Legal news, some illegal. All of it interesting
1. Polly Wanna Smack Her? Pet Parrots Eviction Battle
Legal eagles brought home a nest egg for a Manhattan woman facing eviction beakcause of her three emotional support parrots. When she moved into the co-op apartment in 1999, she had two parrots – Layla and Ginger. But in 2015, Curtis joined the girls and residents say it was cockatoo much – constant squawking and shrieking. Eventually, the co-op’s board tried to evict her. She pecked back with a fair housing complaint and a doctor’s note verifying her parrots were emotional support animals. Polly wanna hug? The dispute landed in federal court where under a consent decree she won $165K in damages along with $585K for her apartment. Celebratory cockatiels anyone?
2. Mattress Mack Won’t Take Power Outage Lying Down
Texas tempurs are boiling. Millions of Houston residents lost electricity for several days after July’s Hurricane Beryl. Perhaps no one’s bed bugged more than Mattress Mack, a local furniture store owner famous for his cash-waving television ads. Lawmakers held legislative hearings and the AG is investigating, but Mattress Mack called out the utility company’s sleep number on X. When Beryl hit, a May windstorm that also knocked out power was still fresh in Mattress Mack’s memory foam. He went viral saying he won’t beautyrest until the company’s CEO resigns. His king-sized criticism prompted the CEO to assure lawmakers they’re working to regain the trust of customers and Mattress Mack.
3. Not Very Demure: Tiktok’s Latest Catchphrase Stolen?
You see how we put together the High Five? Very demure, very mindful. That’s thanks to TikTok influencer Jools Lebron. She attracted 2M followers overnight and multiple sponsors with her deferential advice. But suddenly she’s very mindful of U.S. trademark law. A man in Washington state beat Lebron to the punch and trademarked her catchphrase “Very Demure .. Very Mindful …” The whole situation makes her feel crazy like these other girls. If the application’s approved, Lebron can’t use it in Washington on merch or in sponsored content – unless she gets a federal trademark. Experts say Lebron shouldn’t despair – that’s not very cutesy – she can still secure her rights.
4. Cybersecurity Lab Refused AV Software. Wait, What?
Feds accuse Georgia Tech – specifically its cybersecurity lab – of fraud. The Department of Defense claims it paid millions to Georgia Tech for military technology that was out of compliance. Why? The cybersecurity lab stored the work in an unsecure environment and didn’t monitor for breaches. What in the Computers for Dummies is going on here? The cybersecurity lab director allegedly doesn’t like putting antivirus software on his computers, so he didn’t – for years. Seems like a very odd flex for someone in cybersecurity, but okaaay. Administrators suspended invoicing when they realized the lab wasn’t complying, but feds say too little too late. GT filed numerous invoices before installing antivirus software.
We like big bytes and we cannot lie here…
5. How Dairy They? Death Threats Over Ice Cream Ban
A 12-year-old Massachusetts boy sold homemade ice cream to raise money for his brother’s hockey team which features players with special needs. But somebody complained and authorities shut it down citing health cones. He then gave away his ice cream and accepted donations. Local media ran with it and area businesses held their own fundraisers for the hockey team. Talk about sweet success. But there’s a dark chocolate side. Town officials say they’ve received hate mail and death threats from citizens essentially saying “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” As for the boy’s mom, she just wants to know who complained. Betty? Trish? Was it you?
