Legal

Several passengers who were on the same United jet where a passenger fell ill and died of COVID now fear they may have COVID themselves, and they're thinking about legal action.

Francois Montinat tells TMZ ... he's suffering from strong nasal and head congestion, and it's freaking him out because he had COVID back in May and those were 2 of the many symptoms he experienced.

Adding to his worries ... he can't get an appointment for a COVID test and he feels like crap and doesn't want to stand in a first-come-first-served line for hours. Montinat says he thinks United's safety protocol is deficient and he's pondering legal action for emotional distress.

Megan Hubbard and Cameron Roberts were also on the flight and they tell us ... Cameron's been experiencing symptoms since landing in L.A. He says he's developed a persistent cough and suspects he's come down with COVID.

Megan's not experiencing symptoms but the anxiety for both has reached a breaking point ... she says she's seeing a shrink to help her deal with it.  Megan feels someone should pay her medical expenses ... and you can guess who.

The jury selection process in the George Floyd murder trial is underway, and it's clear the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys want to know where prospective jurors stand on social justice.

The Hennepin County Special Juror Questionnaire was just mailed out to citizens who could potentially decide whether the 4 accused cops are guilty of murder.

TMZ obtained a copy, and it begins by telling potential jurors they are to avoid viewing anything about the case from this day forward ... then digs into what they already know, and how they got that information.

A lot of it is basic stuff for highly publicized cases, but then it asks ... "Did you, or someone close to you, participate in any of the demonstrations or marches against police brutality that took place in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death?"

If the answer's yes, the next question is ... if they carried a sign and what the sign said.

The questionnaire continues with ... "Did you or someone you know get injured or suffer any property damage during the protests that took place after George Floyd’s death?" Also ... "Do you believe your community has been negatively or positively affected by any of the protests that have taken place in the Twin-Cities area since George Floyd’s death?"

Other questions focus on the media and law enforcement. Obviously, with police officers on trial, the intent here is to uncover biases ... either against or in favor of cops.

As we've reported ... former officer Derek Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyd's death, and the trial is set to being March 8.

King Khan does have s*** on Rihanna, allegedly ... an artist by that name is suing her over a song he says she used to promote her cosmetics line.

Rihanna's being dragged to court by a German father-daughter musical duo -- King Khan and Saba Lou -- who claim she used one of their tracks in an Instagram post advertising Fenty brand accessories.

According to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, King Khan and Saba Lou claim they created and own the music and lyrics for a song called "Good Habits (and Bad)," which they say showed up in RiRi's post.

In the docs, they claim Rihanna did not have their blessing, or legal permission, to use the tune. Their theory is she just ripped it from a music streaming platform.

The duo's going after Rihanna for damages, noting the ad got more than 3.4 million views ... and they want her to stop using their song.

The victims from one of Tekashi 6ix9ine's crimes are going after him in court ... demanding he pay up for what they suffered when Tekashi and co. robbed them.

Seketha Wonzer and Kevin Dozier just filed suit against the rapper, claiming he was part of the criminal conspiracy set in motion in April 2018 that led to them getting bum-rushed and robbed at gunpoint in NYC -- something Tekashi himself testified and pled guilty to in federal court.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Wonzer and Dozier say they lost a bundle during the robbery -- including shoes, master recordings, hard drives, precious jewelry, a camera and cash, among other items. They say the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity -- Tekashi and co. allegedly thought they were affiliated with Rap-A-Lot Records, but they say they weren't.

In the suit, filed by powerhouse attorney Joe Tacopina, they say although Tekashi didn't do the robbing himself ... he did film the whole thing from an SUV outside, while his cohorts in the Nine Trey Bloods did the dirty work. In any case, Wonzer and Dozier now want him to pay for the assault, battery and emotional distress they say they suffered.

The defendants say that because Tekashi copped to this crime in court already, his civil liability for the damages is beyond question.

We'd already spoken to Wonzer -- who also goes by Skyy Daniels -- after Tekashi testified against 2 Nine Trey members, and she didn't think his 2-year prison sentence was fair.

