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A plucky sports bar in San Francisco is challenging DirecTV’s exclusive rights to every NFL game played on Sundays with a class action lawsuit. Claiming that the monopoly enjoyed by DirecTV over the NFL Sunday Ticket package has led to artificially inflated prices, The Mucky Duck is asking federal court to break up the exclusive deal and award them (and other customers) damages. If the court rules against DirecTV, it could mean cheaper prices for the package, availability on more cable providers, or both....

The National Football League announced it has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Bryant has indicated he will not appeal the suspension and will sit out for at least one year. Bryant was also suspended for four games in 2015 for testing positive for marijuana, and one of his agents, Brian Fettner, told USA Today Bryant would enter rehab for drug and mental health treatment: “His isn’t a party issue....

There’s some bad news for those of you who had your eye on that morotrized “La-Z-Boy” made famous by one Dennis LeRoy Anderson, who had to forfeit it to police in Proctor, Minnesota after pleading guilty to driving it drunk. First: the eBay auction has ended. Second: it wasn’t exactly a “La-Z-Boy” per se. That second part led to a bit of an eBay snafu that looks to have cost Proctor police over $30,000 they might have made selling the moto-lounger....

Introducing our ex-lawyer of the week: Jodana Serebrenik “I just got to a point where I didn’t enjoy the work,” Serebrenik told The Wall Street Journal about her former legal career. “I had turned 40, and I was like, ‘I paid off my student loans. I had a good run, but I’m not happy with it anymore.’” A six-week trip to Africa, and volunteer work with animal-rescue groups, convinced Serebrenik to pursue a new calling after 10 years as a lawyer....

It’s probably safe to assume that most straight men tend to like breasts. But, that’s breasts, not breast milk. So, when a woman sprays breast milk on cops during an altercation, chances are they aren’t going to appreciate it. Ohio resident Stephanie Robinette learned this the hard way. Robinette, 30, was arrested over the weekend after a domestic dispute, reports The Columbus Dispatch. Police responded to the domestic dispute call at around 1 a....

Everyone knows that a lawyer needs a good suit for court, but is the wrong suit cause for a suit? Manhattan attorney Robert Ginsberg is suing Brooks Brothers for $7,646.51, claiming that a New York City store gave him the wrong suit, The New York Daily News reports. Ginsberg, who purchased “a stylish new, tailored brownish-gray tailored suit” in December, received “a used gray jacket and the wrong size pants” in January....

Conviction of defendant for drug possession and enhanced sentence based on prior conviction for controlled substance is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s claim that his sentencing was delayed in violation of state and federal constitution is without merit as the record shows abundant justification for the delay which was not presumptively prejudicial; and 2) defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim is meritless. Read People v. Contreras, No. F056089 Appellate Information Filed September 23, 2009...

This is the third in a series about this year’s California ballot propositions. Hopefully we can help sort out the wheat from the chaff when it comes to claims about what these propositions do and don’t do. In case you missed them, here are our discussions of Proposition 46 and Proposition 47. Once again, it’s time to decide whether we want to extend gambling to another Indian reservation in California. This time, Proposition 48 proposes allowing the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe to establish casinos....

The California Court of Appeal for the First District decided a criminal matter, a CFCA claim, and a challenge to a trial court’s injunctive order requiring homeowners bring their home back down to size. In Clear Lake Riviera Cmty. Ass’n v. Cramer, No. A122205, the court faced a challenge to the trial court’s decision ordering the homeowners to abate their violation by bringing their home into compliance. In affirming the trial court’s decision, the First District held that the association’s height guideline was validly adopted, of which defendants were in violation of by building their home outside of the compliance despite the warning....

We’ve come to anticipate Lindsay Lohan news from the courts, but such news is typically linked to the troubled actress’s criminal woes. Today, we have patent-related Lindsay Lohan news. No, everyone’s favorite Mean Girl has not become an inventor. Instead, the designer of her most frequently-photographed accessory - the SCRAM bracelet - is heading to court to defend its patent. That’s right: Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS) has filed a second appeal with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in its patent infringement lawsuit against Actsoft....

