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Massachusetts foreclosure buyers best beware after a just-released decision by the state’s highest court. Francis Bevilacqua purchased a foreclosure home from U.S. Bank in 2006, only to find out that he doesn’t hold clear title to the property. Turns out that the bank didn’t yet own the mortgage when it foreclosed on the building. The bank therefore never legally transferred title to Bevilacqua, who must now contend with the original owner....

Former “Teen Mom” star Farrah Abraham was arrested for a DUI earlier this week in Nebraska. The 21-year-old MTV reality star was pulled over in Omaha just after 1 a.m. Monday, reports TMZ. Apparently, Abraham made a wide turn and almost struck a police cruiser. When Abraham was given a breath test at the scene, she initially bit down on the tube “and didn’t provide a sufficient sample,” sources told TMZ....

Last week, criminal charges were filed against five major Hollywood casting agencies as a result of a pay to play investigation conducted by the Los Angeles City Attorney. The casting agencies/firms facing charges include: Actors Alley, The Actors Link, The Actors Key, Studio Productions, and The Casting Network. Under the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act, no casting agency, or other organization involved in casting a role, can charge the talent in order to audition....

Estimates indicate over half a million people in the United States are homeless. And while that figure may be declining, states still struggle to find a solution to homelessness. While some states have extended hate crime protections to the homeless and created mobile “homeless courts” others have enacted anti-panhandling laws to criminalize begging. So are anti-panhandling statutes legal? And if so, what exactly do they prohibit? Here’s a roundup of various anti-panhandling laws:...

When a person is caught by police doing illegal drugs, or in possession of illegal drugs, they may face charges for possession of drug paraphernalia in addition to drug charges. Drug paraphernalia, like illegal drugs, carry serious criminal penalties in many jurisdictions, simply for possession. Drug paraphernalia includes such things as pipes, vaporizers, bongs, rolling papers, and other smoking implements meant to be used with illegal drugs. Additionally, syringes, spoons, measuring scales, razor blades, and other arguably common items can be considered paraphernalia as well, depending on the context....

What happens in Italy might not stay in Italy. A Jersey Shore Italy fight erupted, and reports are that Ronnie and “the Situation” assaulted each other in a serious brawl. The cast, which can only be described as the epitome of class, has been filming Jersey Shore Italy and photographers snapped pictures of the Situation returning home with a red, maybe bruised-up face, and Ronnie returning home with bloody knuckles....

Perhaps inspired by the TV show ‘Justified’ or perhaps just trying to redefine Kentucky bluegrass, marijuana possession arrests seem like they’re rising in Louisville. Just last month, a SWAT team found almost 60 plants in one house on Vim Drive in South Louisville. While the state does allow some research and cultivations of industrial or agricultural hemp, possession of its close relative for recreational use or distribution is strictly prohibited....

Michael Vick, the disgraced Atlanta Falcon’s former starting quarterback, completed the terms of his federal sentence on dogfighting charges, appearing in federal court briefly with his attorney Lawrence Goodman to complete probation-related paperwork. It remains unclear whther Vick will actually return to the N.F.L., however. Goodell took Vick to task that day for his admitted criminal wrongdoing, and the harm he caused the League and NFL fans, saying: “Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible....

Imagine you’re a grieving mother of a legally dead child, but you keep reading in the paper optimistic news that your child might be alive or the crime might be solved. Then imagine finding out (over and over again) that these news stories have no basis in truth. Imagine the heartbreak. That’s the reality of Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, who filed a Natalee Holloway lawsuit against the National Enquirer....

Osvaldo Rivera stands accused of slashing two children in the throat – killing one – after going on a drug-induced rampage. The Camden, New Jersey man allegedly went inside a neighbor’s apartment and attacked the two sleeping children. The younger child, a six-year-old boy, was killed, while his 12-year-old sister survived the initial attack and is currently in a hospital, reports The Associated Press. When Rivera was found hiding between a mattress and bedroom wall, he reportedly admitted to authorities that he was high on marijuana and PCP, reports the AP....

