Defamation
Delaware Court Grants Dismissal in ShotSpotter v. VICE Media
Jeremy Chase and Nimra AzmiAfter finding that ShotSpotter had failed to state a claim on fair report, opinion, and truth grounds, the Court nevertheless proceeded to hold that ShotSpotter’s 413-page Complaint failed to adequately allege actual malice.
Texas Appeals Court SLAPPs Lawsuit Against Community Newspaper
Samuel CalkinsThe term “right wing propaganda” in the context of the article was a constitutionally protected opinion and a statutorily privileged fair comment on a matter of public concern.
Rabbi’s Use of a Reputation Management Consultant Renders Him a Limited Public Figure
Chelsea KellyA Maryland trial court held that a rabbi became a limited public figure by hiring a reputation management consultant to digitally suppress negative content about him online and promote unrelated positive content.
Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Gannett
Brian SpahnThe court held that the allegedly defamatory statements at issue failed to state a defamation claim as the statements were both substantially true and protected under Wisconsin’s true and fair reporting of a judicial proceeding privilege.
Judge Dismisses Social Media Agent’s Defamation Lawsuit Against The Times
Karen ChesleyA federal judge dismissed a libel claim against The New York Times and its former reporter brought by an agent for social media influencers, finding that most of the allegedly defamatory statements were non-actionable and that the agent failed to sufficiently allege actual malice.
Texas Court Grants CNN’s Motion To Dismiss Doctor’s $100 Million Defamation Suit
Bob Latham and Kate Bolger“CNN accurately reported what [Dr. Immanuel] had said and the positions that government agencies and others had taken on medication for COVID,” reads the opinion.
Blocked or Not Blocked – That Was the Question
Meenakshi Krishnan and Nathan SiegelJudge William Bertelsman awarded summary judgment to several media defendants (The New York Times, CBS, ABC, Gannett, and Rolling Stone) in a series of long-running defamation cases brought by Nicholas Sandmann.
New York Times Prevails in Two Related Defamation Lawsuits
Dave HellerThe state court found that terms such as "racist" and "white nationalist" are non-actionable opinion and that, even if actionable, plaintiff had failed to show any evidence of actual malice.
Court Dismisses Trademark & Related Claims Over Product Reference in Fictional TV Show
Kelli L. Sager, Dan Laidman, and Sarah BurnsReinforcing the strong First Amendment protections for the use of real-life products and brands in expressive works, a Los Angeles federal court rejected a trademark and trade libel suit over an episode of “Evil.”
Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit Over Holocaust Complicity
Damon Dunn and Seth SternA judge dismissed defamation and false light invasion of privacy claims filed by three ethnic Poles who alleged that a Chicago Sun-Times opinion columnist ascribed “felonies under the laws of Illinois and Poland” to the “Plaintiffs and/or their families and Poles in general” when it referred to “widespread collaboration” in the killing of Jews during WWII.