News and Culture » juicy suits

JUICY SUITS: ‘Defective’ Condos and a Persian Rug

James Pitkin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:03:22 +0000

A man is suing the Portland construction company that built his waterfront condo, claiming a faulty sprinkler system ruined his antique Persian rug.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Sohail Masood claims in mid-2007 a sprinkler pipe burst in The Strand, a condo just north of Southwest Portland’s Marquam Bridge.

The burst pipe flooded four floors of the building, including Masood’s unit, the lawsuit says. Masood transported his antique Persian rug to Pakistan for repairs, but an expert there said the rug was irreparably damaged, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, the damage was caused by “faulty workmanship, omitted or defective materials and/or improper installation” by Walsh Construction Co., the contractor that built The Strand.

The suit, filed by Portland lawyers David Axelrod and Manasi Kumar of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, seeks $50,000 for Masood’s lost rug and transport expenses.

Bob Walsh, president of Walsh Construction, has not yet returned a phone message seeking comment.

(NOTE: The photo above is of a random Persian rug and is not intended to represent Masood’s rug.)

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JUICY SUITS: Fired from Seattle’s Best Coffee for HIV? (With Updates from Attorney and Corporate HQ)

James Pitkin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:32:12 +0000

A man is claiming he was fired as manager at a downtown Seattle’s Best Coffee because he has HIV.

WW has agreed to a request from the man’s lawyer not to identify the plaintiff by name, in order to protect his medical privacy.

According to the lawsuit filed Sept. 21 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the man worked for the company from September 2000 to Feb. 24, 2008. He was a manager at Seattle’s Best in the Standard Plaza Building in downtown Portland at Portland State University, according to his lawyer, Benjamin Rosenthal

The 41-year-old man from North Portland is HIV-positive and treats his disease with various medications, the lawsuit says. On Jan. 17 this year, he asked his supervisor, Cesar Honores, to demote him to a barista position due to stress on the job that threatened to complicate his illness, the lawsuit says.

Rosenthal said the man intended to transfer to the Seattle’s Best store in the Standard Plaza Building downtown. Honores also was in charge of that store, Rosenthal says.

But on Feb. 24, the lawsuit says Honores told the man he could not work at any store that Honores managed.

“No one at Standard would be comfortable working with you,” Honores said, according to the lawsuit.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and back pay for alleged disability discrimination. Rosenthal has not yet returned a call seeking further information on his client and the case.

Media requests for Seattle’s Best are routed to Starbucks, which owns the chain. Starbucks headquarters in Seattle has not yet responded to an email seeking comment.

Starbucks spokeswoman Stacey Krum had this to say by email:

“We have not seen the lawsuit and do not have additional information regarding it at this time. However, I can tell you that our workplace policies provide for equal employment opportunities and strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of physical disability. We believe our track record for supporting hiring people with disabilities speaks for itself.”

JUICY SUITS: Biker Sues After Alleged Right Hook

James Pitkin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:00:04 +0000

A Portland cyclist is suing a Subaru driver who allegedly turned right and collided with her bike on North Interstate Avenue.

Webly Bowles is a 27-year old green building consultant who’s also a vegan and a blogger who reviews restaurants for a local website. She lives in North Portland with her husband and two dogs.

It doesn’t get much more Portland than that. Unfortunately for Bowles, another seemingly ingrained part of our city is car-versus-bike collisions. Those collisions include the dreaded “right hook,” when a car making a right turn hits a biker traveling alongside in the same direction.

And according to a lawsuit filed Sept. 15 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Bowles was the victim of a “right hook” two years ago when she was riding her bike northbound on Interstate.

Bowles’ lawsuit says she was riding her 1997 Terry cycle using a designated bike lane when Cheri McConnell, also a Multnomah County resident, was driving alongside Bowles in a 1998 Subaru. McConnell made a right turn without signaling, hitting Bowles and causing injuries to her back, neck, torso, spine, left leg, left shoulder and head, the lawsuit says.

The suit, filed by Portland lawyer John McVea, seeks $50,000 for Bowles’ past and future medical bills plus $100,000 for pain and suffering from the Sept. 21, 2007 collision.

McConnell could not be reached for comment.

JUICY SUITS: The O Gets Dragged to Court over Buyout Deal

James Pitkin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:35:13 +0000

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before The Oregonian got sued over which employees were allowed to take last year’s buyout offers.

It was generous of the paper’s New Jersey-based owners to offer two years’ salary and benefits to most employees who had worked at the paper more than 10 years and agreed to walk away. Employees who had between five and 10 years’ tenure were offered one year’s salary and bennies.

But given the increasingly desperate state of the newspaper business, the sheer number of workers involved, and the paper’s decision to extend the buyout to some employees but not to others, it comes as little surprise that some workers would feel burned watching colleagues floating away in a comfy raft while they were left behind on the ship.

Career Oregonian ad clerk James Bixler has become the first to file suit over the buyout, claiming he was wrongfully denied the offer and then later had his salary slashed.

