Woody Allen sues American Apparel

Veteran filmmaker Woody Allen has filed legal papers accusing clothing company American Apparel of using his image in its advertising without his permission. The comedian claims he was never contacted by an American Apparel representative about the billboard and online advertisements, which featured an image - taken from the Oscar-winning 1977 movie Annie Hall - of Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew. In legal documents filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Monday, Allen says he doesn't endorse commercial products in the U.S. and that American Apparel hasn't compensated him for the use of his likeness. Allen is seeking damages of more than $10 million.

Executive Board Elections - March 18th

Elections will be held Tuesday March 18th at 12:30 p.m. in Room A110.

ONLY paid members can vote - PLEASE BE THERE!!!! This is very important!

There are NO absentee ballots - we have a drop-down system. If you do not win for the position you run for, you can drop down to the next position, and so forth.

If you intend to run for an executive board position, you must email us at this address (UM.ESLS@gmail.com) and let us know: (1) Full name; (2) Year; (3) Position you are running for - specify ONE position, not all the ones you would consider - ; and (4) 4-5 sentences to let voters know things like: who you are, why you should win, leadership/sports/entertainment/work experience, other school involvements (i.e. do you have enough time to dedicate to ESLS?), ESLS involvement this year, or whatever else you feel like writing in those sentences. DEADLINE TO LET US KNOW YOU ARE RUNNING & SUBMIT YOUR 'BLURB' IS SATURDAY, March 15th!!

Below is a brief description of the six open positions:

PRESIDENT - Oversees everything and everyone. Helps with everything from posting flyers to emailing members to keeping in contact with professionals. Comes up with events and ideas for the semester. Represents the Society. Has direct contact with school administration, particularly regarding our biggest and most notable events (e.g. Symposium). Attends ICC (Inter Club Council) meetings monthly. Prepares LAFAC proposal for the Symposium (with Treasurer). Ensures the Symposium runs smoothly and that every detail is taken care of. Attends all events and meetings.

VICE PRESIDENT OF SPORTS - Maintains direct contact with sports law professionals. Maintains a master list of contacts. Does research to expand our contact list. Invites those professionals to speak at meetings throughout the semester. Coordinates with the VP of Entertainment so that speakers are alternated. Invites those professionals to attend our social events. Sets up sports panels at the Symposium - from topic titles to what speakers are speaking on which topic to who is moderating. Coordinates with the VP of Entertainment to find the perfect keynote speaker for the Symposium. Generally an independent position because the VP of Sports is the only one doing this task. Attends all events and meetings.

VICE PRESIDENT OF ENTERTAINMENT - Maintains direct contact with entertainment law professionals. Maintains a master list of contacts. Does research to expand our contact list. Invites those professionals to speak at meetings throughout the semester. Coordinates with the VP of Sports so that speakers are alternated. Invites those professionals to attend our social events. Sets up entertainment panels at the Symposium - from topic titles to what speakers are speaking on which topic to who is moderating. Coordinates with the VP of Sports to find the perfect keynote speaker for the Symposium. Generally an independent position because the VP of Entertainment is the only one doing this task. Attends all events and meetings.

TREASURER - Handles the ESLS bank account (with the school through the budget office). Collects and deposits membership dues, keeping track of all new members. Makes reimbursements. Tracks spending. Deposits amounts collected through fundraising. Collects and deposits Symposium registration fees. Prepares LAFAC proposal for the Symposium (with the President). Coordinates all catering needs for the Symposium. Reimburses speakers for their expenses. Attends all events and meetings.

SECRETARY - Maintains the ESLS email account. Emails members of upcoming events, information, job postings, etc. Ensures the member list on the gmail account matches the Treasurer's list of paid members. Takes minutes in executive board and general meetings. Creates agendas for executive board and general meetings. Assists the Publicity Chair with putting up banner and posting flyers. Email Hearsay when there is an event. Assist other executive board members when necessary. Handles all ESLS mail. Attends all events and meetings.

