Legal

The maker of the insanely successful "Angry Birds" mobile game is seeing red ... claiming in a new lawsuit an L.A. restaurant straight-up jacked its name and logo.

Rovio Entertainment -- the media company that launched the "Angry Birds" franchise -- is suing David and Mary Mkhitaryan, alleging they lifted the famous name and logo when they slapped "Angry Birdz" on a couple of L.A. joints they own.

Rovio says in the lawsuit it sent the Mkhitaryans a cease and desist letter in February but that went nowhere, so it's now suing for trademark infringement.

Rovio says the similarities between the name and the font the restaurant used prove the Mkhitaryans intended to profit off the enormous fame of "Angry Birds" -- its been downloaded more than 4 BILLION TIMES!!! - and confused consumers into thinking the game and the restaurant are somehow affiliated.

"Little Women: LA" star Christy Gibel wants an annulment ... 5 years after getting married, and her reasons are pretty damming.

Christy's filed new legal docs asking the court to annul her marriage to Todd ... court records show. The couple got married on May 16, 2014, and they've had a turbulent relationship almost from the get-go, but things have really escalated out of control.

Sources close to Christy tell TMZ ... she wants an annulment for 2 reasons -- the marriage was NEVER consummated and she's accusing him of financial fraud. Our Christy sources claim Todd opened credit card accounts and took out loans under her name without her consent.

We know what you're thinking ... how can an annulment be filed after years of marriage? In California, a person can get an annulment if there's proof it was fraudulently induced.

Christy now wants out of a sexless marriage that saw her run to court to get a protection order against him. She claimed he was making life a living hell for her and her 19-year-old daughter from another relationship.

We've reached out to Todd, who tells TMZ ... it's been a while since they've had sex, but they've DEFINITELY had sex during the marriage. As for her accusations of financial crimes ... he says that will all come out in court. He adds his attorney has advised him not to talk about it until then.

10:05 AM PT -- Kim Foxx responded to the order, saying, "I respectfully disagree with the court's conclusion that, in the absence of any conflict, the appointment of a special prosecutor is required."

She continued, "As always, I remain committed to transparency, justice, and the public safety of the communities we serve."

Jussie Smollett could actually be prosecuted for allegedly faking the now infamous attack on the streets of Chicago.

A Chicago judge has ordered a special prosecutor to be appointed to review the way prosecutors handled the case and ultimately dismissed it.

The judge said in his order, "If reasonable grounds exist to further prosecute Smollett, in the interest of justice the special prosecutor may take such action."

This is a stunning turn of events ... as you know, the Office of State's Attorney Kim Foxx essentially dropped all charges against Jussie ... this after the grand jury indicted the actor on 16 felony counts of lying to cops. Jussie claimed he was attacked by 2 men who beat him and put a rope around his neck while yelling racial and homophobic slurs. Cops called BS.

The judge said, "unprecedented irregularities identified in this case" warrants the appointment of a special prosecutor. Some of the irregularities, according to legal docs:

The judge said the State's Attorney screwed the case up after Foxx recused herself, because of comments she had made about the case, there was no one in her office properly overseeing the case ... so says the judge.

The judge used a nautical metaphor to describe the screw-ups, saying, "There was no master on the bridge to guide the ship as it floundered through unchartered waters. And it ultimately lost its bearings."

Cardi B has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges -- including 2 felonies -- in connection with a brawl at a New York strip club ... TMZ has confirmed.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi was arrested in October for allegedly ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders -- Jade and Baddie G. The 2 women claim they were injured during the brawl when Cardi's people began throwing bottles and chairs.

The incident, which went down in August, was allegedly triggered after Cardi accused Jade of sleeping with Offset.

The grand jury has indicted Cardi on 12, charges including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury. Other charges include misdemeanor reckless endangerment, assault, criminal solicitation, conspiracy and harassment.

She was initially charged with 2 misdemeanors ... assault and reckless endangerment, but that's all superseded by the grand jury indictment.

Cardi rejected a plea deal, which would have given her a conditional discharge in return for pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor. The problem ... if she misstepped during the conditional period, she'd be in big trouble.

Prosecution sources told TMZ last month they decided to take the matter to the grand jury because of information they discovered during their investigation. They would not be specific.

Mally Mall thinks State Farm makes for a terrible neighbor, claiming the insurance company's screwing him out of big bucks ... like $300k for his saber-toothed tiger head!!!

