Sorry about the lack of a post last week! I was super busy, so look forward to two posts next week. I’ll be post from the lovely Myrtle Beach in South Carolina!

This week, I thought I would talk about the legal system. I am a legal studies minor and a lot of Fantasy Court is based on the legal system. I mean, who doesn’t love that it asks for a ‘subpoena’ from the opposing side. Now you can totally pretend that you knew that it meant to get a testimony!

Anyways, I thought I would pull out some interesting court cases that I have talked about in class. The legal system is always a scapegoat for being ridiculous, so feel free to weigh in!

1) Everyone has heard about the case involving a lady suing McDonald’s for her spilling hot coffee on herself. Actually, in Linebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurant, the 79 year old woman sued for her medical bills (totaling about $20,000) after she spend weeks in the hospital with third degree burns. When McDonald’s refused to pay, she brought them to court. It was the jury that decided to award her $160,000. What do you guys think? Was McDonald’s wrong for keeping their coffee at almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit?

2) Herbert Cohen created a musical song called “Merry-Go-Round.” Paramount requested the use of the song in it’s movie “Medium Cool.” The two parties signed a license allowing Paramount to use the song in theaters and on broadcast televisions. While in post production, videocassettes came out, so Paramount decided to sell the movie, with the music still on it. Cohen sued them for copyright infringement. He won! The court said that their contract wasn’t broad enough (when do they ever say that)! Maybe it’s just me, but broad contracts are pretty scary. 

Have any other crazy court cases? Let me know! I’ll be adding another post with some other cases!

:) Rachael 

Hey Everyone!

So this post is a little late, I am actually en route to my state track meet tonight! My team will be competing tomorrow and Saturday to defend our state title from last year. I will be competing in the pentathlon tomorrow; wish me luck!

Anyway, this week I thought I’d write about something almost anyone can relate to: roommates. Right now, I am living in a matchbox-sized dorm with another girl who is also in my major. We fight about the usual stuff: chores, waking each other up, using the big mirror, accidentally locking each other out, ect. I decided to throw a survey up on Facebook to see what my friends fought with their roommates about. I got the following information:

 How people met their roommates:

11.1 % Orientation

60% Friends

13.3% Online

15.6% Random Selection

Do you guys ever fight?

54.3% said that they fought with their roommate on at least one occasion. (To that other 45.7%, how do you do that? Do you even talk to your roommate? Tell me your secret!)

The top three things roommates fight about?

1. Cleanliness

2. Chores

3. Being Loud

I also asked if anyone had any interesting stories about fights with their roommates and I got the following answers:

“I was doing homework and my roommate decided that it was time to go to sleep at 8:30 and just shut off all the lights! I almost threw my hair brush at her!”

“She wanted the room to hook up with a guy and I had no where to go.”

“My roommate is super religious. He never swears, never drinks, and never watches TV. He sucks and we never get along.”

“My roommate acts more like my mother than my roommate!”

Have any drama with your roommates? Take them to court! Stay tuned for a little fiasco between me and my roommate!

:)  Rachael

Why don’t I start by introducing myself? My name is Rachael and I am a sophomore majoring in Integrated Marketing with a minor in Legal Studies at Ithaca College in Upstate New York. I am in love with my little Italian Greyhound, Starbucks, who lives back on my family farm in Massachusetts. I like to eat candy by the pound, so I run at IC so I can still fit through doors. I compete in the heptathlon (for the non-trackies, that’s hurdles, high jump, long jump, shotput, 200 meters, javelin, and 800 meters). I hate lemons in my water and love sushi.

This semester I am interning for FantasyCourt.com, an online dispute forum. I’m very excited. I grew up the oldest of three girls. From the clothes stealing to the bathroom hogging, believe me, we had disputes. My stepfather is a lawyer and he would make us argue our cases in front of him. With the internet and social media exploding, I think it’s time that there is a way to resolve problems on the internet. (Check out my current case with my sister about her stealing my clothes!)

I will be blogging about celebrity fights, interesting cases I see on Fantasy Court, my own disputes and anything you guys are interested in! Stay tuned!

:) Rachael

 By Bidisha Gupta as posted on http://www.sociableblog.com

Are we ready to let our personal networks solve our problems?

Everyone does it, quietly think to yourself in the middle of a squabble …“I’m obviously right and any one of our friends would agree with me”.  Well…you no longer have to keep your thoughts to yourself.  With its launch this week, Toronto start-up FantasyCourt.com will become the first and only social dispute resolution tool on the internet.  Now you can finally see who is right AND what everyone else thinks.

FantasyCourt.com provides a platform for users take disputes direct to the community and have their personal networks crowdsource a resolution.  This isn’t just any voting site.  FantasyCourt strives to build its version of “Social Justice” by upholding its own set of community rights.  No dispute goes live to the community without both parties submitting their individual cases and voters are always visible so users can clearly see who voted on each side.  Finally, participants are free to add consequence to each verdict by negotiating a challenge with their counterpart.

 “Whether consciously or not, people, especially younger generations are turning to their networks for information and advice…. where to go on Saturday night, what to wear, who to support…and it makes sense they turn to those same people to help resolve their dispute” said CEO, Rob Crnkovic. 

FantasyCourt.com is paying specific attention to the college demographic and targeting that segment through a unique grassroots campaign.  FC is liaising with business and technology students at universities and empowering them to build awareness in the community.

Reed Bracken, a 3^rd Year Business student at Wilfrid Laurier University is excited by the site and his role as a community manager.  “Feedback has been great!  I don’t think you ever have more disputes then living with a bunch of people at College.  There is no end to what we can take to the court.  It’s pretty compelling when the people you hang out with everyday vote out a verdict”

As the social internet becomes a society in and of itself, perhaps there is need for justice within that social world.  FantasyCourt.com brands itself as a new breed of Justice, built for a new generation in a new world.   I guess if you don’t agree …you can always ask your network what they think….

That’s right! We have heard you loud and clear and although fantasy sports disputes are a source of contention in your life, you have many more conflicts to resolve in your life than just fantasy sports…. now you can! Well, as of November 22nd, you will be able to on www.fantasycourt.com! We are adding in some new features that will allow you to resolve any dispute, tiff, hubub, contest, disagreement or discussion vies-a-vie a jury of your peers and have them vote out a resolution. It’s a new breed of “Social Justice.” Now you can finally see who is right, who wins and what everyone else thinks.  

That nagging argument that always comes up with your bff.  Case Closed. 
That crazy little thing your “better half” insists on, they swear is “what people do”. Case Closed
Issues between roommates.  Case Closed
That never ending sports debate Case Closed
Who’s turn it is to host dinner Case Closed 

….. and on and on and on… 

Fantasy Court helps facilitate fair, fun and Democratic justice, however crazy your case may be.  Having the Court of Public Opinion rule on your case is simple.  

1.     Enter in your case

2.     Subpeana your defendant and ask them to give their side of the story – because everyone has the right to a defense!

3.     Promote your case to friends, family or the Fantasy Court Community and see what side the vote falls!!!

Our vision of “social justice” is for the people, of the people and ultimately by the people. Join the jury and have your day in court!

PLEASE comment with your feedback. We would love to hear what you think!

Cheers,

Fantasy Court Team 

www.fantasysportcourt.com (Dropping the sport on November 22nd)