This Week's Most Notable Personal Injury Stories

Happy Friday! ?? Welcome to this week's edition of Enjuris Briefs. Our team of dedicated attorney editors has hand-selected the most notable—and notably amusing—personal injury stories from the past week.

Top Legal Stories

WWE Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Decades-Long Culture of Abuse

A new lawsuit claims WWE's founders, Vince and Linda McMahon, ignored a culture of abuse, allowing longtime announcer Melvin Phillips to prey on young “ring boys” for years. The suit, filed in Maryland under a recent law that removes the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims, alleges Phillips targeted boys from disadvantaged backgrounds, assaulting them in locker rooms, hotels, and dressing rooms. Although Phillips died in 2012, the suit names WWE and the McMahons as defendants, asserting they knowingly allowed Phillips to exploit his WWE persona to attract vulnerable kids.

The case arrives after Vince McMahon’s resignation amid his own sexual misconduct scandal, which has reignited allegations of WWE leadership’s complicity in abusive practices. The lawsuit accuses WWE of firing and later rehiring Phillips in the 1980s despite abuse allegations, reflecting what attorney Greg Gutzler describes as a "top-down culture of abuse." While Maryland’s new law paves the way for cases like this, its constitutionality is pending a review by the state Supreme Court.

Football Coach Found Liable in Teen’s Tragic Suicide, Family Awarded $5.4M

A Rhode Island jury awarded $5.4 million to the family of 15-year-old Nathan Bruno, who took his own life in 2018. The jury found that Portsmouth High School’s former football coach, Ryan Moniz, and certain school administrators were negligent in their handling of Bruno’s situation, contributing to the teenager’s suicide.?

According to the lawsuit, Moniz pressured Bruno to reveal the names of other students involved in sending him harassing messages. This pressure reportedly extended beyond the coach to include Bruno’s football teammates, which the family argued created a toxic environment and contributed to his emotional distress.

Moniz and other school staff allegedly failed to communicate with Bruno’s parents about a police investigation involving him and reassigned him to another class without notifying his family. Ultimately, the jury found Moniz’s actions directly caused Bruno’s death, resulting in an award against the school district. The verdict follows a recent wave of similar cases nationwide, including a $2 million settlement in Utah, underscoring the courts’ recognition of schools’ responsibilities to protect student well-being.

Learn more here.

Hershey Faces Halloween Suit Alleging “Forever Chemicals” in Candy Wrappers

Just days before Halloween, The Hershey Co. was hit with a class action lawsuit claiming the packaging for popular candies like Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and KitKats contains unsafe levels of fluorine and PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” The suit, led by Jonathan Parish of Louisiana, alleges that third-party testing found elevated PFAS levels in Hershey wrappers, contrasting with negligible amounts in competing products by Mars and Nestlé.

The complaint argues Hershey knowingly misleads consumers about its products’ safety, accusing the company of violating warranties and consumer protection laws. PFAS, which the FDA restricts from food packaging, are linked to health and environmental risks. The suit seeks damages and an injunction on behalf of all purchasers. Hershey has not yet responded to the claims.

Man Sues Alaska Airlines, Blames Forced Seat Change for Dog’s Death Mid-Flight

Michael Contillo took every precaution to ensure his two French bulldogs, Ash and Kora, would travel safely from New York City to San Francisco, even booking first-class seats for extra space. However, minutes before takeoff, airline staff reportedly forced Contillo and his dogs to move to coach, despite his warnings that it would stress Ash. Five hours later, upon landing, Contillo opened Ash’s carrier to find the four-year-old bulldog had died, prompting him to file a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines.

Contillo described his devastation at the scene, recalling how flight crew members ignored his distress, with one remarking, “Now you’re going to blame us for killing your dog.” Contillo’s lawsuit claims the forced seat change was negligent and ultimately fatal to Ash, who began to panic and struggle to breathe after being relocated. The suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, accuses the airline of negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, seeking damages for the loss of his beloved pet. Alaska Airlines has yet to respond to the allegations.

Mother Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Montgomery County Schools, Citing Failure to Protect Son from Deadly Bullying

The mother of Jailyn Lawrence Jones, a 17-year-old found murdered in early 2022, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), alleging that school officials’ failure to address repeated bullying led to his tragic death. Jailyn, a senior at Northwest High School, endured ongoing harassment from classmates, a situation his mother, Alexis Jones-McDaniel, claims the school ignored, leading to a fatal assault. The lawsuit states that MCPS officials were aware of the risks, citing an incident where a classmate allegedly brought a ghost gun to school weeks prior, yet failed to take adequate protective measures.

Jailyn’s body was discovered in a creek, with evidence pointing to blunt force trauma. Though a classmate was initially charged with his murder, the student was later acquitted, leaving the investigation open. Jones-McDaniel’s suit emphasizes the school’s reliance on suspension rather than supportive measures, arguing this response left her son more vulnerable. She hopes the case will push schools to adopt stronger anti-bullying policies and safety protocols, to prevent other families from suffering similar losses.

