges breach of contract, and demands damages "in a sum according to proof at trial, but not less that $27,646" for revenues lost ... More >>

Chapman lawsuit dismissed, Attorney vows to appeal

A lawsuit filed three years ago by three former Chapman University professors on behalf of the government [see "Litigating it Old School" Aug, 3] was dismissed by United States District Court for the Central District of California Oct. 22. The case was scheduled to begin a civil jury trial in two w ... More >>

Jane C.R. Doe Speaks

An Exclusive Interview with Jeff Andrade’s victim

The Wrath of Wendy

Chapman University professor fights lawsuit filed by controversial newspaper owner

The New Crips

An ex-drug dealer and burglar leads a wheelchair posse terrorizing Southern California businesses. Would you believe he has the law on his side?

Only Pawns in Their Game

Orange County lawyer seeks justice for families of slain U.S. security contractors in Iraq

Cox by the Numbers

Poison Pen Pal

Judge Watsons letters display disorder in the court

Diploma MillKill? No, Shill!

Reg embarrasses itself with Corinthian Colleges story

The Army of God

How a monk, an altar boy, and a sex-abuse victim joined forces to battle their common enemy: the Catholic Church

Local Boy Makes GoodFor Child Molesters

Former Tucson bishop comes clean about allowing pederast priests to visit Orange County

Retail Madness

Fingerprints Records joins CD-pricing suit against Best Buy