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With foreclosures and evictions booming, it’s only natural that landlords and tenants try to maximize the number of people fitting into rental units. This can make it tempting to quickly slap up an additional wall in order to rent out another bedrooms. As the legal fallout of a 2005 apartment fire in the New York shows, however, quick rental conversions can be illegal and can lead to life-threatening dangers. In 2005, a fire ripped through a Bronx, New York apartment complex....

Anheuser-Busch Inbev is pulling its ‘Fan Cans’ promotional campaign from college campuses which objected to it. The campaign features Bud Light in school colored cans. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pressure also appears to have played a part in Anheuser-Busch’s decision. The AP reports that the FTC took issue with ‘Fan Cans’ being marketed on college campuses because the FTC requires that 70% of an alcohol advertisement’s audience be 21 or older....

On Election Day, residents of four more states elected to legalize recreational marijuana. Three other states approved medical marijuana. That leaves the country with a hodgepodge of pot laws, and leaves many wondering how travel between weed-friendly states and not-so-weed-friendly states will be regulated. (Keep in mind that marijuana remains an illegal drug under federal law.) So what do you need to know about driving with marijuana across state lines? Here’s a primer:...

Rapper Da Brat has been ordered to pay $6.4 million in damages to the victim she attacked with a rum bottle back in 2007. Da Brat has already served three years in prison for the attack, but the victim, Shayla Stevens, filed a civil lawsuit against the rapper for her injuries, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The jury awarded Stevens with $3.7 million in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages....

Researchers at Consumer Reports think they’ve discovered the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak in the U.S. and Canada last week: romaine lettuce. The outbreak began in November 2017 and has sickened dozens, hospitalized five, and killed at least two people. While the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention was careful not to link the outbreak to a specific source before further inquiry, the Public Health Agency of Canada was confident in identifying romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak....

The former puppeteer of Elmo of “Sesame Street” fame got relief from a federal court on Monday after the judge dismissed three separate civil claims against him for sexual abuse. Kevin Clash, the man accused by the three suits of sexually assaulting several underage teenage boys, had performed as Elmo for almost three decades before these allegations surfaced, reports The Associated Press. Judge John Koeltl tossed out the three lawsuits against Clash, claiming that the accusers’ lawsuits were barred by New York’s statute of limitations law....

Facebook has been hit with an FTC complaint over its controversial study conducted on the emotions of users, allegedly without their consent. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Facebook secretly misused user data to conduct psychological experiments, which was not covered at all by the site’s Data Use Policy. As Facebook settled with the FTC less than three years ago over its privacy policy, this new experiment on users may violate that settlement agreement....

In Shakespeare’s day, a pound of flesh served as security for debt. Now, a mere pint of blood will suffice … if you owe court fees in Marion, Alabama at least. Judge Marvin Wiggins offered offenders in his courtroom a deal in September – they could pay up, or give a pint of blood and get $100 knocked off their fees. Or they could go to jail. “The sheriff has enough handcuffs,” he said....

In a case that prompted stricter potency limits on edibles in Colorado, a man accused of shooting his wife after eating marijuana laced candy. Richard Kirk, 48, of Denver, pleaded not guilty to first degree murder last week. Kirk was arrested in April 2014, after his wife Kristine was shot while on the phone with 911. Kristine told 911 operators that her husband had eaten pot candy and was paranoid and hallucinating....

Many of us have been a little too tired to drive at one time or another. (Actually, one out of every 24 of us admits to drowsy driving.) And drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. So if your eyelids are getting heavy out on the highway, you might be thinking a little nap at a rest stop might be a good idea. But is it legal? I mean, it says “Rest Area” right on the sign, but are you actually allowed to sleep in your car at one?...

Jay Z’s 40/40 Club in Manhattan served a $1.5 million lawsuit against his ex-personal chef, Mike Shand. Shand was allegedly tabbed to work on the 40/40 Club’s menu, but “failed to perform on significant aspects” of the deal, reports the New York Post. As a result, Jay Z and the club say they were unable to offer some of the fare the club had promised, costing the club $10 million....