Kamala Harris' Candidacy Spurs 64% Surge in Applications to Her Law School Alma Mater

UC Law San Francisco is experiencing a major boost in applicants this year, with a 64% increase in submissions linked to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The law school has received 633 applications so far, compared to 385 at this time last year, far outpacing the national applicant rise of 33%. As an alumna, Harris has become a key attraction for prospective students inspired by her legal career. The trend follows a similar bump in 2020, when her vice presidential nomination led to a 33% increase in applicants.

Court Rules Commanders Fans Injured in Railing Collapse Bound by Arbitration Clause Despite Not Buying Tickets Themselves

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that four fans injured in a 2022 railing collapse at FedExField are bound by an arbitration clause tied to the game tickets, even though they didn't directly purchase them. Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, writing for the court, upheld the doctrine of apparent authority, finding it reasonable for the Washington Commanders to assume that Brandon Gordon, who purchased nine tickets, did so on behalf of his friends, including plaintiff Michael A. Naimoli, Jr.

The case, remanded to determine if the ticket purchase formed a valid contract, pivots on Gordon’s role as the ticket buyer and the plaintiffs’ use of those tickets to enter the stadium. The court found that under Maryland law, Gordon’s purchase of multiple tickets implied authority to act for the group, a common practice in ticketed events. The ruling overturns the district court's previous denial of arbitration, requiring plaintiffs to pursue their claims in arbitration rather than in court.

Read the full opinion here.

Amusing Legal Story

From Prison to the Bar: Former Inmates Forge New Paths in Law

We all take different paths to become lawyers, but few have a story like Jonas Caballero’s.

Caballero graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh and later attended Cambridge on a Fulbright. His path took an unexpected turn when he began struggling with PTSD after witnessing human rights abuses in the West Bank and surviving a shooting by the Israel Defense Forces. To cope, Caballero turned to meth, cocaine, and alcohol, which eventually led to an arrest for selling drugs in 2017.

While in prison, Caballero was sexually assaulted by a guard and, after filing numerous grievances, suffered further abuse. His mother mailed him the Prisoners Self-Help Litigation Manual, which became his introduction to law. He soon took control by filing lawsuits as a jailhouse lawyer, igniting a passion for defending human rights and inspiring him to pursue a legal career.

Despite a strong academic record, Caballero faced steep barriers to law school admission, with only two of ten schools placing him on waitlists.

Each state has its own rules for formerly incarcerated individuals—Kansas, Mississippi, and Texas, for instance, bar anyone with a felony. Law school applications also include character and fitness evaluations that require disclosure of any criminal history, often leading to additional scrutiny.

The story has a happy ending though: Caballero is currently thriving as a student at Albany Law School where he is just weeks away from graduating.

Read more about Caballero and others who began their legal careers behind bars here.

Quote of the Week

“Well what can we talk about? Can we talk about the butt fairy?” - Judge Jon Marshal Ickes

Most judges are models of professionalism and decorum—but every profession has its outliers.

Ohio Judge Jon Marshal Ickes of the Sandusky County Common Pleas Court in Ohio is facing an ethics complaint detailing a troubling series of incidents that allegedly created a toxic and unprofessional environment.

Among the allegations, Ickes is said to have referred to Snapchat as “snatch chat” when warning jurors not to discuss cases online, a term the complaint footnotes as a crude reference to female anatomy. He also allegedly referred to a child-rape case on his docket as the “baby c- - -sucker case” and sent colleagues inappropriate videos, including one of a woman eating a banana, during the trial.

In one incident described in the ethics complaint, Judge Ickes allegedly made inappropriate comments to his assignment commissioner, referred to as J.D., while she was pregnant and experiencing morning sickness. When J.D. expressed discomfort, Ickes reportedly told her to “man up and get some balls.” According to her account, the conversation escalated when he said, “Just wait until you get a visit from the titty fairy.” When J.D. objected, Ickes allegedly responded, “Well then what can we talk about? Can we talk about the butt fairy?” This dialogue, paired with the judge’s frequent use of inappropriate nicknames like “pimple d- - -” for the county’s HR representative and asking a prosecutor to join a “throuple” with him and his wife, paints a disturbing picture of Ickes' office behavior.

Beyond offensive language, the ethics complaint accuses Ickes of reckless actions, such as keeping both a real gun and a Nerf gun in his chambers and joking that he almost mistook his real gun for the Nerf gun while aiming at a visitor. The complaint states that Ickes’ actions violated ethical rules, including those requiring judges to maintain public confidence in the judiciary, avoid harassment, and promote justice without bias.

Read the full ethics complaint here.

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