According to a new suit ... the hip-hop producer went with State Farm for a policy to cover his property in 2016, but after an unfortunate series of events -- a house fire and 2 subsequent thefts -- it failed to pony up the money he thinks he's owed ... specifically for the extinct cat head he says he lost.

As for why State Farm's to blame -- Mally claims he trusted his agent to get him properly covered a few months before his Vegas home caught fire and damaged his master bedroom, master bath, safe room and media room ... but the guy vastly underinsured him.

Mall claims the fire caused him to cut power to his home, which disabled his security system, and led to 2 separate thefts in the months afterward ... so he filed claims for property loss for the fire and the thefts.

Here's how he says he got screwed -- Mally claims his agent set his policy limits way too low ... and as a result, State Farm paid well over a million dollars LESS than his actual losses. For the thefts, Mall says the company also refused to cover various luxury items he owned ... like the tiger head.

The judge and jury in the murder trial of the alleged killer of one of Ashton Kutcher's friends went on an emotional field trip ... checking out the place Ashley Ellerin died a grisly death.

Ashton has already gone in front of the jury on behalf of his slain friend, providing testimony that could be important in the case of a man prosecutors say is a "serial sexual-thrill killer" ... and now the jury is getting an in-person look at the crime scene.

Two vans filled with the judge and jury ventured out over the past 2 days to the sites of the horrific crimes ... including the place where Ellerin was found dead back in February 2001, laying just outside her bathroom with more than 47 stab wounds.

Judge Larry Fidler milled around the property with the jury ... and they were accompanied by police detectives Tom Small and Mark Lillienfeld, along with defense attorney Daniel Nardoni.

As we reported ... Ashton says Ashley was supposed to be his date to a Grammys after-party, but she never showed.

Ashton testified ... on the night of the Grammys, he went to her house around 10:45 PM and knocked on the door, but no one answered. He peeked through a side window and saw what he thought was red wine spilled on the floor, so he left.

Ashley's severely stabbed body was found the following morning ... and authorities say Michael Gargiulo is the murderer.

Carrie Underwood is accused of being a "Sunday Night Football" theme song stealer -- another singer claims Carrie straight jacked her hit, "Game On" ... and used it without permission.

The woman behind the suit is Heidi Merrill -- a singer who had success with the sports-themed song "Cornhusker Strong" back in 2015.

Merrill says she wanted to ride the wave and make more sports-themed music so she came up with the song "Game On" in 2016 and posted it to YouTube in March 2017.

In her suit, Merrill says she met Carrie Underwood's producer, Mark Bright, at an event in Nashville in August 2017 and asked if Carrie would be looking to create a new song for the 2018 NFL "Sunday Night Football" show open.

Merrill says she submitted the song to Bright -- but was eventually told Carrie's camp passed on using "Game On."

Fast forward to Sept. 2018 ... Merrill says she was shocked to see Underwood and NBC promoting a secret new theme song for 'SNF' ... which ended up being called "Game On."

Merrill says Carrie's version is "substantially -- even strikingly -- similar, if not identical" to her own song ... and she's pissed!

She's now suing Carrie, Mark Bright, NBC, the NFL and more for copyright infringement -- but she has not listed an amount she's looking for.

Mötley Crüe rockers Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx say the new documentary about the band breaking up is the same ol' situation of ... someone getting their story all wrong, and without their permission.

The Crue dudes are pissed over the latest episode of Reelz network's docuseries "Breaking the Band," which focuses on the group's turbulent history. Neil is especially miffed about how the show portrays his departure from the band in 1992, blaming him for prioritizing motor racing over music ... so he took to social media to let it out.

Vince says ... "Breaking the band, f**king memories from a manager Doug Thaler who can't remember that he's the one who actually broke up the band! The band didn't break up because of me racing."

He adds ... "It broke up because he was too much of a pu**y who didn't just say, 'Hey guys, let's take a week off and come back with cooler heads.' He called me an hour later and said I was out of the band! Great management!"

Neil's not alone, because Sixx also slammed the doc on Twitter by saying ... "I am very disappointed that they think they can tell our LIFE story just to sell advertising ( mostly incorrect ) and without any bodies persmission [sic]."

Nikki also claims Motley Crue didn't authorize the "bottom of the barrel" network to make a "Breaking the Band" episode about them, and their lawyers will be taking further legal action against Reelz.

For the record ... Neil rejoined the band in 1997 after releasing a solo album and Crüe releasing a self-titled album with his replacement.

Gable Steveson -- one of the top heavyweight college wrestlers in the country -- was arrested Saturday for criminal sexual conduct ... and he's still in custody.