Skyy also told us flatly she wanted to see him pay for what he'd done to her. Tacopina, tells TMZ ... "If Tekashi69 thought his legal problems were over after pleading guilty to brutally assaulting my clients, he was woefully mistaken."

He adds, "We do know this now -- if he refuses to redress the injuries he caused my clients, he’ll sincerely regret that decision."

Former U.S. Congresswoman Katie Hill is taking her ex-husband to court, claiming he's behind the leak of private photos and messages ... which, she says, ultimately sunk her political career.

The ex-Rep. from California filed suit Tuesday against Kenny Heslep -- who she recently divorced -- for what she says was a years-long campaign of making her life miserable ... up to and including the moment she stepped down from her post last year amid scandal.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, she says she'd been with Heslep since she was a teen ... and that, for years, he subjected her to torment, ridicule, physical and sexual abuse, as well as a constant environment of control and monitoring that carried over into their marriage.

Hill claims Heslep -- among other things -- demanded her passwords for devices, forced her to put her calls on speaker so he could listen, demanded to know her whereabouts, dictated her physical appearance, choked her without consent during sex, posted her nudes online ... and told her to kill herself during arguments.

In the suit, she also claims Heslep harmed pets of hers during their relationship -- including allegedly shooting and wounding her goat.

She says things came to a head in 2019 after she won a seat in Congress, and worked up the nerve to leave Heslep. She claims his response was to launch a scorched earth effort to smear her by supplying embarrassing photos and private messages to right-wing sites and other media outlets. Heslep insists he was hacked, but Katie clearly isn't buying that.

The barrage of headlines didn't stop until Hill announced she'd leave Congress ... but even after that -- and even after they'd divorced -- Hill claims reporters continued to badger her. Now, she's had enough ... and wants a judge to step in.

The family of a Southern California man who died in police custody says he got the same treatment as George Floyd ... which can now be seen on video as authorities investigate.

33-year-old Ernie Serrano died last Tuesday after he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon following an incident that required police assistance at a grocery store in Jurupa Valley ... which left him bloodied, battered and, ultimately, unresponsive.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. released body cam footage as well as witness and surveillance video from that day ... and it shows Serrano at a Stater Bros. attempting to check out at the register, when for some reason security intervenes ... and they tussle.

The fighting goes on for a few minutes -- reports say the guard Tasered him and used pepper spray on him as well ... and that's when several Sheriff's deputies arrived. In the video, you can see one of the deputies unloads on a stumbling Serrano with his baton, striking him several times in the arm and stomach -- until, eventually, the whole squad tackles and detains him.

Body cam video shows Serrano bleeding from his face as deputies attempt to handcuff him -- while pinning his torso against a countertop. He's screaming for them to let him go as cops try to calm him down. Serrano actually screamed, "Excessive force" at one point.

They then put a spit mask on him, and he quiets down ... at some point after that he lost consciousness. Deputies put him on the floor and tried to resuscitate him. Serrano was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

RCSD held a press conference Monday, saying the department and the District Attorney's Office were investigating. They also released a preliminary autopsy report they say lists his cause of death as acute methamphetamine intoxication ... which the Sheriff's Dept. says caused a fatal arrhythmia as he struggled with deputies.

The Sherrif's Dept. also says the autopsy shows contusions on his right arm and stomach, consistent with baton strikes. They add there's no sign of asphyxiation or other forms of trauma. Of course, Serrano's fam and their attorney, Humberto Guizar, see things differently.

Guizar says it's clear the deputies held him down in a compromised position for too long, which he believes led to Serrano's death. He's calling for an independent autopsy to be done, while also signaling he and the family are ramping up for a lawsuit. Guizar believes what happened to Serrano was not dissimilar to George Floyd.

Cops in Canada descended on an ice skating rink, arrested a player and threatened to tase him ... and it was all captured on video.

Calgary cops claimed the game defied the law limiting outdoor team sports to 10 participants, with 2 meters separating them. There were 40 people at the game ... thus the violation.

