Benay v. Warner Bros. – Happy Valentine’s Day for Warner Bros. and John Logan
By David Aronoff On February 14, 2012 in the long-running case of Benay v. Warner Bros., et al., CV 05-8508, Judge Gutierrez of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a Valentine’s Day Order granting summary judgment for several (but not all) defendants and denying a motion for terminating sanctions. This…
Judge Finds That FBI in FOIA Case “Officially Confirmed” Identity of Civil Rights Informant
By Christine N. Walz and Charles D. Tobin In a significant victory for the cause of government transparency, a D.C. federal judge has ruled that the FBI must produce a full accounting of noted Civil Rights photographer Ernest Withers’ file as a confidential informant. Memphis Publishing Company v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012 WL 269900…
Tenth Circuit Holds That Detainees Enjoy a Privacy Interest in Booking Photos
Court Compared Mug Shots to Rap Sheets By Blake Lawrence In late February, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that booking photographs (“mug shots”) taken by the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”) are excluded from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). World Publishing Co. v. United States Dept. of Justice, 2012 WL…
Reporter’s Testimony Found Critical in Privacy Lawsuit
Plaintiff Sued Doctors Over Before and After Surgery Photos By Mark Sableman A newspaper published highly embarrassing nude photos of a woman, without her authorization. A lawsuit ensued. Discovery was sought from the newspaper. Ultimately the reporter’s testimony became the focus of the case, and the appeals court found that testimony critical. Doe v. Young,…
Second Circuit Affirms Grant of Motion to Quash Subpoena to Reporter
Plaintiffs Sought Reporter’s Testimony to Prove Negligence by Goldman Sachs By Gayle C. Sproul The Second Circuit has unanimously affirmed the grant of a motion to quash a subpoena directed to former Wall Street Journal reporter Jesse Eisinger. Baker v. Goldman Sachs & Co., No. 11-1591 (2d Cir. Feb. 15, 2012). The subpoena sought his…
The Honourable Nathaniel Rothschild Receives a Birching
Daily Mail Wins Libel Bench Trial on Substantial Truth By David Hooper Earlier this month Mr Justice Tugendhat rejected financier Nat Rothschild’s claim for substantial libel damages against the Daily Mail for its article published in May 2011 headlined “Revealed: The astonishing story of the night Lord Mandelson was flown to Moscow by private jet…
ECHR Issues Important Press Privacy Decisions
Sides with Press in German Privacy Cases By David Hooper On February 7, 2012 the European Court of Human Rights issued two important press privacy decisions. Axel Springer v Germany Application number: 39954/08; Von Hannover v Germany Application numbers 40660/08 and 60641/08. Both cases are well worth reading, as unlike so many decisions of the…
Recent Section 230 Cases Analyze Immunity for Defamatory Third Party Postings
Florida Court Applies 230; Kentucky Court Denies Immunity By Jennifer A. Klear Two recent online defamation decisions illustrate growing strains in applying Section 230 immunity to websites that willingly host defamatory third party content. The first case, Giordano v. Romeo and Xcentric Ventures, LLC (Fla. App. Dec. 28, 2011), involves the consumer complaints website www.ripoffreport.com. …
Ninth Circuit Holds That Roommates.com Does Not Violate Fair Housing Act
Statute Not Intended to Reach Choice of Roommates After eight years of litigation and two appeals, including an en banc rehearing, the Ninth Circuit ruled this month that the Roommates.com website did not violate federal and state housing laws by requiring users to state their gender, orientation, and whether they lived with children. Fair Housing…
Court Reaffirms Partial Dismissal to Newspaper on Opinion and Jurisdictional Grounds But Factual Issues Remain
By Collin J. Peng-Sue Last month, a New York state court judge once again considered an allegedly libelous column (the “Column”) written by freelancer Patrick Dunleavy (“Dunleavy”) and published in the New York Post (the “Post”). In a decision and order in Muhammad v. NYP Holdings, Inc., Index No. 103184/2011 (N.Y. Sup. Jan. 9, 2012),…
Lawyer’s Tortious Interference and Libel Claims Dismissed
Web Postings by Disgruntled Exes’ Not Actionable A New York federal district court this month dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by an attorney against two ex-girlfriends over web postings accusing him of being a “liar” and “cheater.” Couloute v. Ryncarz, et al., No. 11 CV 5986 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2012) (Baer, Jr., J.). The…
Virginia Federal Court Dismisses Defamation Claim Against Broadcast Warning Of “Unscrupulous” Tax Preparers
By Thomas J. McIntosh and Charles D. Tobin A TV news broadcast warning consumers about “unscrupulous” tax-return preparers, and recounting one man’s frustration with a Virginia company that made a mistake on his returns, did not defame the company’s owner, a federal court has ruled. The decision, Hanks v. WAVY Broadcasting, LLC, No. 2:11-cv-439 (E.D….
