Ethics Corner: Court Sanctions Party and Counsel $722,000 for Spoliation of Facebook Evidence
By Travis Wimberly A Virginia trial court recently granted monetary sanctions against a plaintiff and his attorney for spoliation of evidence from the plaintiff’s personal Facebook page. Lester v. Allied Concrete Co., Nos. CL08-150, CL09-223 (Va. Cir. Ct. Sept. 1, 2011) (unpublished order). The lawsuit arose when plaintiff Isaiah Lester, individually and as administrator of…
Dutch Movie Producer Wins Second Case Over Heineken Kidnapping Movie
Kidnappers’ Reputation Claims Denied By Tessel Peijnenburg & Jens van den Brink On December 1, 2011 the Amsterdam Court rendered its judgment in the second summary proceeding over the Dutch movie ‘De Heineken Ontvoering’ (The Heineken Kidnapping), starring Rutger Hauer. This proceeding was instituted against producer IDTV by Frans Meijer and Jan Boellaard who were…
Heavy Evidentiary Burden Imposed On Litigants Seeking Publication Bans and Sealing Orders
By Richard G. Dearden The Court of Appeal for Ontario, in a strong endorsement of freedom of the press and the open court principle, has imposed a heavy evidentiary burden on litigants who seek non-publication and sealing orders. E.H. v. Russell Williams, 2012 ONCA 35 (Doherty, Armstrong, Hoy, JJA). The Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision…
“Intrusion Upon Seclusion”: New Privacy Tort Recognized in Canada
By Paul Schabas and Iris Fischer The Ontario Court of Appeal has recognized the existence of a tort of “intrusion upon seclusion,” in granting summary judgment in favour of a plaintiff whose privacy had been invaded by the actions of the defendant. Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 (Jan. 18, 2012). This decision will likely…
Website “Flash Cookie” Invasion of Privacy Class Action Dismissed
Arkansas State Court Relies On Forum Selection Clause In Terms of Use By Natalie J. Spears and Gregory R. Naron Invasion of privacy claims arising out of website usage, social media, and cloud storage are a real threat to any company with a significant internet presence — which is to say, virtually all businesses, media-related…
New Hampshire Missteps On “Bigfoot’s” Free Speech
By William L. Chapman In Doyle v. Commission, New Hampshire Department of Resource & Economic Development (Jan. 13, 2012), the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that a rule governing access and use of state property managed by the Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) violates the state constitutional guarantee of free speech. The case…
Ninth Circuit Holds That DMCA Requires Specific Knowledge of Copyright Violation for Service Provider Liability
By David M. Silverman In an important decision on the issue of website operators’ copyright liability for user-generated content, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has refused to hold a site operator liable for copyright infringement based solely on its general knowledge that some of the third party content on its site…
Tennessee Media Wins Access to High Profile Adoption Dispute Trial
Court Dismisses Motion for Closure and Sealed Record By Robb Harvey and Keith Randall In a high profile case with international dimensions, a group of media and open government organizations recently intervened and succeeded in persuading the trial court that the proceedings and records should be opened. In re Hansen, No. 12062 (Tenn. Cir. Ct….
Los Angeles Times Wins Access to State Employee Pension Data
Boost for Pension Transparency By Karl Olson A Los Angeles judge has fired what may be the final shot in a years-long battle for pension transparency in California. Ruling in a case brought by the Los Angeles Times, Superior Court Judge James Chalfant held on November 15 that the Times is entitled to know not…
Kentucky Newspapers Seek More Transparency, Accountability in Child Fatalities
By Jon L. Fleischaker and Jeremy S. Rogers In recent years, Kentucky has ranked among the states with the highest rates of child abuse deaths. Also in recent years, Kentucky has been among the states with the least transparency in its state child protection services. Although Kentucky has a very strong state freedom of information…
Washington Post Wins Release of Jury Questionnaires from Levy Murder Trial
First Amendment Right of Access to Completed Forms By Bruce D. Brown and Laurie A. Babinski In an appeal brought by The Washington Post, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals unanimously held that the First Amendment guarantees a presumptive right of access to completed juror questionnaires. In re Access to Jury Questionnaires, (Jan. 19,…
Illinois Judge Snubs Tech Blog
Holds Reporter’s Privilege Inapplicable By Esther J. Seitz An Illinois trial court this month declined to apply the state’s reporter’s privilege law to a technology blog which published a sneak peak of a forthcoming smart phone. Johns-Byrne Co. v. TechnoBuffalo LLC, et al., No. 2011 L 9161 (Ill. Cir. Jan. 13, 2012). Although the website…