Two of the officers approached one of the players, who ignored their orders to get on the ground. One of the cops knees the player, but he stays upright.

Then one of the cops loses patience and yells, "Get on the ground! Get on the f***ing ground! Get on the ground before I f***ing taser you!"

The player was arrested for resisting arrest and violating the public health restriction.

The PD tells us the man was not arrested for playing hockey ... he was arrested because he refused to follow the officers' orders and wouldn't ID himself so they could issue him a ticket.

The German Shepherd that survived an horrific incident of animal cruelty is getting a Christmas miracle ... the pooch will spend the holiday in a loving foster home in Florida.

The dog, which Volusia County Sheriff's officials appropriately named "Miracle," is being cared for by a foster care individual who kindly offered up their home ... according to Volusia County Animal Services director Adam Leath.

Miracle was in Animal Services custody after her owner, Allison Murphy, was arrested after police body cam video showed her throwing the dog off a second floor, motel balcony during an interaction with Sheriff's deputies ... but we're told Animal Services didn't want the pooch to live in a cage so they found her a temporary home.

As we reported ... Miracle amazingly didn't get injured in her fall -- thus her name -- and cops jumped to her rescue after she tried to run away.

Miracle got fully checked out at an animal hospital, where a vet only saw a few scrapes and bruises to her feet. She actually landed feet first. She was hospitalized overnight and is on pain meds.

Animal Services also tells us the exam turned up a sewing needle in Miracle's left rear thigh ... they don't know how the needle got there, and it's now part of the felony animal cruelty investigation against the owner.

While Miracle's got a new foster parent -- whom we're told will remain anonymous because of the ongoing criminal case -- whoever adopts Miracle will have to wait until the outcome of the criminal case against the owner.

We're told Animal Services will present evidence to a judge Dec. 28 to make certain Miracle is never returned to her owner.

NBA star Rajon Rondo is being sued by a woman who claims she was cussed out and beat up by Rondo and his girlfriend in a heated parking lot dispute -- and the accuser says she has video of the entire incident.

TMZ Sports has obtained the lawsuit filed by Toktam Jorshari, who claims she lives in the same L.A. apartment building as Rondo's girlfriend.

In her suit, Jorshari claims on July 28, 2020 ... Rondo parked his $300,000 Rolls Royce SUV in a handicapped parking space at the complex, despite the fact the car did not have a handicapped placard.

Jorshari says she had parked in the adjacent parking space to unload a newly purchased table -- inadvertently blocking access to the driver's side door of Rondo's vehicle.

When Rondo saw his car was blocked, he allegedly flew off the handle, according to the lawsuit.

"Bitch, why do you think you can park here?" Rajon allegedly shouted at Jorshari.

Jorshari claims Rondo was wearing a COVID mask at the time of the incident ... but was screaming so angrily, it slipped down under his nose -- causing her to fear for her health and safety.

But, Jorshari says things escalated from there -- and at one point, Rondo "with an extended arm, pushed and shoved [Jorshari] against her vehicle."

Jorshari says the push "was so violent and forceful that [Jorshari's] sandal shoe flew off her foot and her keys which she held in her hand flew out of her hand and broke into two pieces when the key fell onto the ground."

Once she was on the ground, Jorshari claims Rondo's girlfriend "proceeded to repeatedly physically attack [Jorshari] by striking her in the area of her head and upper body."

Jorshari claims she did not fight back -- and insists it was Rondo who gave his GF the "green light" to attack in the first place.

And get this ... Jorshari claims the entire incident was caught on surveillance video in the parking garage -- and she's currently in possession of the videotape.

Jorshari claims she was physically injured in the attack ... with some of the injuries resulting in "permanent disability."

Jorshari is suing both Rondo and his girlfriend for assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. She's seeking unspecified damages in excess of $1 MILLION.

We've reached out to Rondo for comment, so far no word back yet.

Rondo was a member of the L.A. Lakers at the time of the alleged incident -- but was not inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando because he had left to tend to an injury on his right thumb.

