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Contract law can be dry and boring. There, I said it. The endless pages of words written out in legalese are dizzying, even to a lawyer. But when the CIA sues a former agent for breach of contract there is something a little more glamorous about the suit. Twenty year veteran of the CIA, “Ishmael Jones” (the publishing author’s pseudonym) is part of a civil suit relating to his book, “The Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture....

In a case involving a local church’s effort to disaffiliate from a national denomination, trial court’s grant of permanent injunction is affirmed as, under established California law, the disaffiliation attempt was ineffective and the oversight entity superseded the governing board. Read Classis of Cent. CA. v. Miraloma Comty. Church, No. A122540 Appellate Information Filed September 15, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Reardon Counsel For Appellant: Peter Sean Bradley, Randall M. Penner, Mayer Brown, Donald M....

Slapping back an employer’s free speech defense, a state appeals court said a fired producer may proceed in his discrimination case against CNN. The Second District Court of Appeal reversed a decision on the network’s motion under California’s law limiting strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP). An appellate panel rejected the company’s claim, saying the law did not apply to an employer’s allegedly discriminatory actions. In a split decision, the Second District said CNN failed to show the plaintiff’s claim “arises from an act in furtherance” of the employer’s right of free speech in connection with a public issue....

IndyCar champ Dan Wheldon was killed over the weekend during a fiery crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The night prior, a number of racers, including Wheldon, raised concerns about the track’s safety. The 1.5-mile oval is traditionally used for NASCAR races, which run at significantly lower speeds than an IndyCar that hits speeds of 220 mph. With 34 drivers on the track, the IndyCars were just inches apart. As one commentator describes it, drivers who made a mistake had “nowhere to go....

In a petition for review of FERC’s resolution of a contract dispute between two energy providers, the petition is denied, where FERC’s construction of the contract was reasonable based on the text and the parties’ course of conduct. Read the full decision in Entergy Servs., Inc. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm., No. 07-1343. Appeal Information: Argued October 7, 2008. Decided June 12, 2009. Judges: Before SENTELLE, Chief Judge, and RANDOLPH and GARLAND, Circuit Judges....

A Manhattan gym teacher filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against a swanky Upper West Side private school, claiming that he was fired for being straight, being married, and having children. Although “Lesbian boss ‘fired me for being straight’” makes for a juicy Page Six headline, this case is likely more about him having familial obligations than being straight. But for argument’s sake, let’s assume that’s what happened. Can you be legally fired for being straight?...

In baseball, a triple play is either a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a good thing for the team on the field. It’s bad for the team at bat. Not that baseball is the same as the law game, but it’s not looking so good for three law schools operated by InfiLaw. One just swung and missed in a lawsuit against the American Bar Association. Law Game InfiLaw owns Arizona Summit Law School, Charlotte School of Law, and Florida Coastal School of Law....

After a public protest, a Forest Park breastfeeding ban has been lifted. An ordinance passed last month in Forest Park, Georgia created a breastfeeding ban against mothers who were nursing children over the age of 2. Well, a group of pro-breastfeeding mothers, or “lactivists,” protested the ordinance when it was passed. About 300 women organized a “nurse-in” in front of the Forest Park City Hall, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The ordinance had been aimed at public indecency and public nudity....

A new year of law school is just starting and you already have your regrets. Law school isn’t what you expected. The law really isn’t what you want to do. This isn’t how you want to spend your life. Is it too soon to turn and run the other way? If you’re a 1L having a panic attack, take a few deep breaths. Sure, cold calls are torture. Yes, law school is full of a lot of insufferable jerks future lawyers....

Ever since Michael Jordan retired (the first time), his legacy has been taking some shots. First there was his comeback attempt with the Washington Wizards, then a divorce from his wife, gambling allegations, and his unsuccessful tenure as head of the Charlotte Bobcats. Now Michael Jordan is taking some surprising hits from an unlikely source – his son. Michael Jordan’s son, Marcus Jordan, was arrested after allegedly getting into a drunken altercation with several women and then police, Reuters reports....