Steveson is a superstar wrestler at the University of Minnesota -- where he just wrapped up his freshman year with an incredible 35-2 record ... finishing as the #3 ranked heavyweight in the country.

But now, he's in huge trouble ... the 19-year-old was arrested at his Minneapolis home on Saturday after a person told police Steveson and another UM wrestler committed sexual assault with an object on Saturday.

The teammate, 21-year-old Dylan Martinez, was also arrested Saturday for suspected criminal sexual conduct.

Both men are being investigated for allegedly penetrating another individual with an object. The accuser went to the hospital for treatment, according to the police report.

The accuser's identity has not been released. Details surrounding the allegations are unclear.

What is clear ... Steveson is adamant he did NOTHING wrong. His attorney, Christa Groshek, said the wrestler is cooperating with the police investigation and he's adamant he is innocent.

The University of Minnesota has issued a statement, saying, "We are aware of a situation involving two of our student athletes and are in the process of gathering more information."

"These students have been suspended from all team activity pending further information. Federal and state law precludes any further details at this time."

Nipsey Hussle's family has a new argument for why they should retain custody of his daughter -- they claim there's ample proof her mother is unfit, based on her 2 other children.

Sources close to the late rapper tell TMZ ... his family's lawyers think they can win the custody battle for his 10-year-old girl, Emani Asghedom, by highlighting Tanisha Foster's track record with her 18-year-old daughter.

We're told the girl is currently in juvenile detention in L.A., and has been in and out of the system since she was 12. Our sources say she's in juvi now for petty theft, and nobody will come forward to claim her ... including Tanisha.

Even though her daughter is 18, we're told the detention center won't release her because she doesn't have a GED or a stable environment to which she can return. Our sources say Tanisha's been MIA most of her daughter's life and has refused to attend her court hearings.

We're told Foster also has a 17-year-old son who bounces around from home to home and doesn't attend school regularly.

Nipsey's family claims the proof is in the pudding and feels Foster is not a fit parent -- and definitely isn't qualified to care for Emani.

We broke the story ... the family also believes Foster is unstable due to her long rap sheet and current legal issues.

Emani is currently living with Nipsey's sister, Samantha, who kept custody of her after a court hearing last month ... much to the chagrin of Tanisha.

Cuba Gooding Jr. has his share of problems these days, but he's not lacking for fans, albeit the ones who are related to his defense.

Cuba hit up Le Bilboquet in Long Island, NY, and mugged with Rachel Heller, the daughter of Mark Heller, the lawyer who is defending him in his groping case.

It's the first time we've seen Cuba since he was charged with sexual abuse and forcible touching.

TMZ obtained surveillance video show Cuba at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge where he allegedly grabbed a woman's breast. You can see Cuba reach toward her breasts but Cuba and Mark Heller insist Cuba did not do anything criminal.

There are 2 parts to the video. In the second part, you see the woman complain to security as Cuba is on a sofa nearby with his girlfriend. As she talks to an employee of the restaurant you see Cuba cross her path, look at her but he doesn't seem to say anything.

A pro MMA fighter nearly had his leg cut off his body in a gruesome car accident last year ... and now he's suing the California Department of Transportation, claiming it's responsible for his tragic injuries.

It's all in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... Chris Bonilla -- a former Muay Thai champ who also fought with the Glory kickboxing promotion -- says he crashed into an unmarked barrier on the side of a freeway last year.

Bonilla -- 31 years old at the time -- claims he was driving on the 10 Freeway in West Covina at around 6 AM when he needed to pull off to the side of the road for an unspecified reason.

But, Bonilla says when he did that ... he accidentally crashed into a K-rail that was NOT properly marked.

Bonilla says the results of the accident were devastating -- his car was split down the side ... severing his leg and breaking his clavicle in the process.

Chris says doctors were able to reattach his leg, but he's facing life-long issues and could have to have the leg eventually amputated.

Bonilla is now suing the California Department of Transportation for unspecified damages ... claiming it did not properly provide the necessary protections to prevent these of types of accidents from happening.

Britney Spears' former manager, Sam Lutfi, poses a serious enough threat to her and her family that a judge is now extending a court order for him to keep away from her.

A judge granted the permanent restraining order against Lutfi Thursday in L.A. County Superior Court. While Lutfi was there, Britney was not -- her father and lawyers were speaking on her behalf.