Rondo is now a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

The man suing Jerry West and the Clippers for his alleged role in landing Kawhi Leonard says West left him a voicemail message in 2019 acknowledging their relationship and trashing the Lakers in the process.

Johnny Wilkes tells TMZ Sports ... West left the voicemail for him on July 1, 2019, around 2 PM ... "expressing concern that Kawhi would choose the Lakers over the Clippers."

Wilkes says, "In the same message, Jerry thanked me for all my efforts in getting Kawhi to sign with the Clippers."

TMZ Sports has obtained the voicemail -- in which a man who sounds like West says, "Hey there, this is Jerry calling. I really want to thank you a lot for trying to help. I heard this morning that everyone over in the Lakers camp thinks they're gonna get him."

"I just find it hard to believe that he would want to go to that sh*t show where he would not even be ... wouldn't even get his name in the paper and he wouldn't be the face of the franchise that's for sure."

"He might be the best player on the team, but hope things are well and again, I really really appreciate everything you've done."

The man believed to be West is seemingly referring to the fact LeBron James is with the Lakers -- and there's zero shot Kawhi would overtake him as the face of the team.

The man also seems to think Kawhi is a better player than LeBron, Anthony Davis and other members of the Lakers.

FYI, West is an executive board member with the Clippers. He's also considered one of the greatest Lakers players of all time.

The voicemail continues ... "I will keep you apprised of what's going on. But, I do want to get together with you privately and would love to take you to dinner and even Sam if he's around. So I can at least pay my respects to you guys for being so generous and helpful. Take care, talk to you sometime soon. Bye-bye."

We're told the "Sam" in question is Sam Watson -- who Wilkes claims was also involved in the effort to land Kawhi with the Clippers.

As we previously reported, West has DENIED any wrongdoing connected to the signing of Kawhi Leonard -- but when contacted about this specific piece of audio, neither West nor the Clippers would comment.

The Clippers previously issued a statement saying, "The lawsuit filed by Johnny Wilkes is replete with inaccuracies and the allegations are baseless. The Clippers are fully cooperating with the NBA in its investigation, which is standard when these types of allegations are made.

"[The Clippers] are providing the NBA with evidence that the allegations are false."

The NBA has launched its own investigation into allegations made against the Clippers and Jerry West in a new lawsuit, TMZ Sports has learned.

The allegations are spelled out in a lawsuit filed by Johnny Wilkes -- who says West promised him $2.5 MILLION for helping the Clippers sign superstar free agent Kawhi Leonard in 2019.

If the allegations are true, it would be a violation of NBA policy -- and West and the Clippers could be subject to league discipline.

For his part, West has DENIED the allegations -- telling TMZ Sports, "I deny engaging in any improper conduct in connection with the signing of Kawhi Leonard.”

In his lawsuit, Wilkes says he has close ties with Kawhi and Kawhi's uncle, Dennis Robertson -- and promised he had information that would give the Clippers an advantage in the battle to land the NBA's top free agent.

Wilkes says he also helped facilitate a deal between West and Kawhi's uncle ... in which West agreed to give Uncle Dennis a Southern California home and a travel expense account.

Kawhi ultimately signed with the Clippers -- but Wilkes says West never ponied up the $2.5 million fee ... so he filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and more.

Vanessa Bryant is lashing back at her mother -- claiming Sofia Laine only filed a lawsuit against her to "extort a financial windfall from our family."

Laine sued Vanessa earlier this week -- claiming Kobe Bryant had promised to take care of her for the rest of her life ... but after Kobe died in January, Vanessa left her out in the cold.

In her suit, Laine claims she worked as a nanny for Kobe and Vanessa -- and was "forced" to work around the clock for 18 years without proper meal or rest breaks.

Laine claims she was never paid for her work despite taking shifts on holidays and weekends.

She also claims Vanessa ordered her to move out of the home Kobe had allowed her to live in while he was alive.

But, Vanessa says her mom is lying -- saying, "I have supported her for nearly 20 years, and was never my or Kobe's personal assistant, nor was she a nanny."

"I have always been a stay at home mother and my husband and I were my daughter's full-time care givers."

