Foxx's Stylist Fails To Amend Lawsuit

Jamie Foxx's former stylist has failed in her bid to amend a lawsuit against the actor to include allegations he insulted her. Stacy Young originally filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the "Miami Vice" star, accusing him of not paying for her styling services for an awards show and press junkets. She tried to amend the lawsuit insisting the actor insulted her and undermined her abilities in front of others - but a motion to change it on Monday was rejected by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jane L. Johnson, who ruled it did not comply with state rules. Foxx's lawyer, Allison Hart Sievers, maintained the new allegations are "complete fabrications and have no merit whatsoever."

"Marshall" and the Law

On June 20, Deborah Novak and John Witek sued the makers of "We Are Marshall," including Warner Bros. and director McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol), for $40 million. The duo - who created the 2000 documentary "Ashes to Glory" - claim that their award-winning film served as the basis for the 2006 feature starring Matthew McConaughey. Both movies tell the story of the Marshall University football team, which lost 36 members and almost all of its coaching staff after a 1970 plane crash. Novak and Witek also claim that producers never fulfilled their promise of onscreen credits and compensation for their involvement in the project.

Agent sent to prison for smuggling Cuban players

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A federal judge sentenced U.S. sports agent Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez to five years in prison on Monday for smuggling potential Major League Baseball players out of Cuba.

U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore ordered the prison term for Dominguez, the 48-year-old co-founder of California-based Total Sports International Inc.

Dominguez, who has represented dozens of Cuban defectors and other major league players, was convicted in April of smuggling five prospects out of Cuba to the Florida Keys and then on to California, where he shopped them to potential teams.

The case was believed to be the first directly linking smuggling with the business of baseball, which is Cuba's national sport as well as the traditional U.S. national pastime.

In addition to five years behind bars, the judge ordered Dominguez to serve three years probation and to pay a $2,100 fine.

Defense attorneys J. Stephen Salter and Ben Kuehne, pleading for leniency, had earlier cited scores of letters, including one written by Hall of Fame pitching great Sandy Koufax, supporting Dominguez.

"I have always considered Gus to be a person of strong character and high moral principles. He has an unshakable love for his culture and does his best to serve as a role model to the players he represents, especially Latin players," Koufax wrote to Moore.

ABA Forum Program, Ethical Dilemmas Representing High Profile Celebrity Clients

DATE:
June 19, 2007

LOCATION:
The Recording Academy
3402 Pico Blvd. * Santa Monica, CA
Free parking is available. Please enter through The Recording Academy's gate. Additional parking is available at the back.

ABOUT:
This program will educate the attendees about the ethical challenges attorneys face when representing high profile entertainment clients and what alternatives exist to prevent problems from occuring and to address problems when they arise. The panel will focus on such topics as celebrity clients with substance abuse problems, confidentiality issues, media spotlight, gag orders, celebrity entourages, and handling criminal issues.

MODERATOR:
Gary A. Watson, Entertainment Transactional Attorney
Gary A. Watson & Associates, PC * Los Angeles, CA

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Sheila Balkan, Criminologist
Los Angeles, CA

Stephen D. Barnes, Entertainment Transactional Attorney
Barnes Morris Klein Mark Yorn Barnes & Levine P.C. * Santa Monica, CA

Anthony Brooklier, Criminal Defense Attorney
Marks & Brooklier * Los Angeles, CA

Harold Owens, Senior Director of Addiction Recovery Services
MusiCares Foundation *Santa Monica, CA

Michael J. Plonsker, Entertainment Litigation Attorney
Dreier Stein & Kahan LLP * Santa Monica, CA

For more information:
http://www.abanet.org/forums/entsports/flyer/index.html

Judge issues ruling in favor of Brooklyn arena

NEW YORK -- A federal judge delivered a setback Wednesday to Brooklyn residents trying to stop the state from leveling their homes to make way for a new arena for the NBA's Nets.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis dismissed one of two major legal challenges to the project, which is also to include office space and as many as 6,400 new apartments in towers designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Thirteen holdout tenants, homeowners and business owners in the mega-development's vast footprint sued last year to save their properties. They said the planned seizures were a sham, orchestrated for the sole purpose of enriching the Nets principal owner, Bruce Ratner.

Garaufis called that allegation baseless.

"Because plaintiffs concede that the project will create large quantities of housing and office space, as well as a sports arena, in an area that is mostly blighted," he wrote, no reasonable juror could conclude "that the 'sole purpose' of the project is to confer a private benefit."

Ratner released a statement calling the ruling "an important victory" for Brooklyn.

An attorney for the residents, Matthew Brinckerhoff, said he will appeal.

"We are confident that the appellate court will allow this case to proceed to trial, at which the citizens of New York will finally learn the real reason plaintiffs' properties were selected to be forcibly taken, and why Ratner was chosen to reap an unprecedented financial windfall," he said in a written statement.

The development, dubbed Atlantic Yards, still must overcome other legal hurdles, including a lawsuit in state court challenging the validity of the state's review of the project's environmental impact.

2nd Circuit rejects FCC ruling

In a 2-to-1 vote, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York rejected the FCC's ruling that Fox's airing of "fleeting expletives" uttered by Nicole Richie and Cher during the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards, equated to indecency. The judges also questioned if the new FCC policy, which was imposed after Bono's word choice during NBC's broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards in 2003, was legally sustainable. The FCC is currently reviewing the appellate court's decision. A second case challenging the FCC indecency ruling involves fines forced on CBS from the Janet Jackson Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction incident.

Court Raises "Kane" Suit

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has revived a lawsuit filed by the daughter of Orson Welles in which she claimed that the estate of the renowned filmmaker is entitled to a percentage of the profits from sales of Citizen Kane. The film is currently part of the library of films owned by Turner Entertainment Co., a division of Time Warner. An attorney for Beatrice Welles later told Bloomberg News that under an agreement she signed with Turner the reversal of the lower-court decision will entitle her to compensation amounting to "seven figures." But David Quinto, a lawyer for Turner Entertainment, disagreed, saying, "Beatrice Welles hasn't won anything yet." He suggested that the case may still go to trial.