A criminal case against Bill Cosby is going forward in Pennsylvania. The comedian is charged with three counts of felony indecent assault and faces 10 years in prison if convicted, reports CNN. Cosby’s accuser, who was not in court today, was the first woman to publicly come forward and complain to police about the comedian’s conduct in 2004. Police declined to prosecute the comedian then, claiming the evidence was insufficient....

Last week jurors in the Boston Marathon Bombing sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death. The jurors had already found Tsarnaev guilty of the bombing itself, and had been weighing both mitigating and aggravating factors presented by his attorneys and prosecutors during the penalty phase of his trial. Although it took just 14 hours for the jury to decide Tsarnaev deserved the death penalty, many had speculated whether the jury might decide on life in imprison instead....

The half-Kardashian super model Kendall Jenner is suing Cutera, a skin treatment company, for claims that it’s responsible for her “nearly flawless skin.” Cutera claims its laser acne treatment perfected the 20-year-old. But Jenner’s filing says she had no deal and is accustomed to getting paid, which according to TMZ is the take-away from this case. Jenner Demands $10 Million Kendall Jenner is indeed a successful model. As her court documents state, she has graced the covers of the world’s most prestigious fashion magazines, including Vogue, Vogue Paris, Vogue Japan, Vogue Brazil, Harper’s Bazaar (shot by Karl Lagerfeld), Allure, GQ, Glamour, Marie Claire, LOVE, Interview, Paper, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Cleo, Garage, Dazed, and others....

In Los Angeles, porn and condoms traditionally don’t seem to mix - at least according to a lawsuit filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The case was filed in Los Angeles County, and the decision of the lower court was upheld by the Second District Court of Appeals. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed the lawsuit after news that an adult film performer recently tested positive for HIV, reports KTLA-TV....

Please, follow along with the bouncing ball: the scandal, the book, the tape, the suit. This next episode in the never ending carnival ride that is the John Edwards sex scandal doesn’t even directly include him; we are now more concerned with the supporting players, namely his former aid and tell-all author Andrew Young and his wife Cheri, who are being sued over custody (forgive the term) of the alleged sex tape featuring everyone’s favorite ex-presidential candidate and his ex-paramour....

The popular rapper and actor 50 Cent has filed an action against his former attorneys seeking over $30 million, or 60 million of himself. Basically, 50 Cent is asserting that legal malpractice caused him to lose the highly publicized sex tape case against him, and that a breach of fiduciary duty by his former attorneys occurred both during that representation and when they later advised him to declare bankruptcy. 50 Cent, also known as Curtis Jackson, is no stranger to legal filings....

Beauty pageant queen Carrie Prejean is facing a lawsuit brought by a Christian focused public relations firm, claiming she owes $64,000. Larry Ross Communications is suing Prejean, the runner-up in the 2009 Miss USA pageant who sparked controversy after stating her religious aversion to gay marriage in response to an onstage question, Courthouse News Service reports. Larry Ross Communications claims it represented Prejean throughout the ordeal. The lawsuit claims the PR firm gave Prejean interview tips and brokered a conference call with Donald Trump and joint presser with Trump and pageant officials....

As the nation debates gun control, many are wondering whether muzzle loaders are considered firearms. It’s a common question on our FindLaw Answers criminal law message boards. While this distinction may not matter to some people, the difference is actually quite important for those wishing to purchase the weapon. That’s because gun control laws typically apply to firearms. And if a muzzle loader is not counted as a firearm, then the laws may not apply....

Gretchen Carlson seemed to have it all. She was crowned Miss America and went on to host television news shows, including “Fox and Friends” and her own program in recent years. But the former Fox News anchor this week revealed her years-long struggle in a lawsuit accusing Fox News CEO Roger Ailes of wrongful termination and sexual harassment. Carlson was terminated late last month, although she announced on social media that she was on vacation....