All Articles
Everything MLRC has published, in any publication, since 2017.
All in a Day’s Work? Carroll v. Trump and the Boundaries of Presidential Speech
Zoe TakalaIf Trump’s statements were indeed within the scope of his employment, the Presidential office gains extraordinary defamation immunity.
California Court Dismisses Amazon Tribe’s Libel Suit Against The New York Times and TMZ
Alexandra SettelmayerAt the heart of the suit was the allegation that The Times had claimed that the tribe was addicted to online pornography—something that The Times never said.
Illinois Legislature Amends the State’s Anti-SLAPP Law
Gregory R. NaronThe amendments to the CPA were specifically intended to override the Illinois Supreme Court’s nullifying interpretations in the Sandholm and Glorioso cases. After years of disuse, practitioners representing defamation defendants in Illinois courts should again consider filing CPA motions—with the opportunity to guide the development and rejuvenation of the law.
NBCUniversal Media Wins Summary Judgment in Devin Nunes Libel Suit
Alexandra M. SettelmayerIn granting summary judgment, the Court found that NBCU had not acted with actual malice because it relied upon the July 23, 2020 Politico Article, which it believed to be a reputable publication.
No Mulligan for Pro Golfer’s Dismissed $750 Million Defamation Lawsuit
Minch Minchin and Rachel E. FugateFollowing oral argument, the 11th Circuit upheld a dismissal of a $750 million defamation suit filed by professional golfer Patrick Reed because none of the dozens of at-issue statements were published with actual malice
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of George Santos’s Copyright Suit
Raphael Holoszyc-Pimentel and Nathan SiegelSantos had sued after the show Jimmy Kimmel Live! ran a segment called “Will Santos Say It?” that mocked Santos’s willingness to say absurd things for money in videos on the site Cameo—videos that Kimmel had allegedly tricked Santos into making.
In Defense of Intermediaries
Jeff HermesWhat should we make of intermediaries that yield to government pressure? It is important to remember that intermediaries are victims alongside the speakers who are silenced, when their choices are forcibly subordinated to the government’s viewpoint.
Litigation Funding
This paper focuses on the emergence of court rules and orders requiring disclosure of litigation funders to the court, case law addressing the permissible scope of discovery of litigation funders and funding arrangements, and related issues of confidentiality and privilege.
A Major Unconstitutional Assault: A Bias Monitor Installed by the White House at a News Division
George FreemanThe spectre of a state controlled, or even influenced, media is a horrific one. It goes against the very heart of the First Amendment. Who knows if a government assigned “bias monitor” at our historically most revered news division is the first or last step.
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer
Carol Jean LoCiceroTampa attorney on her start in the law, cameras in the courts, Florida must-sees and more.
MLRC in Belfast – Titanic Day of Discussion and Debate
Dave HellerIn June, MLRC held its European Media Lawyers Conference in the gritty and history-rich city of Belfast.
Fair Use in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Analysis of Recent Federal Court Decisions in AI Training Data Cases
Amanda Harris and Jeffrey PayneIn two published orders issued within the same week, two federal judges in the Northern District of California rendered significant decisions addressing whether the use of copyrighted works to train generative artificial intelligence models constitutes fair use under federal copyright law.
Nevada Supreme Court Stops Las Vegas PD’s “Reverse-Records Actions” To Drag Requesters Into Court
Benjamin Z. LipmanIn a case pitting LVMPD against the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the ACLU of Nevada, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held governmental entities cannot sue requesters in such “reverse-records actions.”
Religious University’s Defamation Claims Against Newsweek Executives Dismissed
Cameron Stracher and Sara TesorieroIn the latest chapter of the ongoing legal saga between Olivet University and Newsweek, Olivet was thwarted in its efforts to drag Newsweek executives into litigation in Florida when a Florida federal court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Defamation Claim Over Hollywood Feud Article Is Time-Barred
Minch Minchin and Rachel E. FugateIn a published opinion following oral argument, the Eleventh Circuit upheld dismissal of a time-barred defamation suit filed by a movie producer against his rival and magazine The Hollywood Reporter.
Pennsylvania Case Shows the Power of an Anti-SLAPP Law – Even When It’s Just a Suggestion
Kaitlin M. Gurney, David Korzenik, and Mona HouckA case which could have been a cautionary tale about the Philadelphia court system is instead a story about the power of anti-SLAPP law – even when it does not apply to the case.
Colorado Court Tosses Libel Suit Premised on Newspaper’s Reporting on Controversy Surrounding “Furries” in Public Schools
Steve ZansbergOn July 3, Colorado’s Court of Appeals ruled that a local advocacy group’s libel claims against a newspaper should have been dismissed by the trial judge in ruling on the paper’s anti-SLAPP motion.
N.J. High Court Upholds Daniel’s Law, Expands “Interests of Highest Order”
Bruce S. RosenThe New Jersey Supreme Court – long a bulwark for media and first amendment defense – took a significant step backwards in a recent decision upholding application of Daniels Law against a local news site that had revealed the street address of a police director.
Nattering Nabobs, Fake News, and Now Pentagon Papers 2.0: Responding to Trump’s War on the Press
George FreemanHow can the media defend itself against a White House with an intentional strategy of demeaning the press and impugning its credibility, with no hesitation about lying?
Hunting for the Logic of FSC v. Paxton
Jeff HermesThe categories “obscene as to minors” and “pornography” are not synonymous, and this decision threatens a wide array of valuable albeit adult-oriented content. And even if this case were limited to porn, you should still care because the disingenuous manner in which the Court reaches its result threatens the integrity of First Amendment jurisprudence as…
