JANICE DICKINSON REVIVES COSBY LAWSUIT

Janice Dickinson, the former 80s super model who has alleged she was sexually assault by Bill Cosby more than 40 years ago, has successfully argued before a California appeals court that she should be allowed to amend her complaints against both Cosby and his former attorney, Marty Singer on defamation grounds.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dickinson made public her allegations of sexual assault, prompting media outlets worldwide to republish her allegations and to harang Cosby for a reaction.  Several additional alleged victims eventually came forward after Dickinson's interview, lawsuits were filed, and Cosby was blacklisted, losing lucrative licensing, publishing and distribution deals in the aftermath.

Attorney Marty Singer, acting as Cosby;s representative, sent cease and desist letters to the media, asserted that Dickinson's story was "fabricated and is an outrageous defamatory lie." Further, Singer threatened to sue Good Morning America if the ABC show proceeded with a planned segment with Dickinson. The following day, Singer issued a public statement again repeating that Dickinson's story of rape was a lie and different than what she had written in her own autobiography.  more

DONALD FAGEN SUES STEELY DAN BANDMATE'S ESTATE TO ENFORCE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO CONTROL BAND

Steely Dan lead singer Donald Fagen is suing the estate of bandmate Walter Becker in a move to assert an alleged right to exclusively exploit the band's brand.

At the center of Fagen's lawsuit is a 1972 buy-sell agreement signed by the original band-members when Steely Dan was incorporated. According to the complaint filed November 21, 2017 in L.A. County Superior Court, the contract provides that whenever a member of the group quits or dies, Steely Dan purchases all of that member's shares in the group. Fagen is also suing the group's business-management firm, Nigro Karlin Segal Feldstein & Bolno, in an effort to obtain an accounting, claiming the firm has been withholding records. more

HOLLYWOOD EXEC SUES EMMYS OVER RED CARPET FALL

Nancy Lesser, executive vice president of media and talent at HBO, has taken legal action against the businesses behind the Emmy Awards for negligence in preparing and maintaining the famed red carpet upon which nominees, winners and guests walk during the awards show. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Lesser alleges she experienced a terrible fall last year when exiting the Microsoft Theater. Her injury, she adds, caused her to miss out on HBO's afterparty and take eight months to rehabilitate.

The complaint targets the Television Academy, Anshutz Entertainment and the City of Los Angeles. Each of the defendants, alleges Lesser, laid out, positioned and erected the red carpet that provided a straight line to and from the theater.

Lesser's suit alleges those responsible for the red carpet knew based on past and present experience with awards shows that "even celebrity attendees to the Emmy Awards could be expected to exit in a throng-like manner, which would create extreme congestion and severely diminish any forward visibility and certainly diminish and preclude visibility of conditions that may exist on the walkway itself."  more