In a lawsuit (PDF) filed this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Bixler alleges breach of contract, unlawful employment practice and negligent misrepresentation by the daily newspaper. The Sept. 14 lawsuit seeks his buyout benefits, plus unspecified “costs, fees and expenses.”

According to the lawsuit, Bixler is a third-generation Oregonian employee whose family has served the paper since the 1930s. He was first hired as a paperboy in the 1970s, the lawsuit says. He became an ad clerk in 1981 and — except for a two-year break from 1985 to 1987 — has continued to work for the company up to the present time, the lawsuit says.

On Aug. 22, 2008, Oregonian publisher Fred Stickel circulated the buyout offer and gave empolyees 45 days — until Oct. 6 — to accept the offer. A copy of the buyout offer (PDF) is attached to the lawsuit.

The offer wasn’t extended to all employees. Instead it came with an attached list of workers who were excluded from the offer, including “all salespeople with less than 25 years of service.”

The paper’s human-resources department told Bixler he had only 24.82 years of employment, the lawsuit says. Nonetheless, the lawsuit claims that Bixler’s boss, now-former marketing manager Brad Harmon, told Bixler in an email attached to the lawsuit (PDF) that Bixler could take the buyout.

According to the lawsuit, an unnamed “agent” of The Oregonian later left a voicemail for Bixler saying he didn’t qualify for the buyout after all. Harmon “convinced” Bixler to stop pursuing the buyout by telling Bixler his “pay and benefits continued to be secure,” the lawsuit says.

Seven months later, on March 23 of this year, The O cut Bixler’s pay by 10 percent and ceased accruing benefits to his retirement account, the lawsuit says.

The suit claims the buyout offer was expressly designed to deny Bixler its benefits by excluding sales staff with less than 25 years’ experience. The suit also claims Bixler had more than 25 years of experience by Oct. 6, 2008 — the cutoff date for accepting the buyout.

Oregonian Editor Sandy Rowe’s office referred questions about the lawsuit to managing editor Therese Bottomly. Bottomly refused to comment and also refused to forward a message to someone at the paper who would be willing to speak for this story.

The office of Mario van Dongen, The O’s director of advertising and marketing, referred questions to publisher Fred Stickel. Stickel’s assistant, Pam Perry, said Stickel would have no comment.

JUICY SUITS: MMA Fighter Matt “The Law” Lindland Goes Back to Court

James Pitkin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:59:37 +0000

Here’s a lawsuit that could get ugly. One mixed martial arts fighter (whose litigiousness earned him his nickname) is dragging another into court.

Matt “The Law” Lindland, an MMA fighter who made an unsuccessful run for the Oregon Legislature, is suing Gerald “Hurricane” Harris for alleged unpaid management fees.

According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 26 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Harris signed a contract in 2007 to be managed by Lindland’s Team Quest Management for 20 percent of Harris’s purse.

Harris still owes Lindland $16,000 for six professional fights, the lawsuit says. If that’s 20 percent of the purse, it would mean Harris got paid more than $13,000 per fight.

The suit also says Harris never paid back a $5,000 loan from Lindland. Lindland wants all that money, plus his attorney’s fees, according to court records.

Jahani Curl, the manager now listed on Harris’s website, has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment on Harris’s behalf.

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JUICY SUITS: BridgePort Busboy Claims Sexual Harassment

James Pitkin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:18:33 +0000

A former busboy is suing the BridgePort Brewing Company, claiming he faced months of sexual harassment because his boss refused to believe he was straight.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, current California resident Chris Smith claims he started work at BridgePort on Jan. 2, 2008. Working first as a host and then as a busser, he was paid $9 an hour, the lawsuit says.

Beginning about one month into his job, the lawsuit says, Smith was subjected to unwanted sexual advances by his direct supervisor, assistant general manager Dave Pendleton, including allegations that Pendleton allegedly:

•Told Smith he looked sexy.

•Grabbed Smith’s bicep and told him he looked good in his shirt.

•Stood too close to Smith when speaking to him.

•Touched Smith and placed his hand in the small of his back.

•Told Smith he was the “gayest straight guy” he had met.

•Said “for some guys it takes until 23 to learn they like to fuck men.”

According to the lawsuit, Smith told Pendleton multiple times that he wasn’t gay and arranged to have Pendleton meet his girlfriend. But Pendleton persisted, the lawsuit says.

Smith’s colleagues told him they’d seen Pendleton treat other male employees the same way, and some said they had experienced it themselves, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, after Smith repeatedly refused his advances Pendleton behaved in a “passive-aggressive manner” and became “hyper-critical of his work.” When Smith took bathroom breaks, Pendleton told him he should “pee faster,” the lawsuit says.

Pendleton fired Smith on Sept. 1, 2008, telling him that he worked too slowly, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, filed by Portland lawyer Elizabeth McKanna against BridgePort and its parent company in Texas, claims Smith was the victim of sexual harassment and retaliation.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount for Smith’s “past and future” lost pay, plus $250,000 for pain and suffering, and a court order that BridgePort is barred from engaging in “sexual and retaliatory harassment.”

BridgePort brewpub manager Bob Negele has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment.

