Has Curse of Menendez Case Struck Again?

Menendez karma . . . art vs. architecture . . . beef burritos and broken dreams.

Followers of the legal saga of Lyle and Erik Menendez firmly believe in Menendez karma. It has been blamed for raining everything from broken homes to busted careers on anyone who came near the case. Now, it seems, Menendez karma is paying a visit to Superior Court Judge Nancy Brown.

The judge is under formal investigation for alleged judicial misconduct, including her attempt to marry Lyle and his court-watching sweetheart.

As those schooled in matters of the Menendi might recall, Brown was thwarted in her bid to perform a courtroom wedding when deputies balked at giving the incarcerated groom a ride over from Men’s Central Jail. And so she said a few words over the telephone and--voila--it was as if Lyle and Anna Eriksson were man and wife.

We emphasize the “as if,” since officials at the state prison where Lyle is locked up never recognized the marriage. And, apparently, Lyle’s bride has since gone her separate way. (He’s not going anywhere. The brothers are serving life terms in separate prisons for the 1989 shotgun murders of their wealthy parents.)

The California Commission on Judicial Performance announced last week that it has initiated formal proceedings against Brown, a 62-year-old courthouse veteran. She also is accused of displaying an artificial marijuana plant in court, banning an administrator from her courtroom and smoking cigarettes (not the funny kind) in her chambers, where lighting up is banned, as it is throughout the courthouse.

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HOLY ARCHITECTURE, BATMAN: The Zanja Madre, a cluster of towers and fountains at 8th and Figueroa streets that was featured in “Batman Forever,” is architecture and not art, a federal judge has ruled. As architecture, U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp determined, it can be photographed for free by anyone, even big-budget film studios.

The judge found in favor of Warner Bros., which had been sued by Minnesota artist Andrew Leicester. The artist claimed that the movie “distorted and cheapened” his original outdoor sculpture, named after Los Angeles’ early system of aqueducts. The title means “mother ditch” in Spanish.

Leicester and his lawyer had claimed that the Zanja Madre was a sculpture and therefore qualified as protected artwork. But Hupp disagreed, saying it had been incorporated into the building structure.

“Congress intended the American landscape to belong to everyone, including filmmakers producing commercial movies,” said Warner Bros. attorney Robert M. Schwartz.

The artist’s lawyer, Gregory B. Wood, indicated that he would appeal.

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NO QUIERO TACO BELL: Actress-songstress Noreen C. Kelly, known on stage as Kelly Ryan, is suing Taco Bell for serving her a “Big Beef” burrito allegedly containing something sharp that injured her vocal cords.

Kelly, who has appeared in the film “Naked Gun 2 1/2” and on television, is seeking unspecified damages in Los Angeles Superior Court. She claims that the injury caused her throat to swell and has diminished her voice.

Kelly suffers from lupus and says the surprise inside her burrito aggravated her symptoms. To make matters worse, the suit says, she had ordered a chicken burrito from the drive-through window, but was given the beef burrito instead. She decided to go ahead and eat it once she got home and unwrapped it. No immediate comment from Taco Bell.

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SCHELL GAME: Oscar-winning actor Maximilian Schell has been awarded a $573,000 judgment in connection with the cancellation of his 1994 European run of “My Fair Lady.” A Los Angeles Superior Court judge two years ago awarded Schell $406,000, finding that German producer Wolfgang Bocksch had breached his contract. Instead of paying the award, the producer launched an appeal, which a state appellate court deemed “frivolous” and designed “for the purpose of delay.” The new, larger judgment reflects added interest. Schell’s attorney, Mark E. Kalmansohn, said the judgment will be transferred to Germany for collection.

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QUOTABLE: “You need a concept that gives life to a [story], to give it a heart and soul. Something unique.”

--Director Francis Ford Coppola, telling jurors in Los Angeles Superior Court about his idea for a live action musical version of “Pinocchio” that would include the adventures of Nazi-fleeing orphans. He is seeking $23 million in damages from Warner Bros., which he claims blocked the project. An attorney for that studio said Coppola, who was shopping the project at Columbia Pictures, ignored the fact that Warner Bros. owns the copyright to the Pinocchio story, sans Nazis and orphans.

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Times staff writer Henry Weinstein contributed to this column.