Who Dat? Inc. Sues NFL Properties, New Orleans Saints, La.

The company that made a 1983 recording of what became one of the New Orleans Saints' most popular cheers has filed a trademark suit against the state and the team.

NFL Properties LLC, which deals with National Football League trademarks, and state Attorney General James D. "Buddy" Caldwell also are defendants in the suit filed last Thursday in federal district court in Baton Rouge by Who Dat? Inc.

The chant is "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?" It's often shortened to just "Who Dat?"

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Brothers Sal and Steve Monistere owned a recording company that got five Saints players to chant the cheer as Aaron Neville sang "When the Saints go Marching In" _ a record that became an instant hit in 1983.

Their Who Dat? Inc. is acting as its own attorney in the trademark suit.

Caldwell said Friday he's confident Who Dat? cannot win. "No one owns (the phrase) Who Dat. And the NFL says they don't own it either. Neither do these guys."

Steve Monistere said he obtained a trademark for Who Dat? in October 1983 from the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office, and a second one the following month.

The defendants damaged the company's right to profit before the Saints' Super Bowl championship last month, the suit alleges.

NFL Properties claimed rights to the phrase and the fleur-de-lis, which the team uses as a logo. It backed down after Caldwell said both are public domain.

Saints spokesman Doug Miller said the team knows about the lawsuit but doesn't talk about pending litigation.

The Monistere brothers said that after Caldwell's news release, people who didn't own the trademark rights sold inferior copycat merchandise.

The Monistere brothers said they had profited from their firm's marketing efforts in the past, but had dreamed for decades of boosting those profits during a Saints appearance in the Super Bowl.

"The dream became a nightmare," the brothers wrote.

Okla. to Receive Federal Aid for Ice Storm

The White House has approved Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry's request for a major disaster declaration for the Jan. 28 ice storm.

Under the declaration issued March 5, 25 counties will receive public assistance for expenses related to response to and recovery from the winter storm that left 179,000 homes and businesses, mainly in southern Oklahoma, without power at one point.

Preliminary damage estimates from the storm exceed $69 million, and surveys are continuing. Henry's office says as they reach the federal threshold for relief, a request will be made to add additional counties to the disaster declaration.

Counties included in the declaration are: Alfalfa; Caddo; Cleveland; Comanche; Cotton; Delaware; Dewey; Ellis; Grady; Greer; Harmon; Haskell; Hughes; Jackson; Kiowa; LeFlore; McClain; Muskogee; Okmulgee; Pontotoc; Pottawatomie; Roger Mills; Seminole, Stephens and Washita.

Arizona Senate Committee Considers Changes to DMV Notification Rules

The Arizona Senate is considering reducing or eliminating the need for some risky drivers to maintain their automobile driving insurance filing.

An amendment to Senate Bill 1030 would reduce or eliminate the need for drivers to maintain their SR22 filing. The SR22 filing is used by the State Department of Motor Vehicles to monitor the insurance coverage for a driver who has either a serious violation or a prior history of driving without automobile insurance, according to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona.

Normally, all auto insurance is monitored by the Arizona DMV. However, the system does not immediately suspend the driving privilege and/or registration for a vehicle if it is notified of the lapse of insurance coverage. It delays action for 30 days to allow a driver to replace coverages and have the new insurance company notify the DMV of a new or rewritten policy. But in the case of a policy containing an SR22 filing for the driver, the insurance company immediately notifies the DMV of the lapse/expiration of coverage so the DMV can take immediate action against drivers most likely to have an uninsured auto accident if their insurance is canceled or allowed to expire, IIABA said.

"Although the language ... of Senate Bill 1030 is somewhat ambiguous, it is certain that the objective is to lessen the number of drivers who are required to maintain a SR22 filing," the association said.

The amendment is on the agenda of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the IIABA said it will monitor the issue and notify agents if a grassroots effort is necessary.

Utah Lawmakers Focus on Seismic Safety of Schools

Utah schools would be sized up to see how they would fare in the event of a major earthquake under a bill passed by the state House.

The House, on a 50-18 vote, sent House Bill 72 to the Senate for consideration in the waning days of the 2010 session.

The measure sponsored by Rep. Larry Wiley, D-West Valley City, calls for volunteers from the Structural Engineers Association of Utah to inventory schools for seismic safety and help draft a priority list of schools that need the most attention.

"It's something long overdue," Wiley said.

Wiley, a building inspector whose bill is backed by the Utah PTA, sponsored successful legislation four years ago to inventory state buildings for seismic safety.

An informal survey four years ago found that 58 percent of about 800 school buildings were constructed before modern seismic standards took effect in the 1970s.

With about 560,000 students in public and charter schools, the assessment is urgent, quake experts said. Modern building codes have played a major role in reducing deaths from large temblors.

"It's critical because you can see what happened in Haiti and Chile can happen on the Wasatch Front someday when we have the Big One. It's a real issue for all our school kids," said Roger Evans, chairman of the Utah Seismic Safety Commission.

Some lawmakers switched their votes after the bill failed to win House passage on Wednesday.

"This isn't any kind of a mandate that says they have to repair all that, but at least we know where they stand on it," said Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, who reversed his position after opposing the bill earlier.