Attorney General Jerry Brown recently announced that the State of California has filed a legal suit against Countrywide home mortgage lender for deceptive lending practices that has caused thousands of foreclosures. Brown cites that Countrywide routinely failed to explain complicated and expensive mortgage terms to consumers -- a practice that encouraged borrowers to agree to completely unaffordable mortgage terms. But according to several lending professionals working in California State (who requested that their anonymity be......

The Austin Powers actor who played Mini-Me is suing TMZ over a video they posted showing clips from a private sex video between he and his girlfriend. Also named in the lawsuit is Kevin Blatt, who is known for distributing the infamous Paris Hilton video, and SugarDVD, the company that has offered Blatt $100,000 to distribute the video even further. A representative from TMZ declined comment to LAist.......

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/world_news/Photos_from_1st_Gay_Marriage_in_CA_in_Beverly_Hills'; The two women who challenged California's law denying same-sex couples the right to marry that ultimately led to the state's Supreme Court ruling, were one of the first to receive a marriage certificate in the state early this evening. Diane Olson and Robin Tyler have attempted to marry at the Beverly Hills courthouse for the past eight years, each time being denied. The two, who live in Los Angeles' San Fernando......

Photo by Jonathan Alcorn via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The Los Angeles Times conducted a survey of all 58 counties in California asking about policies relating to same-sex marriage. 35 stated that employees were not allowed to opt out of officiating over marriages for any reason; or, at least, no reservations were expressed by clerks in those counties. "We're not going to make accommodations for someone to practice illegal discrimination," Nevada County Clerk-Recorder......

Interchangeable wedding cake toppers as seen at the Renellie warehouse in Costa Mesa, CA (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) The big day has arrived and today, as of 5:01 p.m., the first same-sex couples in California will be married. But like in most counties, Los Angeles County will not officially begin ceremonies until tomorrow morning. Only three counties throughout the state -- Alameda, Sonoma and Yolo -- opted keep offices open after hours to perform marriages.......

American Idol celebrates music, yet at the same time, it apparently cheats its own musicians who make the show happen. The American Federation of Musicians filed a suit that alleges American Idol Productions Inc. and Tick Tock Productions Inc. its subsidiary, broke a collective bargaining agreement that says the musicians are to be paid royalties for rebroadcasts. "Beginning in 2007, the show's producers subverted the agreement by cutting out the original soundtrack and re-recording new......

Photo by Donnay via Flickr When officials said counties could begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses at 5:01 p.m. on Monday, June 16, by extending office hours, most still chose to begin the ceremonies on June 17 when it was originally scheduled. Counties that stayed with such action included Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, both of those counties will issue one license on Monday to "commemorate the ruling." In his gay marriage Q &......

The city of West Hollywood is hosting a town hall-style meeting to discuss "information on the latest legal maneuvers surrounding the gay marriage issue -- including the upcoming November ballot measure that would reinstate the ban and the state Supreme Court's refusal to block same-sex marriages in the interim," according to KCBS. Additionally, Rong-Gong Lin II at the LA Times is taking questions and answering them online. Expected attendees include West Hollywood Councilman John Duran,......

"The city of Palm Springs invites same-sex couples to come to our welcoming community and experience this historic opportunity," writes Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet on a website encouraging couples to marry in the desert city. "We are prepared to help you with all your wedding needs and embrace you on this, this most wonderful day of your life." Pougnet, two Palm Springs city council members and former Mayor Rod Oden, all openly gay, have......

See more photos from LA Pride Weekend here | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist A conglomerate of nine pro same-sex marriage groups released a memo today stating that it would hurt the gay rights movement in the long term if gay couples sued states of the federal government for their marriages to be recognized outside of California because. Such action could open the door to bad court rulings. “Pushing the federal government before we have......

If you've been sick of dealing with Time Warner, you're not the only one. A 25-page lawsuit filed by the City Attorney's Office focuses on service from the fall of 2006 to the spring of 2007. The LA Times got their hands on the paperwork: The suit says the company failed to live up to its part of the franchise cable agreement requiring that a company answer subscribers' calls within 30 seconds and begin repairs......

Pinkberry Pinkberry, the most hated and revered fro-yo chain. Are you pinkberry or are you stinkberry? Are you good for me or bad? There's been so much Pinkberry news lately, it's tough to keep track of it all. Here's the timeline of events:Pinkberry becomes wildly popular - so popular, many begin to wonder about its oddly addictive qualities and the big question finally gets asked: just what the hell is this I'm eating?Pinkberry is slapped......

On Wednesday, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo announced that the city was suing Anthem Blue Cross for alleged illegal cancelations of health plan coverage. Then, on Thursday, the Schwarzenegger administration had an announcement of their own: thousands of rescinded plans of sick Californians will be investigated. It is considered to be the state's boldest move yet on issue, according to the LA Times. Five major health insurance companies are "accused of issuing coverage without verifying the......

Photo by hinducow via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Looks like the Hollywood sex tape predates YouTube and Betamax by a landslide. A sex tape featuring late film icon Marilyn Monroe--on 16mm film--sold for $1.5 million to a NY businessman. Did you check out the Songkran fest yesterday in Thai Town? Did you ride the Red Line? Did you wonder why the hell the MTA only put in two ticket vending machines......

