Skip to main content
Follow Us

Civil Lawsuits

Civil cases refer to legal disputes between two or more parties stemming from non-criminal matters, such as contract or property disputes, personal injury claims, or family law matters like divorce and child custody.

Minneapolis to pay $27M to settle Floyd family lawsuit
Minneapolis to pay $27M to settle Floyd family lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the Black man’s death in police custody, even as jury selection continued in a former officer’s murder trial. The Minneapolis City Council emerged from closed session to announce the record settlement, […] More

March 12, 2021

Man cleared of double murder sues over torture confession
Man cleared of double murder sues over torture confession

CHICAGO (AP) — A man who received a certificate of innocence after spending 33 years in prison in the 1987 death of his mother-in-law and her mother has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago, his lawyer said Monday. Robert Smith, 72, alleges eight former Chicago police detectives working under former commander Jon […] More

March 2, 2021

Deal reached in suit alleging James Franco sexual misconduct
Deal reached in suit alleging James Franco sexual misconduct

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that alleged James Franco intimidated students at an acting and film school he founded into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Saturday. The two sides filed a joint status report in Los Angeles Superior Court telling a judge […] More

February 22, 2021

UK judge rules that newspaper invaded Meghan’s privacy
UK judge rules that newspaper invaded Meghan’s privacy

LONDON (AP) — A newspaper invaded the Duchess of Sussex’s privacy by publishing personal letter to her estranged father, a British judge ruled Thursday, in a major victory for the royal in her campaign against what she sees as media intrusion. The former American actress Meghan Markle, 39, sued publisher Associated Newspapers for invasion of […] More

February 11, 2021

Prince Harry accepts apology, damages in UK libel suit
Prince Harry accepts apology, damages in UK libel suit

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry on Monday accepted an apology and damages from the publisher of British tabloid The Mail on Sunday and its online version, MailOnline, in a libel lawsuit relating to articles about his relationship with the British armed forces. Harry sued Associated Newspapers for libel over two articles published in October which […] More

February 1, 2021

Kobe Bryant’s widow slams lawsuit from mom seeking support
Kobe Bryant’s widow slams lawsuit from mom seeking support

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant’s widow has denounced a lawsuit from her mother claiming she is owed years of pay for working as an unpaid assistant and support promised by the basketball legend, who was killed in a helicopter crash in January. Vanessa Bryant issued a statement Thursday saying her mother was trying to […] More

December 18, 2020

Appeals court sends ‘Leaving Neverland’ fight to arbitration
Appeals court sends ‘Leaving Neverland’ fight to arbitration

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a lawsuit filed by the Michael Jackson estate over an HBO documentary about two of the late pop star’s sex abuse accusers can go forward in private arbitration. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of […] More

December 14, 2020

FKA twigs sues Shia LaBeouf, alleging abusive relationship
FKA twigs sues Shia LaBeouf, alleging abusive relationship

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer FKA twigs filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that Shia LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive during their relationship from 2018 to 2019, saying her experience was part of a pattern of terrorizing women for the 34-year-old actor.   “Shia LaBeouf hurts women,” the lawsuit […] More

December 11, 2020

UK judge refuses Depp permission to appeal libel ruling
UK judge refuses Depp permission to appeal libel ruling

LONDON (AP) — A judge has refused Johnny Depp permission to appeal against a British court’s ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard. Earlier this month a High Court judge rejected Depp’s claim that a newspaper had committed libel when it called him a “wife-beater.” Judge Andrew Nicol said the article in The Sun was […] More

November 25, 2020

Wrongful death lawsuit filed over Naya Rivera’s drowning
Wrongful death lawsuit filed over Naya Rivera’s drowning

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over the drowning of “Glee” actor Naya Rivera, who died this summer while boating with her 4-year-old son on a California lake. The suit, filed Tuesday, blames Ventura County and managers of Lake Piru for her accidental death on July 8 at the lake […] More

November 19, 2020

Johnny Depp exits ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise after failed libel case
Johnny Depp exits ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise after failed libel case