Jury selection began this week in the infamous Oprah defamation trial. And while the hordes of photographers and “Oprah-philes” moved in to catch a glimpse of the talk-show queen, Oprah herself was nowhere to be seen. This could quite possibly have been because Oprah and the plaintiff in the defamation suit were discussing settlement in the case, woman to woman, outside the presence of the media. Oprah was entangled in a bitter defamation lawsuit which stemmed from the alleged abuse scandal at her South African girls’ school....

It’s a David versus Goliath fight brewing in the beer world. Stone Brewing Co., the San Diego based craft beer brewer, is suing industry giant MillerCoors. The recently filed lawsuit claims that MillerCoors’ rebrand of its “Keystone” beers as simply “Stone” violates Stone Brewing Co.’s trademarks. According to the (unusually entertaining) complaint filed in Federal Court in San Diego, Stone is “beloved by millions of beer drinkers across America” and “has always stood for a philosophy and approach that defies the watered-down orthodoxy of ‘Big Beer’ companies and their fizzy yellow offerings....

Drug companies overstate the benefits of prescription drugs in their television advertising, and TV ads for these medications have limited educational value, according to a study published in the latest issue of Annals of Family Medicine. As explained in the article’s stated purpose: “American television viewers see as many as 16 hours of prescription drug advertisements each year, yet no research has examined how television ads attempt to influence consumers. This information is important, because ads may not meet their educational potential, possibly prompting consumers to request prescriptions that are clinically inappropriate or more expensive than equally effective alternatives....

The Supreme Court ruled today that homeowners can back out of mortgages by writing a letter to the lender. The unanimous ruling was in favor of Larry and Cheryle Jesinoski, a Minnesota couple who sued Countrywide Home Loans, Reuters reports. Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America, had refused to rescind the couple’s $611,000 mortgage, claiming that the Jesinoskis were required to file a lawsuit in order to rescind the mortgage, which they had failed to do by the statutory deadline....

George Zimmerman’s defense lawyers announced Tuesday they’re withdrawing from the case, citing ethics and a series of alleged actions by their former client, taken without their knowledge or consent, Reuters reports. “We have lost contact with him,” attorney Craig Sonner told reporters at a news conference in Sanford, Fla., where Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in February. Zimmerman, who has not been charged and remains in hiding, claims Martin’s killing was justified because it was self-defense....

Richard Carpenter, the surviving member of his famous band, the Carpenters, knew exactly where to go after settlement negotiations broke down between him and Universal Music Group. Carpenter has filed a lawsuit against UMG on his own behalf, and on behalf of the estate of his dead sister and former bandmate, Karen Carpenter, for unpaid royalties. The lawsuit alleges that UMG owes over $2.3 million in unpaid royalties to the group, and that’s only going back to 2008....

There was no table-flipping in court today as Teresa and Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” fame, both pleaded guilty to mortgage and bankruptcy fraud charges. The Giudices accepted a plea bargain with the federal prosecutor, admitting guilt to 39 fraud-related charges, and must now forfeit money to the government, according to The Star-Ledger. In addition to paying the government back, the couple may face incarceration depending on what the judge decides at sentencing....

Two Texas couples are fighting to prevent Texas’ gay marriage ban from being enforced, and filed a motion to block the law in federal court on Friday. In their motion for preliminary injunction (embedded below), the couples argue that Texas’ constitutional amendment which bars same-sex marriages is unconstitutional and should not stop either couple from legal marriage recognition. The ban has been in place since 2005. But with the recent swell of support for marriage equality and the U....

About 220 pot cases are being dismissed in Washington state, and more prosecutions may soon go up in smoke as well. One week ago, Washington voters passed Initiative 502, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 or over. The first significant fallout from the vote is the dismissal of these misdemeanor cases for adults who had been arrested for possessing one ounce or less of weed, reports Seattle’s KCPQ-TV....

One baseball fan snagged over $10,000 in a legal settlement with New York City after he was ousted from Yankee Stadium last summer for trying to take a potty break while ‘God Bless America.’ was being sung during the seventh-inning stretch. “I don’t care about God Bless America, I just need to use the bathroom,” Bradford Campeau-Laurion said he told New York’s finest. Refusing his request, NYPD officers then reportedly manhandled him out of the stadium....