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Sour grapes suit blames Starburst 'soft chew' for jaw woes

If you think you've had your fill of curious lawsuits, chew on this.

A Michigan woman has sued the maker of Starburst Fruit Chews, alleging that the neon-colored treats are too chewy and have afflicted her with a jaw disorder.

It was a lemon Starburst, to be exact, that Victoria McArthur says is to blame.

The candy caused her top and bottom teeth to stick together, Ms. McArthur says, claiming that she now suffers from temporo-mandibular joint dysfunction--commonly called TMJ--and has trouble talking, eating and sleeping.

The suit alleges that Ms. McArthur has suffered "pain, humiliation, mental anguish, embarrassment, gross indignity and inconvenience because of the permanent nature of said injuries." She now wants $25,000 from the candy-making giant, which also makes confections Snickers and Twix.

"I don't want to see anybody else have to go through what I have gone through from eating a piece of candy that was supposed to be a soft chew," Ms. McArthur told Fox News.

Owner vs. coach in NBA playoff suit

Winning may not be everything, but losing appears to be entirely unacceptable for Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Mr. Cuban is suing Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson, claiming that the Warriors beat the Mavs in May--one of the more stunning first-round playoff defeats in National Basketball Assn. history--because Mr. Nelson had "confidential information" about the Mavs he coached until 2005, said Mr. Nelson's attorney, who was quoted in press reports last week.

"Don may know that (Dirk) Nowitzki likes to turn toward his left shoulder, not his right shoulder, but we don't think that's a trade secret or confidential information," attorney John O'Connor was quoted as saying. "Cuban apparently does."

According to reports, Mr. Cuban acknowledged that he and his lawyers have "claims" against Mr. Nelson, but would not comment on the "confidential information."

The lawsuit is the latest legal battle between the two men. Mr. Nelson sued Mr. Cuban last year, claiming he is owed $6.5 million in deferred compensation for his time with the Mavericks from 1997-2005.

Mr. Cuban contends that Mr. Nelson forfeited the money when he accepted the Golden State job because it breached a non-compete clause in his $200,000 a year consulting contract with the Mavericks that ran through 2011, according to reports.

Mr. Nelson claims Mr. Cuban stopped paying him before he took the Golden State job and that he believed he was no longer bound by the non-compete clause, reports say.

Too much for some, too little for others

Hewitt Associates Inc. is calling it a "data source error."

But whatever words are used, a situation involving litigation settlement payments to about 20,000 former Enron Corp. employees who participated in the failed Houston-based energy giant's employee stock ownership plan undoubtedly is an embarrassment to Hewitt, one of the nation's biggest savings plan administrators.

Hewitt was retained by Enron Recovery Service Corp. to calculate and distribute funds available from settlements to Enron ESOP participants. However, in a recent distribution of $22 million, opening balance amounts used to perform the settlement calculations were incorrect, a Hewitt spokeswoman said.

The result was that distributions to a majority of ESOP enrollees were too large, while for others, the distributions were too small, an Enron spokesman said.

For those who received too much and are entitled to a future distribution, the next distribution will be reduced to offset the overpayment, the Enron spokesman said. Those who didn't receive enough will receive more in the future.

The spokeswoman for Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Hewitt says, as an Enron service provider, Hewitt is working diligently to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

Thousands of Enron employees lost much of their retirement savings when Enron, amid allegations of fraud, failed in 2001 and its stock became worthless.

ADA lawsuit about scents, sensibility

If a co-worker's scent makes you sick, perhaps suing your employer might provide some relief.

That's the tactic adopted by Susan McBride, a worker in the City of Detroit's planning department. Ms. McBride reportedly claims in a lawsuit that her work environment violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and she wants her employer to ban co-workers from wearing fragrances.

She also wants unspecified damages.

Ms. McBride claims she is severely sensitive to perfumes and must avoid scents in public places, such as the detergent aisles in stores. A co-worker's fragrance reportedly gave her headaches and nausea and kept her from working.

The city won't enforce a no-scent policy in the workplace to accommodate Ms. McBride's disability, she alleges.

Contributing: Roberto Ceniceros, Jerry Geisel, Beth Murtagh, Sally Roberts