NEW YORK (AP) — Johnny Depp has exited the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise following his failed libel case against The Sun tabloid newspaper for a 2018 article that labeled him a “wife beater.” Depp said Friday in a letter posted on Instagram that he would depart the role of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald after the […] More

November 6, 2020

UK court rules against Johnny Depp in libel action
UK court rules against Johnny Depp in libel action

LONDON (AP) — A British court ruled Monday against Johnny Depp in his libel case against the owner of the Sun tabloid newspaper, which labelled him a “wife beater.” In a ruling, Justice Andrew Nicol said Depp has “not succeeded in his action for libel.” He added that the defendants had shown what they published […] More

November 2, 2020

Evel Knievel’s son suing Disney over ‘Toy Story 4’ character
Evel Knievel’s son suing Disney over ‘Toy Story 4’ character

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Evel Knievel’s son is on a collision course with the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar over a movie daredevil character named Duke Caboom. A federal trademark infringement lawsuit filed in Las Vegas accuses the movie company of improperly basing the new character in last year’s “Toy […] More

September 24, 2020

Judge reduces damages over murder of missing woman’s sons
Judge reduces damages over murder of missing woman’s sons

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A judge in Washington state has reduced the damages in a wrongful death case brought by Susan Cox Powell’s parents on behalf of her sons. Judith and Charles Cox had said the state didn’t do enough to keep their 7- and 5-year-old grandsons safe from their father, who killed the boys […] More

September 17, 2020

Giants’ Baker sued over alleged May robbery in Florida
Giants’ Baker sued over alleged May robbery in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three people filed a lawsuit Monday against New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, claiming that he robbed them at gunpoint during a May cookout in Florida, court records show. The civil lawsuit filed in Broward County court seeks $100,000 in damages. Baker was formally charged Aug. 7 with four counts […] More

September 16, 2020

Georgia county where Black man shot sues over policing vote
Georgia county where Black man shot sues over policing vote

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The commissioners of a coastal Georgia county where Black man Ahmaud Arbery was fatally shot after being pursued by armed white men are suing to stop a referendum on abolishing the county police department. The Glynn County Commission filed the lawsuit Friday, The Brunswick News reports. The report said the lawsuit argues that […] More

September 2, 2020

Suit: LA officer fondled dead woman, showed video to others
Suit: LA officer fondled dead woman, showed video to others

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles police officer accused of fondling a dead woman was sued Tuesday by her family, court documents show. The lawsuit accuses Officer David Rojas of fondling Elizabeth Baggett’s breasts and “feeling her nipples, without limitation,” as well as showing the body camera video of […] More

August 13, 2020

Comedian Andy Dick sues man who punched him in New Orleans
Comedian Andy Dick sues man who punched him in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Comedian Andy Dick has filed a lawsuit in New Orleans against the man who punched him last year outside a French Quarter nightclub. Documents in the July 30 lawsuit were made public Thursday, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. Dick, 54, said the punch by David Hale, 47, caused “serious, permanent and disabling […] More

August 7, 2020

Depp lawyer says Amber Heard lied during tabloid libel case
Depp lawyer says Amber Heard lied during tabloid libel case

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Johnny Depp’s high-stakes libel case against a British tabloid that accused him of assaulting ex-wife Amber Heard wrapped up Tuesday in a London court, with the star’s lawyer calling Heard “a compulsive liar” and claiming that Depp was the real victim of abuse in the relationship. The […] More

July 28, 2020

Lawyer claims Depp was misogynistic abuser of ex-wife Heard
Lawyer claims Depp was misogynistic abuser of ex-wife Heard

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A lawyer for British tabloid The Sun claimed Monday that Johnny Depp was “a hopeless addict” whose violence toward ex-wife Amber Heard was fueled by misogyny and a toxic combination of drink, drugs, jealousy and anger.   Attorney Sasha Wass was summing up at Depp’s libel case […] More

July 27, 2020

Harry and Meghan sue over photo of son at California home
Harry and Meghan sue over photo of son at California home

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sued Thursday to stop the sale and publication of a photo of their son Archie that they say was shot at their Los Angeles-area home in invasion of their privacy. The royal couple gives a detailed account in the lawsuit of […] More

July 24, 2020