Massachusetts Appeal Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Local Newspaper
Minor Discrepancies Do Not Make Articles False In an unpublished decision, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of the Cape Cod Times, a Dow Jones Local Media Group newspaper, on defamation and emotional distress claims. Boyle v. Cape Cod Times, et al., No. 11-P-196, 2012 Mass. App. LEXIS 14 (Jan. 6,…
N.C. Appeals Court Affirms $5 Million Award to Policemen in Suit Against Rapper
Rapper’s DVD Included Footage of Policemen The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed a $5 million damage award to five North Carolina policemen in a libel and privacy lawsuit over a documentary-style DVD profiling a best-selling rapper. Nguyen v. Taylor, No. COA11-369 (N.C. App. Feb. 21, 2012). The music star and a record label failed…
Juxtaposition of Photo and Article on Gang Violence Can Be Defamatory
Court Reinstates Defamation Claim Against Newspaper A New York appellate court reinstated a defamation claim against Metro International, publisher of the daily Metro newspaper in New York, holding that a photograph of plaintiff used to illustrate an article on gang violence could be defamatory. Knutt, et al. v. Metro International, No. 19237/10, 2012 LEXIS 785…
Texas Interlocutory Appeal Statute Applied to Website
Defendant a Media Member; No Actual Malice By Jim Hemphill A Texas appellate court has held that a doctor who wrote newspaper editorials, had a radio show, and maintained websites was a member of the media entitled to take an interlocutory appeal from a denial of summary judgment in a libel claim against him. Hotze…
Citing Potential Chill on Speech, New York Court of Appeals Affirms Narrow Construction of New York’s Long-Arm Statute in Defamation Cases
By Henry R. Kaufman and Michael K. Cantwell The New York Court of Appeals reaffirmed its long-standing policy of narrowly construing the state’s “long-arm” statute (NY Civil Practice Law and Rules 302(a)(1)) in defamation actions. SPCA of Upstate New York, Inc. v. American Working Collie Association, No. 6 (N.Y. Feb. 9, 2012). In SPCA, by…
An Illinois Right of Publicity Decision for Media Defendants to Relish
Putative Class Action Suit Over Food Show Dismissed By Jeff Davis Producers of reality TV shows and documentaries—and their counsel—have a recent federal court decision to applaud. Citing First Amendment concerns, Judge Charles R. Norgle of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a lawsuit alleging the Illinois Right of…
No Privacy Act or Private Facts Claim for Embarrassing Viral Video
Dismissal of DEA Agent’s Claims Affirmed The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last month affirmed summary judgment dismissing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent’s statutory Privacy Act claim and state law private facts claim over the leak of an embarrassing video. Paige v. Drug Enforcement Administration, No. 11-5023 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 17, 2012) ((Henderson, Tatel, Brown,…
Online Article with “Share Button” Not a New Publication
Single Publication Rule Applied to Bar Judge’s Defamation Suit By Anne B. Carroll In a decision with potential implications for news websites’ incorporation of new technologies, a New York trial court has ruled that the addition of “share buttons” enabling readers readily to send links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media and networking sites…
Honor, Lies & Videotape: Supreme Court Argument in U.S. v. Alvarez
By Mickey H. Osterreicher It was anticipated that United States v. Alvarez would be argued before a divided Supreme Court in the wake of much handwringing and prognostication. The case met or exceeded those expectations. Background By way of background the issue in Alvarez is whether a federal law (the Stolen Valor Act of 2006…
MediaLawLetter February 2012
Download Publication SUPREME COURT Honor, Lies & VideotapeSupreme Court Argument in U.S. v. Alvarez LIBEL & PRIVACY N.Y. Sup.: Online Article with “Share Button” Not a New PublicationSingle Publication Rule Applied to Bar Judge’s Defamation SuitMartin v. Daily News LP D.C. Cir.: No Privacy Act or Private Facts Claim for Embarrassing Viral VideoDismissal of DEA…