Vanessa continues, "In reality, she only occasionally babysat my older girls when they were toddlers."

"As of ten years ago, our kids were full time students and athletes and I didn't have another child until 2016."

Vanessa says her mom's claims are "obviously false" -- and insists she repeatedly tried to "work things out with my mother" ... to no avail.

She concludes ... "This lawsuit is frivolous, disgraceful, and unimaginably hurtful. My husband never promised my mother anything, and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy."

We're told Sofia is planning to issue a response to Vanessa's statement soon.

Mystikal insisted he wasn’t guilty of rape ... and now it looks like a grand jury agreed with him 'cause TMZ's learned his rape charges have been dismissed.

A spokesperson with the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... a grand jury found there wasn't enough evidence to move forward with the charges and decided to dismiss the charges against Mystikal.

Mystikal's attorney, Joel Peace, tells TMZ ... the charges went away because “new scientific evidence emerged causing the Grand Jury to take a second look at the rape allegations made against [him]."

As we reported .... Mystikal turned himself in back in August 2017 when he was booked for first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping stemming from a 2016 incident involving a woman at a casino where he was performing. He spent 18 months behind bars but, thanks to a new recording deal, he finally posted $3 million bond in February to secure his release from a Louisiana prison.

Prosecutors offered a plea deal before the case ever went to trial but Mystikal rejected the offer. Why? Mystikal's defense teams believed the alleged victim had major credibility issues and were more than ready to battle it out in court.

A Black man, who's a former police officer himself, is suing a Kansas deputy who ran him over with his patrol truck, and he believes this dramatic dashcam video proves his civil rights were violated.

Lionel Womack filed the federal suit Thursday, claiming he was surrounded by 4 cop cars during the August traffic stop. Womack says he was so frightened by the number of Kiowa County Sheriff's deputies responding for a simple traffic stop ... he took off running into an open field.

The dashcam footage shows Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez giving chase in his patrol truck, and eventually driving right over Womack.

Womack, who was a police detective in Kansas City, claims he initially complied when he was pulled over by one patrol vehicle ... presenting a valid driver's license, registration and proof of insurance.

Womack says when 3 more Sheriff's Dept. vehicles arrived ... he feared for his life. He describes it as a "fight-or-flight" moment, and took off running into the field.

Womack's suing Rodriguez for excessive force, claiming his civil rights were violated when he got hit by the truck. He says he suffered serious injuries to his back, pelvis, right knee, ankle and foot.

Cleveland Cavs player Kevin Porter Jr. just caught a huge break -- his firearm and weed charges stemming from his November car accident have been dropped, according to his attorney.

As we previously reported, the 20-year-old wrecked his Mercedes around 2 AM outside Cleveland on Nov. 15 ... and while his car was left mangled, KPJ was miraculously unharmed.

Cops responded to the scene and found a loaded handgun along with what appeared to be weed inside the vehicle ... but the officers did NOT believe Porter was under the influence.

Porter was arrested and charged with improper handling of a firearm, marijuana possession and more ... but pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charges but entered no plea on the felony gun charge.

The case went to a grand jury -- which ultimately declined to indict the NBA player on the gun charge, his attorney Alex Spiro tells ESPN. It's a big deal considering the felony charge carries possible prison time if convicted.

Two misdemeanors were also dropped -- weed possession and driving without a license.

Porter did, however, admit fault for failure to control his car.

Sean Kingston's jewelry issues are now worse than ever -- this time there's a warrant out for his arrest due to an allegedly unpaid tab ... TMZ has learned.

The singer and songwriter's been charged with grand theft ... according to court records. Our law enforcement sources tell us Sean had some jewelry delivered to him, but has yet to pay for the goods. Stop us if you've heard this before.

It's interesting ... our sources tell us cops don't plan to actively track down Sean, but the warrant is in their system. Basically, he better not get pulled over.

As we've reported over the years, Sean's had a lot of issues with jewelers -- he's been sued several times for allegedly receiving bling and not paying.

We reached out to Sean's camp ... so far, radio silence.