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Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer

HBO lawyer on life in the client’s chair, what makes outside counsel click, AI headaches, and the tiniest bit of White Lotus tea.

The Second Circuit Finally Presses Record

South Carolina Podcaster Fined for Contempt for Missing Deposition

South Carolina Common Pleas Judge R. Keith Kelly ordered journalist and podcaster Mandy Matney to pay a total of $176,500 for her failure of appear at a March 27 deposition in a case stemming from the 2019 death of Mallory Beach, part of the Murdaugh family saga.

Fifth Circuit Rejects “Server Test” and Adopts “Transmit Requirement” for Determining Copyright Infringement of Public Display Right Online

In a case of first impression, the Fifth Circuit declined to adopt the Ninth Circuit’s “Server Test” for evaluating copyright infringement of the public display right under 17 U.S.C. § 106(5). Instead, it adopted the “transmit requirement,” which asks who transmitted the copyrighted content and whether the transmission was permitted, rather than who stored the…

California Superior Court Strikes Claim Brought Against Nexstar Alleging Violation of California’s Safe at Home Statute

Judge Gary D. Roberts of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Nexstar’s anti-SLAPP motion in its entirety. The court first concluded that the claims were protected by the anti-SLAPP statute because they were based on Nexstar’s news broadcasts made in connection with (1) Doe’s underlying litigation against her landlord, and (2) issues of public interest,…

Delaware Court Dismisses UnitedHealth Defamation Case Against The Guardian

The Delaware Superior Court dismissed healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s defamation lawsuit against The Guardian and then denied UnitedHealth’s subsequent motion to amend its complaint with third-party publications intended as evidence of defamatory meaning.

NY Times Anti-SLAPP Win Offers Roadmap for Standalone State Court Actions

The Times took a calculated risk in bringing the state case when there was little precedent for using a federal decision as a basis for a New York anti-SLAPP action. But the court’s decision maps out a clear path for libel defendants to use a state suit to avoid the current uncertainties of seeking fees…

Florida Takes Aim at The New York Times’ Editorial Independence

Journalistic tradition – and the Times’ fairly incredible record – does not warrant the kind of interference Florida posits. More realistically, in the context of our polarized environment and Florida politics, this looks like a totally unsupported infringement by government into the independent press.

Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer

Las Vegas lawyer on the principles behind representing unpopular speakers, his uneasy place in the media bar, and why he views free speech work as a calling rather than a conventional legal career.

Ninth Circuit Considers Public Access to Decades-Old Wiretap Records

The Ninth Circuit now has a rare opportunity to address whether decades old wiretaps can be unsealed by a news organization under Title III’s “good cause” standard for disclosure, and whether the First Amendment right of access extends to sealed wiretap records after an investigation has closed in its review of In re Petition of…

Texas Supreme Court Holds the TCPA Applies to Constitutional Challenge to The Texas Heartbeat Act

The Court resolved only the question of whether the TCPA’s dismissal procedure was available to Weldon and remanded the case to the court of appeals to consider the remaining steps involved in the TCPA analysis—whether the Lilith Fund can establish a prima facie case for its claims and whether Weldon can establish a defense as…

Tennessee Supreme Court Orders Unsealing of Judicial Disqualification Records and Adopts Compelling-Interest Standard for First Amendment Right of Access

Though the opinion is not a slam dunk—notably, the Court incorporated aspects of the “good cause” standard for protective orders into its compelling-interest analysis—it is nonetheless an important win for access rights in the state.

New Jersey UPEPA Appellate Review Gathers Steam

New Jersey’s appellate courts – after at least one false start – appear ready to definitively interpret UPEPA and the scope of anti-SLAPP protection.

Seventh Circuit Tosses “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” Lawsuit — and Considers Sanctioning Plaintiff’s Lawyers

Nikko D’Ambrosio cannot move forward with his lawsuit over posts made about him in Chicago’s “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” Facebook group, the Seventh Circuit held in May. And his lawyers may have their own problems now, too.

The MLRC’s European Conference: A Dramatic Return to Paris

MLRC’s European Conference returned to Paris, highlighting both the growing community of European media lawyers and substantive transatlantic debates over libel, privacy, source protection, hate speech, and free expression.

Can a Federal Court Award SLAPP Fees On a Motion to Dismiss?

A March 2026 opinion from the District of Delaware adds a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate over how federal courts apply the fee-shifting provision of New York's anti-SLAPP law.

Texas Court Dismisses Defamation Claims Against Sahara Reporters Due to Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

The court held that Sahara Reporters’ website, while minimally interactive, did not constitute sufficient contacts with Texas to establish personal jurisdiction over Sahara Reporters because the focal point of the alleged libel and harm was in Nigeria, not Texas

Court Dismisses Defamation Claim Against John Oliver Over Medicaid Segment, But Denies Request for Fees Under New York’s Anti-SLAPP Law

The court held that the statements at issue, which sharply critiqued plaintiff Dr. Brian Morley’s denial of home health aide visits to a Medicaid patient, were protected speech on numerous grounds: under New York’s fair report privilege, as substantially accurate, as statements of opinion, and as not of and concerning the plaintiff.

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Satanic Temple Case Against Newsweek

The court reiterated that “there is a critical difference between not knowing whether something is true and being highly aware that it is probably false, and only the latter establishes reckless disregard in a defamation action.”

Florida Court Dismisses $885 Million Defamation Claim Against The Miami Herald

The court dismissed the complaint with prejudice, finding that "no amendment of the complaint would change the non-defamatory statements into defamatory ones."