Backpage.com Loses TRO, Preliminary Injunction in Case Against Sheriff
Lack of Causation, No Irreparable Harm from Sheriff’s Threats to Visa, MasterCard By Jeff Hermes Last month, Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., of the Northern District of Illinois entered a temporary restraining order against Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, barring him from interfering with payment processing for classified advertisement website Backpage.com. Backpage.com LLC v….
ECHR: Privacy Rights Trump Media Rights to Publish (Extensive Amounts of) Truthful Information from Public Records
By Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky On July 21, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights struck a balance between a vaguely defined right to privacy and press freedom strongly in favor of the former in Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy and Stamedia Oy v. Finland (Application No. 931/13). The decision, which is binding on the 47 Council of…
D.C. Circuit Debates Reach of Zauderer on Compelled Corporate Speech
Case Involved Mandatory Disclosures Regarding Use of “Conflict Minerals” in Manufacturing By Jeff Hermes In Nat’l Ass’n of Mfrs. v. SEC, No. 13-5252 (D.C. Cir. August 18, 2015), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed after rehearing that the First Amendment protects U.S. manufacturers against being compelled to declare…
Court Permanently Enjoins Release of Erotic Dancers’ Names
By Judy Endejan On August 10, 2015, Federal Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma, Washington issued a permanent injunction preventing the release of personal information regarding adult entertainment dancers. Roe v. Anderson, No. 3:14-CV-05810. Background Local law requires erotic dancers to be licensed. In order to obtain a license the dancers need to provide their true…
NJ Appeals Court Vacates Orders Prohibiting Daily News From Reporting On Its Motion to Unseal
But Then Seals Its Own Order Until Being Asked To Reconsider By Bruce S. Rosen and Matthew Leish It was Alice through the looking glass in New Jersey when a trial court not only denied a motion to unseal a proceeding relating to a paternity claim against rap star Sean Carter a/k/a Jay-Z, but prohibited…
6th Circuit Rules in Favor of Reporter David Ashenfelter
12 Year Fight to Protect Source May Give Rise to New Defenses By Herschel P. Fink Former Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter’s battle to protect his confidential source for an important national security story has spanned parts of two decades, occupied the time of two federal district and two circuit courts of appeals, and…
News Organizations Not Liable for Reporting Wrongful Arrest
District of New Jersey Dismisses Libel Lawsuit Under Fair Report Privilege By Patrick Kabat Rejecting defamation and tag-along emotional distress claims against several media outlets, the District of New Jersey affirmed that news organizations cannot be held responsible for a prosecutorial error that resulted in the mistaken arrest of an innocent New Jersey woman. The…
From the Next Gen Committee: Rights of Publicity in Actor-Created Fictional Characters
Whose Mask Is It Anyways? By Patrick Kabat As A-list actors digitally map their faces for future exploitation in feature films (Cruise), and the holographic arts permit us to re-animate dead rappers (Tupac) and live fugitives (Snowden) alike, we might be forgiven for thinking that the right of publicity will be most significantly tested by…
Arizona Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal Of Emotional Distress Claims
Fox News Network Prevails in Suit Over “Live” Telecast of Car Chase Ending in Suspect’s Suicide By David J. Bodney and Heather Horrocks The Arizona Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion that protects a network’s “live” on-air coverage of a car chase from tort liability, even when events turn suddenly violent. In Rodriguez v….
HBO Wins Libel Trial Over Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel Report
Plaintiff Does Not Appeal By Tom Hentoff After a litigation spanning 6½ years and three continents, and a trial that lasted four weeks, a Manhattan federal jury on May 8, 2015 returned a unanimous verdict for Home Box Office, Inc. on a defamation claim brought by Mitre Sports International Limited, a London-based international soccer ball…
The MLRC Institute: Where Do We Go From Here?
It has been a difficult few months for the MLRC Institute. First, its grant money – a 3 year generous gift from the Dow Jones Foundation – is lapsing, and hence, it needs a new grant to continue to operate. Then, last month, Dorianne Van Dyke, its one woman leader and staff, announced that she…
MediaLawLetter August 2015
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s DeskThe MLRC Institute: Where Do We Go From Here? LIBEL & PRIVACY S.D.N.Y.: HBO Wins Libel Trial Over Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel ReportPlaintiff Does Not AppealMitre Sports International Limited v. Home Box Office, Inc. Arizona Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal Of Emotional Distress ClaimsFox News Network Prevails…