Attack the blog
International law firm Baker & McKenzie is suffering an internet backlash after ‘heavy handed’ tactics were allegedly employed in pursuing an Australian blogger who had been revealing products before their official release.
According to London-based legal news and satirical website Roll On Friday, Martyn Yang – a Canberra civil servant by day and a foam-shooting gun enthusiast by night – started his ‘Urban Taggers’ fanblog in 2010.
Mr Yang was overjoyed when Hasbro, the creators of NERF guns, emailed him with an offer of products to be given away as prizes. However, when Mr Yang sent his address he was greeted not by a stash of foam weaponry, but by a Baker & McKenzie letter before action, demanding he take down images he had posted of the unreleased N-Strike Elite Rampage Blaster and give up the details of the source who supplied information on the gun.
Mr Yang took down the images but said his sources were anonymous – unless there was someone who in real life rejoiced in the name ‘spunkypineapplehead666’.
However, Baker was clearly not appeased and a ‘goon squad’ was dispatched to get some answers from the blogger.
Mr Yang has now referred the matter to the Office of the NSW Legal Commissioner, while Baker has declined to comment on the incident.
A hard act to follow
There is stiff competition to appear in this publication’s gossip page, but it was hard to leave out a lawsuit filed against German motor giant BMW in San Francisco’s Superior Court, after a motorcycle seat allegedly left a man with a two-year erection.
Henry Wolf filed the suit after the ‘rigid seat’ of his 1993 BMW motorcycle left him with a severe case of priapism – aka an ever-lasting erection – which has caused him ‘mental and emotional anguish’.
Mr Wolf, who said the condition developed after a four-hour road trip on 1 May 2010, is suing both BMW North America and seat-marker Corbin Pacific.
The claim alleges that Mr Wolf suffered wage loss, hospital expenses, general damage and emotional distress from his condition, and he is seeking an unstated amount of compensation.
For its part, the motorcycle manufacturer released a statement from its US headquarters in Michigan maintaining the claimant wasn’t using a standard BMW motorcycle seat.
For whom the Bell tolls
An angry Florida man who threw his soft drink at a machine in a restaurant is facing a charge that could earn him a 15-year prison term, according to a report in the Gainesville Sun.
Suresh Chapman is accused of causing damages amounting to more than $5,000 – earning him a charge of a second-degree felony.
According to the report, Mr Suresh, 30, was so upset on receiving his order at a Taco Bell fast-food outlet that he threw his drink over the till – which promptly caused the computer network to shut down for a number of hours.
Police estimated that the incident caused damages amounting to $2,500, and the store lost around $3,000 in revenue while the system was down.
Gainesville Police Department spokeswoman Cpl Angelina Valuri said arresting officer Sean Borges was right to charge Mr Chapman with the second-degree felony – which can carry a 15-year sentence. She said: ‘That was the appropriate charge, based on the damage that was done to the business. That’s not a way to handle your problems if you’re upset with your order.’
Adding an extra sting to the tail, Mr Chapman also was charged with violating his probation on a 2011 child abuse case, according to the arrest report.
See no evil
It’s not often that the law turns a blind eye to cases of indecent exposure, but one man may have found a bizarre technicality to save his skin.
Police in a Philadelphia suburb are still looking for the man behind the unusual act of exposing himself at a bookstore for the blind.
In true Scooby Doo fashion, the Newtown Township bookstore flasher may have got away with the dastardly deed if it wasn’t for one pesky sight-enabled woman, who saw more than she bargained for while visiting the shop.
Find Law’s Legally Weird blog suggests that even if caught, the flasher may have already set his sights on an interesting defence as he could claim he thought no one would be offended. Perhaps the man truly believed the bookstore’s patrons were all blind, and that no one would ever see him.
However, the sighted woman to whom he allegedly exposed himself may argue otherwise.
Marathon man saves jogging lawyer
Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman came to the rescue of 27-year-old Australian lawyer Sam Dempster, who suffered a heart attack while running in London’s Hyde Park.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hoffman – who owns a £10 million home in Kensington – had gone for a walk when he saw Mr Dempster collapse. The 74-year-old actor immediately called 999 and watched as medics saved Mr Dempster’s life. When Mr Dempster was finally resuscitated, the Rain Man actor reportedly said: ‘Great job, guys’.
Paramedic Martin Macarthur said: ‘Dustin was fascinated. He seemed impressed we’d got this guy back so quickly.’
Mr Dempster, who had an emergency operation similar to that of Bolton football star Fabrice Muamba, said: ‘I have no memory of what happened. The paramedics told me I had been saved by Dustin Hoffman. It’s unbelievable.’