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADMINISTRATION - Maintains all communication with the proper school offices to ensure ESLS events run smoothly. Make room reservations for all meetings, events, and the Symposium. The Symposium room/lounge reservations are made early in the Fall semester once a date is picked. Coordinates with Facilities to request any necessary accomodations. Obtain parking passes for speakers at least 2-3 days in advance. Coordinates with the AV/IT Department to request any necessary audio visual equipmement, microphones, etc. Completes the CLE application for the Symposium, working directly with the President and the CLE office. Attends all events and meetings.

ALL ABOVE DESCRIPTIONS ARE NOT ALL-INCLUSIVE! THE EXECUTIVE BOARD WORKS TOGETHER AND WORKS VERY HARD TO MAKE ALL EVENTS RUN PROFESSIONALLY! THERE ARE ALWAYS NEW THINGS TO DO!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!!!

ESLS Happy Hour - This Thursday, February 7th

As there is no "Beer at the Rat" this Thursday, ESLS is holding a happy hour at Town Kitchen & Bar in South Miami from 6:30 to 8:30.

So take a break from your appellate briefs and casenotes, and have an adult beverage... or two... or four.

ESLS Happy Hour @ Town Kitchen & Bar
This Thursday, February 7th
6:30 p.m. till 8:30 p.m.

Town is located at 7301 SW 57th Court in South Miami.
http://www.townkitchenbar.com/

General Meeting - Tuesday 1/20/08 at 12:30 in Room 352

Head's up everyone!

What: ESLS General Meeting
When: Tuesday, January 29th, 12:30pm
Where: Room 352
Topics: Spring Symposium, another ESLS happy hour, rescheduled Drew Rosenhaus event

See you there!

Lawsuit over Crowe's Cinderella Man injury

An insurance company is suing to prevent the production company behind 2005 film Cinderella Man claiming compensation for Renee Zellweger after Russell Crowe's shoulder injury delayed filming. Crowe hurt his shoulder during training for the role of boxer James J. Braddock and subsequently delayed the seven-week shoot by another seven weeks. Clarendon National Insurance Company has now filed a lawsuit against Omnikrom in Los Angeles Superior Court in a bid to prevent them from asking for $3.4 million compensation for Zellweger's loss of earnings during that time. However, the firm insists it has already paid out almost $6 million in claims to cover Crowe's surgery and rehabilitation and other production delays. It also claims in the lawsuit that the production company did not file the claim until July 2005, at least five months after the balance of the insurance claims were paid, and thus they should not be required to cover the cost of Zellweger's extra fee.

"Borat" driver's ed teacher sues Fox

A driving instructor has sued the makers of the movie "Borat," accusing them of lying to him about the nature of the crass comedy by telling him he'd be in a documentary about the integration of immigrants into U.S. life. The lawsuit was brought Tuesday by lawyers for Michael Psenicska, a Baltimore high school mathematics teacher who has owned a driving school in Perry Hall, Md., for the last 32 years.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, seeks $100,000 in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages, saying the hit movie earned hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. It says Psenicska is entitled to damages because defendants, including producer Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. and star Sacha Baron Cohen, used images of him extensively in advertising the film, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Psenicska's lawsuit says Fox and Cohen fraudulently induced him to sign documents approving his appearance in "Borat" just before he was filmed giving Cohen's Borat Sagdiyev character a driving lesson.

According to the lawsuit, the film's staffers had promised they were producing a documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life, a subject that interested Psenicska because he was in the business of teaching foreigners to drive. Yet, it says, when filming began, Borat did a hugging and kissing routine, struggled with his seat belt like a child, drove on the wrong side of the road, made ethnic slurs, said women had small brains and rolled down a window and offered a female pedestrian $10 for "sexy time."

Twentieth Century Fox spokesman Gregg Brilliant said Psenicska consented to the filming. "He signed a release, and we have an agreement," Brilliant said. "Now, 2 1/2 years after giving his consent and more than one year after the movie was released, Mr. Psenicska has decided to file a lawsuit, citing the financial success of the film, in spite of our agreement."

