Legal news, some illegal. All of it interesting
1. Going Up? Billionaire Frustration, Yes. Elevators, No
For the top one percent of the one percent, it’s been a tough few days. First, billionaire Sam Altman’s infinity pool at his mansion is leaking – he’s suing. Now, Palmer Luckey says the elevator at his mansion doesn’t work and he’s suing. The war weapons entrepreneur and Oculus founder claims people keep getting stuck in the elevator and scissor lifts of his Newport home – the one he built to accommodate his car collection. Luckey accuses the builders of using non-compliant and substandard scissor lifts. And you can’t cut corners with scissor lifts, amiright? Cutting to the chase, the builders deny all allegations.
Don’t run with scissor lifts here…
2. Cringe Warning: Staffer Replies All to Email, Fired
A San Francisco District Attorney’s Office employee accidentally sent a “reply all” email to his entire office. Not a big deal, except, the original email came from the DA. So, when he replied “what color panties you have on” to everyone, including the DA, his career prospects suddenly went fruit of the gloom. He’s suing, not because he was fired, but because the DA Office cited his “misogynistic behavior” in terminating him. That language, he claims, defamed and humiliated him. After all, he was just texting an old friend and being goofy and playful when he inadvertently emailed the panties comment. Who hasn’t accidentally emailed in the middle of texting?
3. Waymo’s Weally Sick of Vandalism
Alphabet’s driverless taxi company is being picked on. Waymo says vandals have attacked dozens of robotaxis in San Francisco. Now it’s byte-ing back and suing at least one person with an alleged microchip on their shoulder. The lawsuit accuses a Tesla driver of intentionally rear-ending its Jaguar crossover, then blaming Waymo on X, while also asking @ElonMusk for a job. It’s called multi-tasking. Waymo contends the man ran a stop sign, hitting its vehicle. When the roboride pulled over, he allegedly rammed it again. Police cited him and Waymo asked him to delete the X post and pay nearly $46K for repairs. Its lawsuit demands way mo money – $137K.
When the microchips are down here…
4. Literally Anybody Else for President?
Nothing’s more divisive than politics, but for a Texas man the upcoming presidential election’s a name changer. No really. He legally changed his name to Literally Anybody Else and declared his intention to run as a write-in candidate for U.S. President. LAE says his campaign’s not so much about specific grievances. He’s protesting a system he believes prioritizes partisanship over real solutions. While he didn’t get enough signatures to make the ballot in Texas, Tennessee voters will have the opportunity to vote for Literally Anybody Else in November. By the way, his running mate lives in Switzerland.
5. Smile Though Your Heart Is Breaking, AI’s Watching
A Japanese supermarket chain’s using AI to – stop us when you get Big Brother vibes – gauge and standardize the smiles of customer service employees. Mr Smile – nothing creepy about that – analyzes more than 450 elements, including facial expressions, volume, and tone. Employees earn higher scores by improving their mind set. Supermarket execs say a three-month trial produced much better staff attitudes – according to them. Critics say big concerns on aisle nine because Mr Smile could send employees’ individuality and freedom of expression straight to frozen foods. And in Japan where abuse from customers is a significant issue, some frown at Mr Smile’s forced cheer.