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals smacked down an idealistic but unrealistic legal campaign against Monsanto’s biotech patents this week, reports NPR. The plaintiffs set forth in their legal filings how the patents were legally deficient in several ways including that the covered technology has no beneficial social use and that the dozens of patents issued to Monsanto have illegally extended and entrenched its monopoly. But the court shrugged because at the end of the day, there was no justiciable case or controversy....

In a world where some adults have abused the service dog system to absurdity, a New York school district has denied a diabetic girl her “service dog” that is trained to alert her to blood sugar swings. Eleven-year-old Madyson Siragusa has Type I diabetes, and her family scraped together $20,000 to pay for Duke, a diabetic alert dog that the Rush Henrietta Central School District will not allow in class, reports The Associated Press....

Denial of motion to suppress in prosecution for marijuana possession for sale People v. Smith, B219915, concerned a challnege to the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress, in a prosecution of defendant for marijuana possession for sale. In affirming the decision, the court held that the two police officers and a deputy probation officer acted reasonably while searching defendant’s apartment, and because the officer acted reasonably in opening a dryer door, the observation and seizure of the marijuana by the officer in plain view was reasonable....

A nutritional supplement maker has become the target of now-suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero’s legal wrath. Romero is suing-mad because he claims that a supplement he took did not specify that it contained a substance (androstenedione) banned by Major League Baseball, reports the AP. As a result, he got suspended for the first 50 games this year, and in his own words: The suit was brought against Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies who Romero claims were negligent in the manufacture of 6-OXO and 6-OXO Extreme, the over-the-counter nutritional supplements he took, and also for their misrepresentation of the ingredients therein....

Feeling a little restless? Do you have a wild side that yearns for speed or the wind in your face? Is this whole lawyer thing really cramping your highway loving style? Don’t quit the law yet: there might be a way to compromise. This week, as part of our affiliate program with Indeed, we went out to where the rubber meets the road in order to bring you these cool road-related legal jobs....

We all know the legal market is in flux, still recovering from its 2007 downturn. But that recovery isn’t even across the nation. As a recent ABA attorney population survey shows, some states, like Florida, have seen their legal sectors explode over the last ten years. Others are still well behind where they once were. (Sorry, Massachusetts.) So where is the legal population increasing today? And more importantly, how far does your money go there?...

A decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (Board) affirming the Social Security Administration’s removal of petitioner for his participation in an income tax fraud sponsored by another Social Security employee is affirmed as to a conclusion that the Social Security established the charge against the petitioner. However, the decision is vacated and remanded to the extent it upheld the penalty of removal as neither the record before the Board nor its findings and conclusions were adequate to enable the circuit court to evaluate and adjudicate the issue of whether petitioner was treated discriminatorily because Social Security removed him but re-employed the other employee....

Another trademark violation case has been decided, but this time, it appears to have been in the favor those who make craft beer … whatever that means. What does the term “craft beer” mean to you? Does it evoke images of crusty, bearded men over rusty antique vats and hand-stirred mash? If it does, and you go out to buy a case of Blue Moon, the joke’s on you. The use of the terms “craft beer,” “artfully crafted,” and other such marketing terms was at the center of Evan Parent’s class action lawsuit against MillerCoors (“MC”), the giant Mega-Brewery....

Pranks can be funny, as long as they’re done tastefully. But, there’s a thin line between an acceptable prank and an unacceptable one, particularly if a school is involved. It’s important to let your kids know that while pranks may be funny to them and their friends, school officials may not appreciate the joke. In fact, pranks that violate student codes of conduct could lead to suspension, or if serious enough, even potentially expulsion....

Minnesota Twins pitcher Carl Pavano may have been the target of extortion. Christian Bedard, 36, a high school classmate of Pavano, claims to have carried on a three-year homosexual relationship with the Twins pitcher during high school, The Associated Press reports. Bedard allegedly attempted to extort Pavano’s sister, Michelle DeGennaro, in order to keep the alleged relationship secret, DeGennaro said. Most states, including Connecticut, define extortion as using a threat of violence, property or reputation damage, or government prosecution in order to get money or property from another person....