Haggis, Hatcher in breach of contract suits

"Crash" director Paul Haggis is suing one of his co-producers on the Oscar-winning movie over $4.7 million in unpaid royalties. Haggis claims he is owed the millions in profits from the film and has accused Bob Yari of breach of contract. The filmmaker is disputing an agreement signed in 2002 regarding the distribution of royalties, which depended on the film's financial success. "Crash," which went on to win three Academy Awards, was originally made on a budget of just $6.5 million plus $1 million in financing, but went on to gross over $100 million worldwide - more than 10 times its original cost. However, Yari has argued in court documents that the movie was not as profitable as it seemed, because various additional production costs had not been taken into account. Haggis is not the only person suing Yari over the film's financial issues - legal suits have also been launched by Bobby Moresco, who co-wrote the film, and co-producer Cathy Schulman.

* * * * * * * * * *

A beauty company is suing Teri Hatcher for allegedly breaking a contract by promoting rival products. Legal papers, filed by executives at Hydroderm skincare in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claim the Desperate Housewives actress promoted other beauty items, despite the fact she was paid $2.4 million to solely advertise Hydroderm products. The lawsuit reads: "Hatcher's name, image and likeness have been linked to so many competitors' products that it is anyone's guess as to what product keeps her skin and lips youthful." Hydroderm is seeking Hatcher's $2.4 million salary, unspecified damages and its legal costs.

Chilis could struggle in "Californication" lawsuit

LA rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers are suing the network behind TV hit Californication, alleging that the title is stolen from their 1999 single and album. But the group may struggle because it failed to protect its brand, according to a legal expert.

Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, John Frusciante, and Michael "Flea" Balzary, doing business as Red Hot Chili Peppers, are suing Showtime Networks and others. They argue that the creation and marketing of the TV series "constitutes a false designation of origin, and has caused and continues to cause a likelihood of confusion, mistake, and deception as to source, sponsorship, affiliation, and/or connection in the minds of the public".

The album Californication sold 14 million copies and was listed among Rolling Stone magazine's Top 500 Albums of All Time. The group says the US series, starring David Duchovny, dilutes the quality of their brand. They are seeking unspecified damages and a new name for the TV show.

The lawsuit notes that a recurring character in the TV show is called "Dani California". That is also the name of a character who is the subject of or mentioned in three songs by the Chili Peppers, including the song Californication. The band also wrote a hit single called Dani California.

The lawsuit does not mention it, but according to Wikipedia, a character in one episode narrates the line, "It's the edge of the world and all of western civilisation," a lyric from the song Californication.

Further, the lawsuit notes that a search on "Californication" in Apple's iTunes Music Store retrieves the band's works and the TV show's compilation albums. The band says that causes confusion.

However, Showtime Networks is expected to argue that the band did not coin the word, a portmanteau of California and fornication. It first appeared in print in Time Magazine in 1972, in an article called The Great Wild Californicated West.

Time reporter Sandra Burton wrote: "Legislators, scientists and citizens are now openly concerned about the threat of 'Californication' - the haphazard, mindless development that has already gobbled up most of Southern California."

Kim Walker, head of intellectual property at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, said the band should have registered Californication as a trademark. Instead, the only trademark application was filed in April in the US, by Showtime Networks. The mark has not yet been registered.

"Successful songs, albums and movies can become brands in themselves. What's really surprising is how few songs and albums are properly protected," said Walker. "The Chili Peppers could almost certainly have registered a trademark for 'Californication', notwithstanding Time's article. They made the word famous, but it doesn't automatically follow that they can stop its use in a TV show.

"If they had registered the title as a trademark covering entertainment services, I very much doubt we'd have seen a lawsuit. The TV show would have been called something else," he said. "As it is, the band faces an uphill struggle."

A quick search on Rolling Stone's Top 10 Greatest Albums of All Time at the trademark registries of the US and UK shows that none of the album titles are protected by the artists or their record companies.

An individual applied to register Highway 61 Revisited, the Bob Dylan album that appears at number four in Rolling Stone's list; but that application was abandoned. Rubber Soul, ranked number five, is registered as a mark, but not to The Beatles. And Sgt Pepper's, the top-ranked album, is registered as a footwear brand by a company in Spain and as a pepper spray brand in the US.

David Bowie appears to be more savvy than most of his counterparts, though: he has registered Ziggy Stardust as a trademark for music and entertainment services. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is ranked at number 35 in Rolling Stone's list.