In the end, the judge sided with Britney's camp and decided they needed the protection. Lutfi has to stay at least 200 yards away from Britney, her family, refrain from reaching out to them and refrain from making disparaging comments about Brit.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney went to court seeking a temporary restraining order last month, claiming that Lutfi was attempting to harass her by getting in touch with her mom and stirring up the "Free Britney" movement, which wants her out of her conservatorship.

It's unclear if Britney fully wants out herself, but she has expressed a desire for more freedoms that she currently doesn't have ... like owning a smartphone, for example.

Either way, Britney claimed in court docs that Lutfi offered $1,000 cash to her mom, Lynne, to "disrupt and take over" the conservatorship process, which Brit's dad, Jamie Spears, oversees. She also alleged Lutfi threatened to release old items of hers from when he managed her in the 2000s.

A judge felt enough of a threat existed at the time to give Brit protection for the time being. Now, the permanent restraining order will be in effect for the next 5 years.

Michael Avenatti's legal troubles continue mounting ... he's now facing a lawsuit from his former paraplegic client who claims Avenatti stole nearly $4 million from him.

Geoffrey Johnson is suing the lawyer claiming Avenatti took the vast majority of a $4 million settlement payment that Johnson scored years ago but Avenatti wired to himself in January 2015.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Johnson sued the L.A. County Sheriff's Department in 2012 claiming its deputies roughed him up during a wrongful arrest. Long story short ... Johnson scored a settlement but says all Avenatti's firm did was wire him meager $1,900 monthly payments.

Johnson's now suing for $9.5 million in compensatory damages ... which includes the $4 mil settlement and $5 mil in additional damages including severe emotional distress. Johnson, BTW, is the guy the feds mentioned in its 36-count indictment that could land Avenatti in prison for the rest of his life.

Avenatti's vehemently denied any wrongdoing telling TMZ ... "Mr. Johnson's claims are categorically false and frivolous, and his case will be thrown out of court." Avenatti explained, "He previously agreed on numerous occasions, including in multiple detailed writings which he reviewed, initialed and signed (after a different lawyer reviewed), that I conducted myself ethically at all times."

Famed director Bryan Singer is going to fork over $150,000 to settle allegations he raped a teenage boy on a yacht ... but Singer is still denying his accuser's claims.

Singer was sued by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman back in 2017 for allegedly forcing the then-17-year-old to perform oral sex on him and then raping him during a yacht party in Seattle.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... a bankruptcy trustee urged the court to approve a $150K settlement with Singer. Sanchez-Guzman had filed for bankruptcy, so a judge has to sign off on the settlement.

However ... Singer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, says the director still maintains his innocence and the settlement is not an admission of guilt.

Singer's attorney says ... "Mr. Singer has denied even knowing this individual, let alone allegedly having interacted with him more than 15 years ago."

5:50 PM PT -- Cuba Gooding Jr.'s attorney, Mark Heller, tells us he has viewed surveillance video from the bar and says it shows "absolutely no criminality taking place on the part of my client."

Heller says he's contacted the Manhattan D.A.'s Office Sex Crimes Unit but has not gotten a return phone call. He is trying to find out if they've seen the surveillance video. Heller says he can't believe they would seek to arrest Cuba ... if they'd seen the video.

He says it's up in the air right now as to whether Cuba will turn himself in Thursday, as they'd planned, now that they've seen the video.

Cuba Gooding Jr. will turn himself into NYPD on Thursday and will be arrested for allegedly groping a woman -- but on camera he insists he did nothing wrong, and there's hard evidence to prove it.

Sources connected to the Oscar winner tell TMZ ... he plans to surrender Thursday and expects to be booked for a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching. Cuba was in L.A. Tuesday night -- about to board a flight to NYC -- when a photog asked him directly about the groping allegation.

Cuba says the claim he grabbed a woman's breast Sunday night at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan ... is absolutely untrue. He says he was there partying with friends, and posed for pics with fans, but says no one was touched inappropriately ... not even by accident.

Aside from the video we posted -- showing Cuba partying that night at the bar -- he says there's also surveillance video that will show he's innocent.

He also tipped his hat to Jon Stewart, who hours earlier had blasted Congress over the 9/11 Victims Fund, and said that's what's really important now.

As for his legal trouble ... Cuba didn't seem worried. Our Sources say he'll surrender at the Manhattan Special Victim's Unit -- and will be accompanied by his lawyers, Peter Toumbekis and Mark J. Heller. Cops will fingerprint him, and take a mug shot.

From there, as Cuba says ... he'll trust the system.