Oregon Blogger Moves for New Trial to Reverse $2.5 Million Verdict
By Duane Bosworth In late November, an unusual Oregon libel case captured the attention of the blogosphere and mainstream press. Blogger Crystal Cox was hit with a $2.5 million verdict for defaming Obsidian Finance Group and its principal. Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox, (D. Ore. Nov. 30, 2011) (Hernandez, J.). More notable than the size…
D.C. Court of Appeals Shields Anonymous Internet Informant
Affirms Specificity Required for Corporate Defamation Damages By Charles D. Tobin and Drew E. Shenkman The District of Columbia’s highest court, in its second review in the same case, has strengthened the heightened First Amendment protection for anonymous internet whistleblowers and, at the same time, reinforced the need for corporate defamation plaintiffs to show actual…
Judge Refuses To Put Ice Cream Plaintiffs’ Claim On Ice
By Collin J. Peng-Sue and Katherine M. Bolger Talk about a case that just won’t melt away! In a decision issued on November 23, 2011 in Prince v. Fox Television Stations, Index No. 107129/11 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.), Justice Carol Edmead of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, denied a…
New York Court Dismisses Right of Publicity and Related Claims Arising Out of Use of Video in Comedy Segment of Television Program
By Robert Penchina A Brooklyn, New York trial court recently dismissed an action against Jimmy Kimmel and ABC, Inc. arising out of the use of a video of plaintiff during a segment of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Sondik v. Kimmel, No. 30176/10 (Kings Cnty. Sup. Ct. December 14, 2010) (Schmidt, J.). Deciding defendants’ motion…
Maryland High Court Affirms Defamation Case Dismissal for City Paper
By Charles D. Tobin The Maryland Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment awarded to City Paper in its coverage of a murder prosecution that included the newspaper’s speculation on whether the libel plaintiff, who was never charged, had been involved in the killings. Piscatelli v. Smith, Slip. Op., No. 18 (Md. January 23, 2012). …
Louisiana Federal Court Narrowly Interprets State Anti-SLAPP Statute
Author’s Anti-SLAPP Motion Denied By Mary Ellen Roy and Dan Zimmerman A federal district court in Louisiana recently issued a decision that applied Louisiana’s anti-SLAPP statute in federal court, but construed the statute narrowly, ignoring state-court decisions allowing the statute to be applied to dismiss discrete claims or causes of actions in a lawsuit. Louisiana…
Illinois Supreme Court Dials Back Protection Provided By State’s Anti-SLAPP Statute
The Illinois Supreme Court has significantly scaled back the protection provided by Illinois’s anti-SLAPP statute, known as the Citizens Participation Act. In its opinion in Sandholm v. Kuecker, Docket No. 111443, released on January 20, 2012, the court retreats from the much more liberal construction it gave to the Act just over a year ago…
2012 MLRC – Southwestern Media and Entertainment Law Conference
Angels and Demons: Navigating Tricky Entertainment and Media Issues to Reach Legal Nirvana On January 19, 2012, over 160 MLRC members and friends gathered in Hollywood, California at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel for the ninth annual MLRC – Southwestern Law School Biederman Institute conference on media and entertainment law issues. The conference included sessions on…
Supreme Court Delivers Good News to TCPA Defendants
Resolves Circuit Split on Jurisdiction Issue By Jeff Davis The United States Supreme Court, resolving a split among the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, has unanimously ruled that federal question jurisdiction exists for private actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”) 47 U.S.C. § 227. The TCPA generally prohibits use of automatic…
United States v. Jones: What the Court’s GPS Ruling Could Mean for Digital Privacy
By Bryan Clark If you do not work for a government agency, it might be easy to skip over this article. After all, how could a Fourth Amendment search and seizure case have any impact on your media company or your media defense practice? But if your company or your clients have tapped into the…
Justices Address Broadcast Indecency
Four Letter Words and Bare Buttocks at the Supreme Court By Jerianne Timmerman It’s a rare case when a former Solicitor General arguing before the Supreme Court directs the Justices’ attention to bare buttocks. But that is what occurred on January 10 when Seth Waxman pointed out the unclothed figures on the frieze along the…
MediaLawLetter January 2012
Download Publication SUPREME COURT Justices Address Broadcast IndecencyFour Letter Words and Bare Buttocks at the Supreme CourtFCC v. Fox Television What the Court’s GPS Ruling Could Mean for Digital PrivacyUnited States v. Jones Supreme Court Delivers Good News to TCPA DefendantsMims v. Arrow Financial MLRC MLRC/Southwestern Media and Entertainment Law ConferenceAngels and Demons: Navigating Tricky…