Photo by re-ality via Flickr In a class-action lawsuit brought forward by a San Diego area Starbucks employee, the chain coffee retailer was told yesterday they broke the law and owe California baristas millions in back tips, plus interest. "Starbucks illegally took a huge amount of money from the tip pool to pay shift supervisors, rather than paying them out of its own pocket. The court's verdict rightfully restores that money to the baristas,"......

Last year, Los Angeles firefighter Tennie Pierce sued the city and won $2.7 million for being victim of a hazing prank in which a Latino firefighter put dog food in his spaghetti. The prankster and his two white captains were punished, but the captains, who did not spike the food, were treated more severely by the department, leading to yet another lawsuit. In the decision, jurors said it was both a finding that Capts. Chris......

Photo by pink_fish13 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Police are investigating the tragic shooting death of Los Angeles High School's Jamiel Shaw. The football MVP was gunned down by gang members last night. The 17-year-old's mother is on her second tour of duty in Iraq. The suspect in last week's shooting at a South LA bus stop is facing 15 felony counts and was arraigned today on the charges. The 24-year-old......

The use of sonar by the Navy off the shores of Southern California has prompted vehement opposition by animal rights and environmental groups, and earlier this year a court order put in place restrictions on the practice. However, reports that a dolphin's death in late January on the island of San Nicolas might be linked to the Navy's use of sonar in a training exercise has once again brought the issue into the spotlight. The......

A lawsuit filed yesterday by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) against multiple contractors, including Kiewit, Washington Infrastructure Services, Inc., Parsons Corp., and more, who worked on the design and building of the Gold Line alleges that the work done was substandard and did not meet the obligations stipulated in their contracts. According to KNBC.com, the lawsuit asks for "at least $25 million in damages and a court order requiring the contractors to fix the......

On the Pier in Santa Monica Mr. Lincoln, we like your pennies, says the US Postal service, just a day shy of his birthday. To celebrate, they announced today that postage will go up by 1 cent to 42 cents, effective May 12th. A 15-minute car chase had CHP officers trying to catch up with a woman wanted in a forgery case today. The pursuit began in El Monte and ended in Sylmar, reaching......

Photo by Here in Van Nuys via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency is testifying to a Congress panel that he was not pressured into shutting down California's attempts to create its own global-warming laws: "It was Johnson's first appearance on Capitol Hill since he acted last month, and he drew the ire of not only Boxer, his usual critic, but other Democratic senators whose states......

When the chips are down and you need cash to settle up some legal matters, unloading some real estate is a good move. Which is precisely why the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has sold off their 3424 Wilshire Boulevard Archdiocesan Catholic Center to Jamison Properties for a cool $31 million. Of course, that $31 million is just a drop in a bucket with a pricetag of $660 million for the church's past sins. According to the......

Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have spent the past couple days traipsing around the Golden State uncomfortably responding to allegations that their campaign is connected to a lawsuit brought last week by the Nevada teacher's union that would prevent casino workers from caucusing on the job. Many casino workers and hotel employees are members of the powerful Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which endorsed Barack Obama. The Nevada Democratic......

Sometimes going to a Dodger game gets to be more than a spectator sport, especially when team rivalries are enacted in the stands. In July of 2005, while a game between West Coast rivals the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, a fight broke out between fans in their seats, leading to now 31-year-old Maria Parra Helenius being punched by now 27-year-old Denise Ordaz, allegedly causing her to be legally blind. So who's to blame......

How about this for an opening about the founder of American Apparel in today's New York Post? "Dov Charney walks around his office in his underwear, sleeps with employees, and calls women bitches, sluts, whores and the c-word - and that's the stuff he admits to." We've all heard rumors that Charney is an ass and it's all coming out before a civil trial that begins here in Los Angeles tomorrow between former employee......

Today, our great state filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the Bush administration's opinion that states cannot set emission standards. The EPA denied California a waiver that it needs under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks. At least 16 other states had been expected to follow California's lead and adopt the state's tougher emission limits. [CBS2/AP]And to that, fifteen......

62-year-old retired LAPD officer Barry Bowman is now a very wealthy man - all because a dump truck hit him while he was riding his motorcycle in Northridge. The LA Times reports that a jury has awarded Bowman $15.7 million in his case against the city and city-contracted Tommie Wyatt Trucking for a collision that has left Bowman with brain injuries that require 24-hour care. The accident occurred at the end of the truck driver's......

In an editorial yesterday, the Daily News let its readers know that the Department of Power and Water's union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, failed to sue the paper twice and agreed to pay $17,213 for legal fees. Why? Because they wanted to stop the Daily News from publishing the names, positions and salaries of department employees. Why publish this info anyway? They found that DWP workers earn an average of......

Days after making up with rapper Kanye West, legendary daredevil Evel Knievel has landed himself in the news once again, not for making an improbable stunt landing, but for doing something one day all of us regular folks are going to do. He died today in his home state of Florida at the age of 69. The AP is reporting:Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for......

Lakers - The Lakers punished Detroit with 41 points in the 4th-quarter on Friday. Six Lakers hit double-digits in the game. They stayed hot through Sunday, when they destroyed Chicago 106-78. Five reserves hit double-digits on that night, and the bench outscored the starters 73-33. The Bull's bench, by comparison, had 31. Clippers - With their full roster back, the Warriors put together a 122-105 drubbing of the Clippers on Friday. The Clippers fell again......