New Line Cinema sues video company over "The Golden Compass"

Film studio New Line Cinema has filed a multi-million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against a video company over a documentary about The Golden Compass author Philip Pullman. The movie studio claims the 70-minute DVD film, Beyond The Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman, is an attempt by company Koch Entertainment to cash in on the publicity surrounding the new $180 million big-screen adaptation of the writer's fantasy novel, which stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The movie is due to hit cinemas in December - while the DVD was released on November 19, and by Koch's own admission, is to "coincide with the big-budget film adaptation." And New Line Cinema has also called into question the similarity of the DVD's cover sleeve to the film's publicity posters - the documentary cover features an unarmored Polar Bear and a compass-like device; the same as the movie's promotional material, which also depicts Kidman and Craig. But Koch Entertainment has denied the copyright claim. The two parties met for a hearing in a New York court on Monday, but a ruling has yet to be made.

Sony ordered to pay $5M in logo dispute

Sony Music must pay the founder of a small record company $5 million for failing to put his company's logo on reissues of Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" album, a federal appeals court ruled. Steve Popovich, 65, who started Cleveland International Records in 1977 and soon afterward signed the chubby singer named Marvin Lee Aday, persuaded Epic Records to release the wildly successful album. Epic was owned at the time by CBS. Sony, which bought out CBS Records, paid $6.7 million to Popovich and his former partners in 1998 to settle a lawsuit over royalties from the album.

The settlement required Sony to place the Cleveland International logo on future Meat Loaf albums but Sony did not add the logo to "Bat Out of Hell" for more than a year. In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a federal jury's decision in 2005 awarding Popovich an extra $5 million in damages.

Sony has claimed that the logo omission was a mistake that later was corrected. In court documents, Sony also accused Popovich of trying to get money out of the company by trumping up the logo agreement.

"Bat Out of Hell" has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, according to court records.

REMINDER: David Schwartz TODAY in the Lounge

UM Law alumnus David Schawartz will be speaking today, 11/6/07, in the Student Lounge. Below is his bio.

DAVID B. SCHWARTZ is Vice President of Business Affairs for The Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Television division, where he works on the cutting edge of new technological distribution platforms for movies and TV shows. David came to Disney after stints at indie film houses Gold Circle Films ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") and Alpine Pictures ("The Convent"), where he handled business and legal affairs work for the production and distribution of numerous feature films.

David's also a creative force in his own right. He co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning feature film "Fighting Gravity"; served as a comedy writer on several syndicated television shows, including the nationally-syndicated sketch-comedy series "The Newz"; and his graphic novel "MELTDOWN", published by Image Comics, was one of the most critically-acclaimed books of 2006.

David earned his Juris Doctorate degree cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996, where he studied entertainment law on a full-tuition merit scholarship as a Dean's Honor Scholar. As an undergraduate, Mr. Schwartz studied film production and direction at New York University. While a student at NYU, David interned at both Marvel Comics and NBC-TV's "Late Night with David Letterman". David has studied theater at the New World School of the Arts, the Performing and Visual Arts Center, and the South Center for the Arts.

Offerman receives "special probation" in bat attack

Former baseball major leaguer Jose Offerman will serve two years of a special form of probation for attacking two players with a bat during a minor league game in August. Bridgeport (Connecticut) Superior Court Judge James Ginocchio granted the two-time All-Star accelerated rehabilitation Tuesday after hearing from current and former major league players supporting Offerman. Two felony assault charges will be erased from his record if he abides by the terms of the probation.

Offerman was playing for the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks on Aug. 14 in Bridgeport when he was hit by a pitch and charged the mound with his bat. Bridgeport Bluefish catcher John Nathans sustained a concussion and Bluefish pitcher (and former Phillie) Matt Beech had a broken finger on his non-throwing hand after the incident.

Offerman apologized in court Tuesday.

Ex Louisiana-Lafayette coach wins discrimination suit

The first black head football coach at any major Louisiana university has won a $2 million judgment in a lawsuit claiming that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette fired him because of his race, not because his teams lost 80 percent of their games. Jurors found that Jerry Baldwin's race wasn't the only reason he lost the job, but was among the reasons. University officials broke his contract and inflicted emotional distress through negligence, according to the jury of six whites and six blacks.

