Brianna Smith is a freelance writer and editor in Southwest Michigan. A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Brianna has a passion for politics, social issues, education, science, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys the simple life with her husband, daughter, and son.



Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Under Fire for Copyright Infringement

Director Guillermo del Toro, Fox Searchlight, and others “associated with the Oscar contender ‘The Shape of Water’” have just been slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit by the estate of Paul Zindel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. The suit itself was filed by “David Zindel, acting as a trustee of his and his sister Lizabeth’s trusts, which equally share the rights to their father’s literary works.”


Has Your Instant Pot Been Recalled?

Do you own an Instant Pot Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker? If so, this recall notice is for you. After receiving complaints about the particular product overheating and melting, Instant Pot, a “multi-purpose cookware company,” decided to issue a recall for the multicookers. The recalled product is “similar to a slow cooker, but with more functions, including roasting, stewing, baking, steaming,” according to Instant Pot.


$80K Settlement Reached Between Ebony Magazine and Freelance Contributors

When most people do a job, there’s a certain expectation that they will be compensated in a timely matter. In fact, many jobs today pay weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. However, for dozens of freelancers working for Chicago-based Ebony magazine, their paychecks never arrived. As a result of not being paid, many of the freelance contributors filed a lawsuit against the publication. Fortunately for them, Ebony magazine “has agreed to pay $80,000” to cover “unpaid work stretching back more than two years.”


Dam Bar Owner Wants to Settle Copyright Infringement Dispute with ASCAP

Elda Brandt, the owner of Dam Bar, recently made it known that she wants nothing more than to settle her “copyright infringement dispute with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a nonprofit performance rights organization.” For those who don’t know, the ASCAP filed a lawsuit against her in federal court “for playing unlicensed music.” So far she has been asked to pay “about $4,000 in licensing fees to ASCAP; Broadcast Music Inc., a music rights organization; and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, or SEASAC, also a performance rights organization.” To help defend herself against the complaints from ASCAP, Brandt said she plans on “hiring a Seattle lawyer to represent her.”


Breach of Warranty Lawsuit Filed Against L.L. Bean After Company Does Away With Return Policy

L.L. Bean Inc. has recently come under fire for changes it made to its popular lifetime warranty policy. In fact, customers are so upset with the changes that one even went so far as to file a breach of warranty lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit was filed by loyal customer Victor Bondi earlier this month in Chicago federal court and “seeks class-action status.” But why exactly is Bondi upset with the changes? Why file a lawsuit?


Lawsuits Filed Over Deadly Pine Ridge Duplex Explosion

Back in 2016, a deadly propane gas explosion occurred at a Pine Ridge duplex, claiming the lives of four people while also maiming three others. As a result of the accident, two lawsuits have been filed. The most recent lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Oglala Lakota County circuit court on behalf of 13 plaintiffs, and “accuses two companies, Nebraska-based Western Cooperative Company Inc. and South Dakota-based C. Brunsch Inc., doing business as Lakota Plains Propane, of negligence, failure to inspect and warn, strict liability and breach of warranty.”


Triple T Specialty Meats Inc. Recalls Chicken Salad Over Salmonella Outbreak

Fans of chicken salad should check their refrigerators to make sure they don’t have a certain brand that’s recently been recalled. Earlier this week, Triple T Specialty Meats issued a recall for all it’s chicken salad products “sold at Fareway stores between January 4 and February 9.” The decision to recall to product came after “an investigation by the CDC and the US Department of Agriculture linked a multi-state salmonella outbreak to chicken salad produced by the company in January and February.”


Has Your KitchenAid Electric Kettle Been Recalled?

Electric kettles are nifty kitchen appliances that boil water in no time at all. But did you know a certain brand was recently recalled? It’s true. Earlier this week, Whirlpool recalled more than 40,000 KitchenAid electric kettles “sold in the U.S., as well as more than 47,00 units sold in Canada and 1,600 in Mexico.” The affected kettles were sold between “September 2013 through February 2018,” and are being recalled because they pose a “serious burn risk,” according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).


Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Wake of Deadly Helicopter Crash that Killed Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry

Last year Troy Gentry, a member of country music band Montgomery Gentry, tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash in September. Now his widow, Angie Gentry, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit as a result. The lawsuit was filed back on February 14 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and names “the aircraft’s manufacturers, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Sikorsky Global Helicopters, Inc. and the Keystone Helicopter Corporation as defendants in the case.” According to the lawsuit, Gentry’s widow alleges the defendants failed to “make the civilian version of the Model 269 helicopter crashworthy, despite their knowledge that a military version of the same helicopter had been updated years earlier.”