International law firm Baker & McKenzie is suffering an internet backlash after ‘heavy handed’ tactics were allegedly employed in pursuing an Australian blogger who had been revealing products before their official release.
According to London-based legal news and satirical website Roll On Friday, Martyn Yang – a Canberra civil servant by day and a foam-shooting gun enthusiast by night – started his ‘Urban Taggers’ fanblog in 2010.
Mr Yang was overjoyed when Hasbro, the creators of NERF guns, emailed him with an offer of products to be given away as prizes. However, when Mr Yang sent his address he was greeted not by a stash of foam weaponry, but by a Baker & McKenzie letter before action, demanding he take down images he had posted of the unreleased N-Strike Elite Rampage Blaster and give up the details of the source who supplied information on the gun.
Mr Yang took down the images but said his sources were anonymous – unless there was someone who in real life rejoiced in the name ‘spunkypineapplehead666’.
However, Baker was clearly not appeased and a ‘goon squad’ was dispatched to get some answers from the blogger.
Mr Yang has now referred the matter to the Office of the NSW Legal Commissioner, while Baker has declined to comment on the incident.
A hard act to follow
There is stiff competition to appear in this publication’s gossip page, but it was hard to leave out a lawsuit filed against German motor giant BMW in San Francisco’s Superior Court, after a motorcycle seat allegedly left a man with a two-year erection.
Henry Wolf filed the suit after the ‘rigid seat’ of his 1993 BMW motorcycle left him with a severe case of priapism – aka an ever-lasting erection – which has caused him ‘mental and emotional anguish’.
Mr Wolf, who said the condition developed after a four-hour road trip on 1 May 2010, is suing both BMW North America and seat-marker Corbin Pacific.
The claim alleges that Mr Wolf suffered wage loss, hospital expenses, general damage and emotional distress from his condition, and he is seeking an unstated amount of compensation.
For its part, the motorcycle manufacturer released a statement from its US headquarters in Michigan maintaining the claimant wasn’t using a standard BMW motorcycle seat.
For whom the Bell tolls
An angry Florida man who threw his soft drink at a machine in a restaurant is facing a charge that could earn him a 15-year prison term, according to a report in the Gainesville Sun.
Suresh Chapman is accused of causing damages amounting to more than $5,000 – earning him a charge of a second-degree felony.
According to the report, Mr Suresh, 30, was so upset on receiving his order at a Taco Bell fast-food outlet that he threw his drink over the till – which promptly caused the computer network to shut down for a number of hours.
Police estimated that the incident caused damages amounting to $2,500, and the store lost around $3,000 in revenue while the system was down.
Gainesville Police Department spokeswoman Cpl Angelina Valuri said arresting officer Sean Borges was right to charge Mr Chapman with the second-degree felony – which can carry a 15-year sentence. She said: ‘That was the appropriate charge, based on the damage that was done to the business. That’s not a way to handle your problems if you’re upset with your order.’
Adding an extra sting to the tail, Mr Chapman also was charged with violating his probation on a 2011 child abuse case, according to the arrest report.
See no evil
It’s not often that the law turns a blind eye to cases of indecent exposure, but one man may have found a bizarre technicality to save his skin.
Police in a Philadelphia suburb are still looking for the man behind the unusual act of exposing himself at a bookstore for the blind.
In true Scooby Doo fashion, the Newtown Township bookstore flasher may have got away with the dastardly deed if it wasn’t for one pesky sight-enabled woman, who saw more than she bargained for while visiting the shop.
Find Law’s Legally Weird blog suggests that even if caught, the flasher may have already set his sights on an interesting defence as he could claim he thought no one would be offended. Perhaps the man truly believed the bookstore’s patrons were all blind, and that no one would ever see him.
However, the sighted woman to whom he allegedly exposed himself may argue otherwise.
Marathon man saves jogging lawyer
Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman came to the rescue of 27-year-old Australian lawyer Sam Dempster, who suffered a heart attack while running in London’s Hyde Park.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hoffman – who owns a £10 million home in Kensington – had gone for a walk when he saw Mr Dempster collapse. The 74-year-old actor immediately called 999 and watched as medics saved Mr Dempster’s life. When Mr Dempster was finally resuscitated, the Rain Man actor reportedly said: ‘Great job, guys’.
Paramedic Martin Macarthur said: ‘Dustin was fascinated. He seemed impressed we’d got this guy back so quickly.’
Mr Dempster, who had an emergency operation similar to that of Bolton football star Fabrice Muamba, said: ‘I have no memory of what happened. The paramedics told me I had been saved by Dustin Hoffman. It’s unbelievable.’
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