Jurors took nearly 10 hours to work their way through a complicated verdict form.

ULL attorney Steve Oats said the evidence doesn't support the verdict for Baldwin, who was coach from 1999-2001, but he and university officials haven't decided their next step. "It is clear Jerry Baldwin was not terminated because of his race," Oats said. "Jerry Baldwin was terminated over his tenure. The team had a record of 6-27 and attendance was terrible. The program was not going in the right direction."

In closing arguments for the eight-day trial, Bernard said white coaches before and after Baldwin got new equipment and had a greater ability to market the football program via a coach's television show and through the university's marketing department. Baldwin worked with used equipment, the marketing director was fired his second year on the job, and he never had a coach's show to promote the football program, Bernard said.

Jurors voted 10-2 to award Baldwin $500,000 for general damages, including emotional distress; $600,000 for past lost wages; $900,000 for future lost wages, and $2,676 for special damages.

The same administration officials now accused of racial discrimination are the same people who gave Baldwin the job as the first black head coach at a major Louisiana university, Oats argued. He also said there are no signs that Baldwin's ability to get another job in coaching has been hampered by the firing, and Baldwin's attorneys did not present any evidence that he suffered extreme emotional distress.

Patriots get ticket sellers names

The New England Patriots have won a bid to get the names of all the fans who bought or sold -- or tried to buy or sell -- tickets to home games through online ticket reseller StubHub Inc., a move one technology group sees as an invasion of privacy. In a lawsuit against San Francisco-based StubHub, a subsidiary of eBay Inc., claiming that the Web site encourages fans to break state law and violate team policies, the Patriots said they could seek to revoke season tickets of people who use StubHub.

A lawyer for the Patriots wouldn't say what the team plans to do with the 13,000 names, which StubHub gave it last week after losing its appeal of a Massachusetts state court ruling. Team rules bar reselling game tickets for a profit. State law, though rarely enforced, restricts ticket markups to $2 above face value plus some service charges.

Patriots tickets have been offered on StubHub at prices many times higher, including two 50-yard-line seats for New England's Dec. 16 game against the AFC rival New York Jets listed Thursday for $1,300.05 each. Their face value is $125.

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, said the court order to turn over the names infringes on the privacy rights of Patriots fans. "The Patriots, just at the beginning of the season, were filming opposing teams and accused of surveillance and given a slap from the National Football League about that. Now they're turning the cameras on their fans, so clearly there is a lack of understanding about what privacy is," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the center.

StubHub parent eBay is a member of the center's working group on free speech online. StubHub, one of the largest online ticket sellers, argued that the Patriots' request violated its confidentiality agreement with its customers and said the team wants to create a monopoly on the resale market for its own tickets.

"It is plain that the Patriots seek this highly confidential customer information to further their unlawful, anticompetitive campaign against StubHub and its customers," StubHub said in court papers.

The Patriots, who say they are trying to ensure fans get tickets at reasonable prices, are entitled to know who may be violating their rules. "One of our claims against StubHub is that knowing we have rules against resale on the Internet, they are out there soliciting people to violate our rules," said Daniel Goldberg, a lawyer for the team. "In order to pursue that claim, we need to understand who has been persuaded by that inducement to list their tickets [on StubHub]."

Goldberg said the Patriots' rules on resale are clear and printed on the back of every ticket. "We have hundreds of people on waiting lists willing to comply with our rules, so if individuals prefer not to comply with the rules, that's their choice," he said. He would not say how the Patriots plan to use the customer information it won in court.

In his order this summer, Superior Court Judge Allan van Gestel said the Patriots have "legitimate interests" in knowing the identity of people who resell tickets through StubHub. The judge said the Patriots could use the information for purposes beyond the lawsuit, including canceling violators' season tickets or reporting violators to authorities. Goldberg said StubHub turned over the names last week.

The Patriots have revoked tickets of fans who resell on any site except the Patriots' own TeamExchange Web site, which limits sales to face value. That Web site is run by Ticketmaster.

