MediaLawLetter December 2011
Download Publication LIBEL & PRIVACY Pa. Com. Pleas: Scranton Times Wins Defense Verdict On Retrial After First Trial Vacated Due to Judge’s Appearance of Impropriety Plaintiffs Failed to Show Any Damages Joseph, et al. v. The Scranton Times, LLP et al. S.D. Ohio: Police Officer Wins $100,000 Judgment in Libel Trial Against Ohio Newspaper Claim…
Supreme Court Preview: FCC v. Fox Television Stations
Merits and Amicus Briefs On January 10, 2012, the Supreme Court will hear argument in FCC v. Fox Television Stations to consider whether the FCC’s current indecency enforcement regime violates the First Amendment. At the beginning of 2010, the Second Circuit held that the Pacifica indecency rules were no longer tenable in the current media…
Press Wins Access to School Chancellor Emails
Privacy and Inter-Agency Exemptions Rejected A New York trial court ordered the City Mayor’s office to comply with a FOIL request, seeking e-mails between the Mayor’s office and short-lived, controversial Chancellor of New York City public schools, Cathie Black. In the Matter of the Application of Hernandez against Mayor of NY, 2011 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS…
Criminal Sealing Statute and “Personal Privacy” FOIL Exemption Do Not Apply to Administratively Dismissed Parking Tickets
Newspaper Awarded Fees on Appeal By Eve Burton and Eva Saketkoo Petitioners The Hearst Corporation (publisher of the Albany Times Union) and Times Union reporter Brendan Lyons (collectively, the “Times Union”) filed this access litigation under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) seeking to compel the City of Albany (“City”) to produce copies of…
United States Supreme Court Denies Petition for Writ of Certiorari Challenging Newspaper Preservation Act
By Niles S. Benn and Terence J. Barna The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a Petition for Writ of Certiorari drawing into question the constitutionality of the Newspaper Preservation Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §1801-1804. Keisling v. Renn, 425 Fed. Appx. 106, 2011 WL 1632955 (3d Cir. May 2, 2011) (per curiam), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct….
Third Circuit Reaffirms Rejection of FCC’s “Fleeting Images” Policy, Reverses Super Bowl Fine
By Robert Corn-Revere and Ronald G. London On Nov. 2, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reaffirmed and largely readopted its 2008 decision rejecting the $550,000 forfeiture and finding of indecency violation levied against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. CBS Corporation…
Seventh Circuit Affirms $37.6 Million Fine Against Infomercialist Kevin Trudeau
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a $37.6 million contempt fine imposed on infomercialist Kevin Trudeau, as well as a $2 million bond to deter further misleading and deceptive infomercials. Federal Trade Commission v. Kevin Trudeau, No. 10-2418 (7th Cir. Nov. 29, 2011) (Ripple, Manion, Tinder, JJ.). The fine and bond, which had been imposed on Trudeau…
D.C. Preliminarily Enjoins New Graphic Tobacco “Warnings,” Applies Strict Scrutiny to Compelled Display of Government Advocacy
By Joel Kurtzberg and Kayvan Sadeghi On November 7, 2011, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in a case filed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Company, Commonwealth Brands, Inc., Liggett Group LLC, and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, in the U.S. District…
Court Rejects Police Complaint to Stop Chicago Sun-Times’ Publication of Line-Up Photos
Request for TRO Rejected; Action Dropped By Damon E. Dunn Starting in February 2011, the Chicago Sun-Times published a series of investigative reports by Tim Novak and Chris Fusco questioning why Richard Vanecko, a nephew and namesake of then Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, was not criminally charged after he struck and killed 21-year-old David Koschman…
Failure to Retract Online Material After Indication of Falsity Not a Republication
The Ninth Circuit held that the failure to retract information online after the publisher has an indication of falsity is not a republication to restart the statute of limitations. Roberts v. McAfee, Inc., No. 10-15561 (9th Cir. Nov. 7, 2011) (Tashima, Fletcher, Reinhardt, JJ.). Plaintiff, the former general counsel of software maker McAfee, was fired…
D.C. Court Grants First Anti-SLAPP Motion, Applies Law Retroactively
By Charles D. Tobin and Drew E. Shenkman A District of Columbia judge has ordered the first dismissal under the jurisdiction’s new anti-SLAPP law, finding that a firefighter failed to show he was “likelihood of success” in his defamation claim concerning reporting that he earned extreme amounts of overtime. Lehan v. Fox Television Stations, Inc….
Eighth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Favor of CBS in Limited-Purpose Public Figure Defamation Case
By Chad R. Bowman The Eighth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of CBS Broadcasting Inc. and WCCO-TV reporter Esmé Murphy in a defamation action arising from a news report about a Minneapolis developer’s controversial $1.8 million home giveaway contest. In a welcome precedent for media defendants in the Eighth Circuit given the court’s…
First Circuit Rules that Dominican Sugar Executives Are Limited Purpose Public Figures
By Elizabeth C. Koch and Thomas Curley Juan and Felipe Vicini, the owners of sugar-cane plantations in the Dominican Republic, are public figures for purposes of a documentary film criticizing the treatment of Haitian laborers in the Caribbean nation and the condition of the company towns (or bateyes) where the laborers live, according to a…
Scranton Times Wins on Retrial After First Trial Vacated Due to Judge’s Appearance of Impropriety
By Kevin C. Abbott After a judgment of $3.5 million in favor of the plaintiffs was vacated due to the appearance of impropriety in the assignment of the first trial five years ago, the Scranton Times, publisher of the Citizens’ Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, won a complete defense verdict in the retrial before a…
Police Officer Wins $100,000 Judgment in Libel Trial Against Ohio Newspaper
At press time, an Ohio jury awarded a police officer $100,000 in damages, finding that a local newspaper acted with actual malice in reporting that plaintiff had “sex with a woman while on the job.” Young v. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., No. 1:10cv483 (S.D. Ohio, Jury Verdict Dec. 21, 2011) (Barrett, J.). On November…
Thank you Nathan Siegel
On behalf of the entire membership, I want to thank Nathan Siegel for his tenure as President of the MLRC Defense Counsel Section Executive Committee in 2011. Nathan has been a simply marvelous President. Nathan brings a relatively unique background to the DCS, having served as an in-house counsel during his career. As a result,…
Thank you Ken Richieri
Ken Richieri is stepping down as Chair of the MLRC Board of Directors after serving in that role for the last three years. Fortunately for MLRC, he will remain a director of the organization. In Ken, one has an extraordinary combination of commitment and corporate governance skills – skills that made him a remarkable Chair. …