Tag: court

Mothra! Godzilla creators reportedly taking Honda to court over Odyssey ad [w/video]

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc., Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Honda

2011 honda odyssey dual screen monitorHonda has upset Godzilla with this Odyssey commercial – Click above to watch video after the jump

Honda is feeling the heat of Godzilla’s wrath at the moment. No, for once we are not talking about the Nissan GT-R, but the actual daikaijū star of nearly 30 films. The Japanese firm that owns the rights to Godzilla and produces the related films is Toho Co. and according to Automotive News, it’s not very happy about a recent commercial for the 2011 Honda Odyssey.

The ad entitled “The Van Beckons” shows a man walking out of a grocery store where he is confronted by the 2011 Honda Odyssey. Trying to show that a minivan can be manly, Judas Priest’s The Hellion plays while pyrotechnics detonate around the vehicle. The camera moves inside to show off Honda’s widescreen monitor, which is displaying an image of a heavy metal band on one side and Godzilla on the other.

That shot of Godzilla is what has Toho Co. a bit angry, because the use of its star lizard was apparently not licensed. Toho Co. has filed an injunction with the Los Angeles Federal District Court stating Honda has infringed on its copyright protected material. For its part, Honda has not issued a comment with regards to the legal aspects of the matter but AN notes that the commercial has yet to be suspended. Click past the jump to watch the spot and see for yourself why Toho Co. is breathing legal fire upon Honda.

[Sources: Automotive News – sub. req., Honda via YouTube]

Continue reading Mothra! Godzilla creators reportedly taking Honda to court over Odyssey ad [w/video]

Mothra! Godzilla creators reportedly taking Honda to court over Odyssey ad [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Truckers upset over LA ‘clean rig’ legislation ready to take fight to Supreme Court

Filed under: Truck, UAW/Unions

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pushed his “Clean Truck Program” as a way to improve the air quality in and around the Port of Los Angeles. And while a cleaner air is in everyone’s best interest, a Los Angeles Times report suggests that it could be truckers who are left holding the short end of the stick. Semi drivers have been encouraged to replace their beat-up, high pollution diesel rigs for much newer trucks with particulate filters that trap harmful gasses before they ever reach the atmosphere.

But while the new trucks are most definitely cleaner, they’re also far more expensive; often costing over $100,000 each. Truckers are leasing the vehicles from the trucking companies for over $1,000 per month, and they also have to spring for fuel and insurance and maintenance costs are said to have risen. Some drivers say that they have been driven to sleep in their rigs at night to save time and increase earning, and even after that after paying for the bills, wages can be as low as $7 per hour.

Trucking companies say that the drivers aren’t faring nearly as poorly as advertised, and they counter that the Clean Truck Program’s real aim was to unionize the drivers. According to the LAT, that was actually supposed to be part of the plan, as Mayor Villaraigosa intended for truckers to give up on being independent contractors in favor of becoming employees of the trucking company. Teamsters President James P. Hoffa justifies unionizing the employees, adding that the drivers are “slaves” to their rigs. Meanwhile, the trucking companies have taken the government to court in an effort keep the the city from forcing the companies to hire on the workers with benefits including health care. The industry promises to continue to fight hiring the thousands of port workers even if the case needs to go to the Supreme Court.

We’re not experts on government law or unionization, but it sounds suspiciously like the city of Los Angeles chose to draft and enforce new trucking laws without working closely enough with the companies that would end up footing the bill. The good news is that the air in L.A. appears to be a bit clearer, but the bad news is that the truckers appear to be the ones making the sacrifices.

[Source: Los Angeles Times | Image: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty]

Report: Truckers upset over LA ‘clean rig’ legislation ready to take fight to Supreme Court originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

Police at the scene of a car accident

Do you occasionally leave your keys in the car? We all have at one point, be it just running in to the ATM or stopping by a friend’s house to drop off a borrowed tool. In that short time you are out of the vehicle, it’s quite possible that someone could be watching and take off with your wheels. Since the new “owner” probably doesn’t care too much about your vehicle and may be trying to escape from the authorities, it isn’t too hard to see how the stolen vehicle could end up in a collision or as the focal point of a tragic accident. If all of the above happens and you live in Tennessee, then prepare to have your cash reserves depleted.

A suit was brought against a man who left his keys in his car, which was promptly stolen and then collided with another vehicle causing injuries to three passengers. Initially, the lawsuit was filed against the city of Murfreesboro and its police department- however, that suit was dismissed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals. But the court is allowing the suit against the owners of the vehicle to continue.

“Negligence” is the Word of the Day for Rubye Jarrell, the registered owner of the car and grandmother to Joseph D. Ash Jr., who apparently left the keys inside. According to the appeals court, it does not matter if the keys were in the ignition or somewhere in plain sight, Jarrell is still liable.

What do you think – should Jarrell be deemed negligent and face legal consequences? Have your say in Comments.

[Source: The Associated Press via Tennessean | Image: fourbyfourblazer | CC 2.0]

TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC loses court battle to block the Stig book

Filed under: UK, Celebrities

The Stig has taken another step toward shrugging off the shackles of the BBC. As you may recall, Top Gear’s tame racing driver recently locked horns with the Beeb after he made it clear he wanted to publish his memoirs. The show’s producers found issue with text, saying that revealing his identity would not only be a disservice to the fans of the show, but that it would also violate the terms of his contract. Thing is, a judge has struck down the BBC’s injunction to keep The Stig from publishing his book. That means publisher HarperCollins can move forward on bringing the book to life without fear of any further legal action from the BBC.

Interestingly enough, Ben Collins, the man who has long-been rumored to be the Stig, was spotted leaving the courthouse shortly after the ruling was issued. Collins was evasive when asked by reporters if he was the man in white, though we have a hard time thinking of any other reason why he would be at the hearing.

[Source: The Guardian]

BBC loses court battle to block the Stig book originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CNN: Federal appeals court proclaims memorial crosses on highways unconstitutional

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

roadside crucifix with flowers

A federal appeals court has ruled that crosses set up alongside public roads in Utah to honor fallen state troopers are unconstitutional. The Utah Highway Patrol Association began erecting the privately-owned crosses over a decade ago, each with the trooper’s name, badge number and the state seal. Despite not being owned by the state itself, the crosses reside on public land where drivers have no choice but to see them. That, combined with the state insignia was enough for the court to decide that the crosses had to go.

Texas-based American Atheists originally sued to have the nonprofit program discontinued and won, though the crosses were allowed to remain standing as the case went through the appeals process. Meanwhile, the UHPA argued that its message wasn’t necessarily a religious one. The court sided with the American Atheists, saying that the size of the crosses and their location didn’t gel with the government’s need to remain neutral on religion.

[Source: CNN | Image: Pay No Mind CC 2.0]

CNN: Federal appeals court proclaims memorial crosses on highways unconstitutional originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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