Rockies seek trademark protection for "Rocktober"

DENVER -- "Rocktober," the new shorthand for the Colorado Rockies' amazing playoff run, is showing up everywhere from newspaper headlines to handmade ballpark signs. But now the team wants a trademark to keep anyone else from selling keepsakes bearing the word.

The Rockies filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 4 asking for exclusive rights to the name on stuffed animals, Christmas stockings, baby booties, T-shirts, bobble-head dolls and the like. The filing came two days after Gov. Bill Ritter declared October would be known as "Rocktober" after the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres in 13 innings to win the wild card.

The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post both used the word in front-page headlines. It has also shown up in car commercials and department store ads.

Hopkins takes Merchant Ivory to Court

Sir Anthony Hopkins is taking Merchant Ivory to court in a bid to claim $750,000 he claims the film production company owes him for a new movie. The actor alleges Merchant Ivory has yet to pay him for starring in "City Of Your Final Destination," so has filed court papers to take the firm to an arbitrator. Hopkins claims the company, who he has made four films with, including the Academy Award-winning "Howard's End," was due to pay him his $750,000 salary by January. Earlier this year, Merchant Ivory disputed Hopkins' version of events.

Woman sues Bob Barker, "Price Is Right" producers

A woman has sued Bob Barker and the producers of "The Price is Right," alleging she was forced to quit working on the game show. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Deborah Curling claimed she was harassed after she testified against Barker in a harassment lawsuit that was brought against him. Curling's lawsuit alleges hostile working environment, wrongful termination based on retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Curling is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Barker, CBS, and production company FremantleMedia.

It's "Wish Upon a Star" vs. "Family Guy"

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the 67 years since its debut, "When You Wish Upon a Star" has been recorded by more than 100 artists and orchestras. But the song's owner is irate about what it calls an unseemly spoof of the familiar tune, saying the dreamy classic was twisted into an anti-Semitic ballad and widely distributed as part of a comedy television program.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, music publishing house Bourne Co. aims to stop the program's distribution. The suit accuses Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., the Cartoon Network and others of copyright infringement. It seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit said that in 2000, the defendants included the parody, "I Need a Jew," in an episode of the Fox television animated series "Family Guy." The episode, titled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," relied on the premise that the main character could not manage his family's finances and needed to hire a Jewish person to take care of his money, the lawsuit said. During the episode, the main character, Peter Griffin, sings "I Need a Jew," which the lawsuit called a thinly veiled copy of the music from "When You Wish Upon a Star," accompanied by new anti-Semitic lyrics.

According to the lawsuit, Fox initially withheld the episode from distribution because of its content but eventually earned large sums of money by distributing more than 1 million copies of it to the public in various home video formats. It said the Cartoon Network first aired the episode on November 10, 2003.

"When You Wish Upon a Star," written by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline, appeared in 1940 as part of the Walt Disney motion picture "Pinocchio." It won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Song. "With its theme of wholesome hopefulness, the song has gained worldwide status as a classic," the lawsuit said. "By associating Bourne's song with such offensive lyrics and other content in the episode, defendants are harming the value of the song."

Bourne is the sole U.S. copyright owner of "When You Wish Upon a Star."

Jury: Isiah Thomas, MSG liable for sexual harrassment

NEW YORK -- A jury ruled Tuesday that New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a top team executive, subjecting the married mother of three to unwanted advances and a barrage of verbal insults. The jury also found that Madison Square Garden committed harassment against the woman, and ruled that MSG should have to pay her punitive damages. The same jury will now begin deciding the amount of damages.

The harassment verdict was widely expected after the jury sent a note to the judge Monday indicating that it believed Thomas and the other defendants, Madison Square Garden and MSG Chairman James Dolan, sexually harassed plaintiff Anucha Browne Sanders, who filed a $10 million lawsuit.

REMINDER: ESLS meeting tomorrow, October 2nd

Just a reminder that the next ESLS meeting will be held tomorrow, October 2nd, in Room 209 at 12:30pm. John Bradley, the former chair of the Florida Bar's Entertainment & Sports Law Section will be speaking on a wide range of issues, from sports management to entertainment litigation to IP issues.

See you there!