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JUICY SUITS: Skater Vs. TriMet Bus

James Pitkin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:37:47 +0000

A skateboarder is suing TriMet after he was allegedly hit by a bus in Southeast Portland.

According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, 23-year-old Clayton Stubblefield was skating near the intersection of Southeast 7th Street and Hawthorne on July 17, 2008. He was hit by a TriMet bus merging into the lane he was skating in, the lawsuit says.

Stubblefield suffered cuts and abrasions as well as “severe wrenching, tearing, straining and bruising of muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and soft tissues of his neck and back,” the lawsuit says.

The suit, filed by Aloha lawyer Michael Sahagian, seeks $3,500 for medical expenses plus $25,000 for pain and suffering.

TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

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JUICY SUITS: Schnoodle Vs. Pit Bull

James Pitkin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:23:04 +0000

This is a pit bull.

This is a schnoodle (combination schnauzer and poodle).

We can guess which would win in a dog-fighting ring. But we may also learn which breed prevails in a supposedly more equal arena: a court of law.

In a lawsuit filed July 21 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Northeast Portland schnoodle owner Diana Chesney claims his neighbor’s pit bull, Hoss, bit her and her schnoodle, Henry.

According to the lawsuit, Chesney was walking Henry near her home on Northeast 174th Avenue on Dec. 30, 2008. As they passed the home of Uydo Nguyen Le and Daniel Nguyen, their pit bull Hoss left the porch and crossed the front yard “at a high rate of speed,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Hoss lunged at Henry, and Chesney tried to rescue the schnoodle by picking him up. As she did so, the lawsuit says, Hoss bit Henry and Chesney at the same time.

The lawsuit claims pit bulls “have dangerous and aggressive propensities towards other dogs and persons,” and that Hoss’s owners “knew or should have known that pit bills have a vicious nature and disposition.”

Chesney suffered a cut on her hand as a result of the attack, and Henry required veterinary care, the lawsuit says. The suit, filed by Clackamas lawyer William Knox, seeks $3,475.33 for Chesney’s medical expenses, Henry’s vet bill, and time off work to take Henry to the vet, plus $2,000 for pain and suffering.

Uydo Nguyen Le and Daniel Nguyen could not be reached for comment.

The photos above show a random pit bull and a random schnoodle and are not intended to depict Hoss and Henry.

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JUICY SUITS: The Little Train That Could … Do A Lot Of Damage (At Least That’s The Accusation)

Katie Litvin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:01:15 +0000

A woman is suing Oaks Park, alleging she suffered several injuries in September 2007 when she was hit by the miniature train that circles the park .

Shelly Fairfield claims in her lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court that she was standing “on the premises controlled and operated by defendant Oaks Park, when suddenly and without warning, John Doe, driving the train… ran into and struck [her].”

After the train hit her, Fairfield says she suffered this list of injuries:

“a crush injury to her left foot”
“contusion” on her left foot
“contusions on multiple sites in her lower limb”
“contusion on upper arm”
“lumbar sprain”
“hip sprain”
“knee sprain”
“ankle sprain”
“tendonitis”
“stenosing tenosynovitis in left foot” (unofficially known as trigger finger)
and finally, “tearing, twisting and strain of muscles, ligaments and soft tissues throughout her lumbar spine, left hip, knee and anke”

The lawsuit says Oaks Park did not adequately train its employees on operating the train or provide warnings to guests, and also alleges the amusement park failed to prevent pedestrians from being in the area where the train was operated.

The suit seeks $4,000 for Fairfield’s medical expenses and up to $95,000 for suffering that includes discomfort, “loss of enjoyment of life,” “loss of normal family relations” and “impairment to homemaking abilities.”

Oaks Park spokeswoman Mary Beth Coffey declined to comment.

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(Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillsdalehouse/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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JUICY SUITS: Fighting Back Against Robocalls

James Pitkin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:12:15 +0000

A Southwest Portland man is seeking revenge in court on telemarketing companies for robocalls he allegedly received on his cell phone. He wants the companies to pay him $1,500 per call.

Chris Hughson, a 30-year-old financial analyst, fired off two lawsuits in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Thursday over seven unwanted automated phone calls he says he received in June and July.

Hughson, who graduated from Willamette University law school in 2005, filed the lawsuits on his own without the help of another attorney. He says that because the law doesn’t provide attorney fees to be awarded for such cases, few lawyers will take them on.

But Hughson says the Telephone Consumer Protection Act provides up to $1,500 in damages for robocalls made to cell phones. He says he’s suing out of principle, not for the money.

“Somebody has to stand up to these guys,” Hughson tells WW. “It’s the only way I can see to stop them.”

The first lawsuit alleges Hughson received two calls in July he traced back to three different companies: Portland-based TM Caller ID, Utah-based Home Security Group and New Hampshire-based Bayring Communications.

A man at TM Caller who declined to identify himself said the company doesn’t make calls, but instead provides other companies with a caller ID service. Home Security Group and Bayring Communications have not yet returned phone calls seeking comment.

The second lawsuit claims Hughson received seven automated calls in June from New Jersey-based DialAmerica Marketing, which has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment.

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