These days, some private law schools are struggling to attract students and win accolades. However, one relatively new law school is getting some positive attention for teaching students how to win appeals in the Ninth Circuit. Surprisingly, that law school isn’t located in California, or even in the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction. But for the past five years in a row, St. Thomas Law School, located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, has not just had students argue appeals before the Ninth Circuit, those students have won an appeal every year....

Here’s the absolute, best idea ever for a meeting: a brain-storming session on how-to get out of time-wasting meetings. Seriously, who really wants to go to office meetings anyway? Exactly. Not even the presenter wants to be there. So let’s just think out loud, theoretically speaking, because thinking is an internal process, about the best reasons to dodge a meeting. Wasting Time Dorie Clark, writing for Harvard Business Review, should get credit for this fabulous concept....

If you’ve been dutifully reading Legally Weird (which you should!), you know some pretty dang weird things went down this year. But who was the weirdest of the weird? Here are the Top Ten Legally Weird Stories for 2013: For ‘2 Girls, 1 Cup,’ Ira Isaacs Gets 4 Years in Prison. After reviewing a range of NSFW films ranging from bestiality to having sex while dining on feces, a jury sent notorious video producer Ira Isaacs to prison for obscenity, where he will no doubt have interesting rendezvous or two… Nudist Claims Alleged Child Porn Pics Are Just Family Photos....

“One cannot help but embrace the irony that has been pervasive throughout this case,” said lawyer Albert Watkins, attorney for upstart company South Butt. Watkins was referring to the settlement between the small Butt and the large Face as the two companies, South Butt and North Face, brought their trademark infringement suit to a close, on April Fool’s Day. Irony has always abounded in this case where the South Butt company was beneath notice until sued by foe North Face....

If you’re looking to make an impact, however small, on human rights and legal education, consider checking out “The Promise” this weekend. The film, which stars Christian Bale and debuts on Friday, tells the tale of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which saw as many as 1.5 million Armenians massacred. You won’t just be watching a movie, though. You’ll be helping support UCLA law school’s new Promise Institute for Human Rights....

Think one territory: Puerto Rico. According to data collected from the ABA and put together by Startclass, the territory of Puerto Rico takes the crown for graduating JDs who don’t eventually put their degrees to work as attorneys. Not to say that there is a causation issue here, but if you really want to practice law, might we suggest that you avoid the schools that made it to the top 25 list of non-lawyership?...

When every state attorney general says the same thing about workplace harassment, it might be time to listen. In a letter to Congress, the National Association of Attorneys General urged lawmakers to enact legislation to protect workers from sexual harassment. For a group of lawyers chiming in from 50 states and six territories, their message was clear. Sexual harassment cases should not be shuffled off to private arbitration. It’s time to bring those cases out in the open....

Apparently the Honey Badger missed out on D.A.R.E. and just said yes, over and over. Former LSU cornerback and NFL prospect Tyrann Mathieu, known as the “Honey Badger,” told an NFL team he failed so many drug tests in college that he quit counting at 10. (No, it’s not because he was stoned.) But based on one NFL’s coach reaction, it seems Mathieu’s honesty really was the best policy. State and federal regulations require professional athletes to submit to regular drug testing....

It’s been a bumpy, bumpy ride through this season on How to Get Away With Murder, but we’re glad we went along for it. (The ’twincest’ neologism alone made it worthwhile.) And now we’re done. Last night’s episode marked the end of the season, but it didn’t exactly feel like closure. Here’s your spoiler-filled lawyer’s guide to the How to Get Away With Murder season two finale. The case of the Hapstall/Menedez Twins has driven much of this season, but it’s not exactly solved in the finale....

Lady Justice was not always blindfolded, although she served the same purpose. “Sight was the desired state,” wrote Professors Judith Resnik and Dennis Curtis, “connected to insight, light and the rays of God’s sun.” In their treatise Representing Justice, the authors provide a historic look at Lady Justice and the idea that justice is blind. Even with eyes wide open, she has always been fair. But according to an article in Harvard Business Review, fairness is still evolving in the workplace....