The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Congress, publishes a poll each month of what they consider ridiculous lawsuits. I have posted their February poll on the right on the home page of this blog. Please vote.
Most of the time I agree with the stupidity of the lawsuits, but in the case of Hubert Blackman, a college student who was ripped off by a hooker in Las Vegas, I am siding with the plaintiff.
Blackman was staying at the Stratosphere Hotel when he called La Vegas Exclusive Personals (owned by Hillsboro Enterprises, an “out call agency” for entertainers) to hire a stripper for a lap dance. Blackman said the woman performed a lap dance for $155 and a sex act for another $120. Instead of staying for the agreed-upon one hour, she left after just 30 minutes. He called the agency and demanded his money back. When denied a refund he called the police who informed him he could face arrest because prostitution was illegal in Vegas and they told him to complain to the Better Business Bureau.
Blackman told the Las Vegas Sun that the stripper solicited the sexual act and while he did not know prostitution was illegal in Vegas, the stripper certainly did.
When he got home to New York, he filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court in New York, charging "An escort did an illegal sexual act on me during her paid service to me'' and "I almost had gotten arrested."
Judge Loretta Preska, with the U.S. District Court, rejected his case last week ruling that his “allegations do not suggest a basis for federal jurisdiction” as they did not “draw into question the interpretation or application of federal law.” She said he also failed to “allege to a ‘reasonable probability’ that he has a cognizable claim in excess of $75,000, ” the minimum amount needed to qualify for federal jurisdiction. She also noted that Blackman should not have filed his lawsuit in New York, but rather Nevada, where the supposed offense occurred.
So the case was dismissed because he filed in the wrong court, not because he did not have cause. I hope Blackman files in Nevada; he was cheated out of services he had contracted for. Just because it was with a prostitute does not make it any less of a theft than if he had been cheated by an HVAC company cleaning out his air conditioning ducts. Either way he does not get his pipes cleaned.
Caroline writes:
ReplyDelete"He loses in most States because the law cannot be used to enforce a contract prohibited by law. "
Sue K
ReplyDelete"Only you...you should have been a lawyer!"
Shaunta writes:
ReplyDelete"You always wonder why type of person would pay for a prostitute and I think we can tell what type of guy this is. A stickler, he paid her $120 for an hour and during that course of the hour the prostitute must have thought she was done, for whatever reasons of course. I think the funniest part of the story is the dance was $155 and the sex act was $120. So the dance was worth more than the sex act. Well at least she finished that."
Perhaps,she concluded that her services had been successfully rendered and delivered before her estimate of one hour.
ReplyDelete