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Man sues over 8-year-old wedding photos

November 14, 2011

New York (CNN) — One unhappy divorcé has sued a photography company, hoping to re-enact his wedding from eight years ago and capture the moments missed by the original photographer, according to court documents.

Todd J. Remis is suing for a reimbursement of the $4,100 he paid for the photographs, as well as $48,000 to reunite the entire wedding party, including his ex-wife, and restage the event.

Daniel Fried, co-owner of H&H Photographers, said, “I’ve speculated so many times about why he’s going to such an extent to sue us. Doesn’t seem logical.”

According to court documents, Remis claims the photographer missed key moments of the wedding, including the last dance and the bouquet toss.

However, according to the deposition, Remis was unable to recall who caught the bouquet or what song was played during the last dance. The exact whereabouts of his ex-wife, Melina, are unknown, though she is said to have returned to her native Latvia.

Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of the New York state Supreme Court has allowed the case to proceed despite throwing out a majority of it, including a charge of infliction of emotional distress.

Remis filed the lawsuit against H&H Photographers in 2009.

The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2010.

The suit does not threaten H&H’s 65-year business. Still, Fried says, “This case is taking away time and energy from what we do best. This lawsuit is an absolute abuse of the legal system.”

Remis was not available for comment.

Article: CNN

Cities struggle to deal with occupy movement

San Francisco (CNN) — Police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Oakland encampment early Monday, tearing down tents and arresting some protesters, the latest effort by city officials across the country to gain control over a movement that some leaders say has become a public safety and health threat.

Oakland, California, police, aided by dozens of officers from nearby jurisdictions, arrested 32 people in the effort to clear Frank Ogawa Plaza near City Hall before dawn Monday, Interim Chief Howard Jordan said. There were no reports of injuries or complaints of abuse, he said.

The camp had become an unbearable drain on city resources, an economic threat to nearby businesses and a danger to public safety, Mayor Jean Quan said.

“The encampment became a place where we had repeated violence and this week a murder. We had to bring the camp to an end before more people were hurt,” she said.

The developments in Oakland come amid rising concern from city officials around the country that the protests drain resources and threaten public health. What started as the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York in September has spread across cities worldwide as a call to action against unequal distribution of wealth and other issues.

How will Occupy strategize to combat concerns?

In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter said Sunday that what started as a peaceful protest 39 days ago has given way to increasing public safety and public health concerns.

“Occupy Philly has changed,” Nutter said. “We’re seeing serious health and safety issues playing out on an almost daily basis. … The people of Occupy Philly have also changed and their intentions have changed. And all of this is not good for Philadelphia.”

Article: CNN

Supreme Court to hear dispute on health care law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a dispute testing the constitutionality of the Obama-sponsored health care overhaul, a move that opens the most important chapter in the legal battle over the law.

The leading question before the justices is whether in requiring most Americans to buy insurance, Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce.

The case is on track to be heard by March, and a ruling would come by the end of June, just before the Republican and Democratic conventions for the 2012 presidential election. The law known as the Affordable Care Act, intended to extend medical care nationwide, is the centerpiece of the Obama domestic agenda, and all major GOP presidential candidates oppose it.

The legal challengers, including a group of 26 states, say the law went beyond federal power and, if allowed to stand, would hurt small businesses and compromise individual choices on medical care.

“This is going to be the most heavily covered Supreme Court case in history, even more so than Bush v. Gore, because that was so compressed,” says Washington lawyer Thomas Goldstein, who argues regularly at the court, referring to the 2000 presidential election dispute that lasted just over a month. “This will run from today until the summer.”

Goldstein, who oversees the popular “scotusblog” that tracks the court’s actions, calls the health care dispute “the perfect storm of a pocketbook issue that’s also part of an ideological war between the parties in an election year.”

Article: USA TODAY

NBA players say no to deal, season could be over

The National Basketball Players Association, saying the collective bargaining process has “completely broken down,” served notice to the NBA on Monday that they plan to dissolve and pursue antitrust lawsuits against the league for the 137-day lockout.

“The players feel they’re not prepared to accept any ultimatum,” NBPA executive director Billy Hunter said. “We think it’s extremely unfair to give (players the ultimatum) that they accept (the owners’) proposal or roll back to 47%” from a 50-50 split of basketball-related income.

MORE: Timeline to an NBA season on the brink
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“We have negotiated in good faither for over two years,” Hunter said. “But the players just felt they have given enough, that the NBA was not prepared to negotiate, that things were not going to get better.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern had spent the weekend telegraphing to the players that the league intended to roll back to the 53-47 BRI percentage split and a hard cap if the players did not accept the last offer on the table, which came at the end of 23 hours of negotiations late last week.

“The proposal made by the NBA was regressive,” Hunter said.

Stern, saying he was saddened and “terribly disappointed,” refused to say the words “the season is over,” but made it clear the outlook is not good.

Article: USA TODAY