MediaLawLetter June 2011
Download Publication SUPREME COURT U.S.: Court Strikes Down Law Regulating “Violent” Video Games Stirring Reaffirmation of the First Amendment Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n. U.S.: Court Resolves Circuit Split on Publication and Marketing Use of Pharmaceutical Records Stops Just Short of Tearing Down Barrier Between Core Speech and Commercial Speech COPYRIGHT 3rd Cir.: Third Circuit…
Whistleblower Provision of Sarbanes-Oxley Does Not Cover Leaks to Media
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Boeing in a suit brought by two former employees who claimed to have been terminated in contravention of 18 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(1) for reporting violations of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and other securities laws to the news media. Tides v. The Boeing Company, No. 10-35238 (9th Cir. May 3, 2011)…
Third Circuit Holds Students’ Off-Campus Web Posts Protected Speech
The Third Circuit this month issued two lengthy en banc decisions on whether public school students could be disciplined for rude and offensive MySpace profiles created outside of school. Layschock v. Hermitage School District, No. 07-4465 (3d Cir. June 13, 2011); J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, 08-4138 (3d Cir. June 13, 2011). Undertaking…
Colorado Governor’s Cell Phone Calls Not Public Under State Open Records Law
In a 4-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”), the state’s public access statute, does not cover the cell phone bills kept by then-Governor Bill Ritter even though those records document the governor’s official conduct. In Denver Post Corp. v. Ritter, No. 10-SC-94, 2011 WL 2449325 (Colo….
California Court of Appeal Rules in Favor of Public Access
In a unanimous decision set to be published in the official reports, the California Court of Appeal ruled that admissions records held by the State Bar of California are subject to the common law right of access. Sander v. State Bar of California, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 717 (2011). The appeals court overturned the lower…
Pima Community College Ordered to Disclose Hundreds of Email Records Relating to Tucson Shooter over FERPA Objection
On May 17, 2011, an Arizona trial judge ordered Pima Community College to produce hundreds of email records relating to the accused “Tucson shooter,” Jared Loughner, and his troubled history at the Community College, despite the College’s claim that the records were protected from disclosure by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20…
Negligence Claim Over Google Map Directions Dismissed
A Utah state court dismissed negligence and failure to warn claims against Google over allegedly faulty map directions. Rosenberg v. Harwood, Google, and John Does I-X, No. 100916536 (Utah Dist. May 27, 2011) (Himonas, J.). The court found that Google did not owe a duty to plaintiff who was hit by a car while allegedly…
Court Dismisses Claim against Al Jazeera for Reporting on Hezbollah Missile Strikes
By Andrew Deutsch A New York federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of American, Israeli, and Canadian citizens against Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite news network. Kaplan et al. v. Al Jazeera, 10 Civ. 5298 (S.D.N.Y. June 7, 2011) (Wood, J.). The case was notable for its assertion that Al Jazeera’s news…
Gossip Website Wins Summary Judgment
The Arizona federal district court granted summary judgment to gossip website “TheDirty.com” on private facts and false light claims. Dyer v. Dirty World, LLC, No. 11-0074 (D. Ariz. June 2, 2011) (McNamee, J.). At issue was the website’s own comment in response to a third party posting. The court held that Missouri law applied, but…
Consumer Complaint Website Protected by Section 230
A California federal court granted summary judgment to the owner of the RipoffReport website on defamation and related claims over third-party user postings. Asia Economic Institute v. Xcentric Ventures LLC, No. 10-01360 (C.D. Cal. May 4, 2011) (Wilson, J.). The court found that the majority of the claims were barred by Section 230 of the…
Court Refuses to Order Disclosure of Identity of Emailer
In an interesting decision, a New York appellate court refused to allow pre-action disclosure of the identity of an online speaker given the rhetorical nature of the comments, the failure of petitioner to allege that its business reputation was harmed and the nature of online speech — where a reader “gives less credence to allegedly…
New York High Court Adopts Broad Reading of Section 230 Immunity
By Charles Sims and Jessica Goldenberg On June 14th, 2011, the New York Court of Appeals addressed, for the first time, § 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), codified as 47 U.S.C. § 230. The Court held that a website operator could not be held liable as a speaker or a publisher of allegedly…
Florida Judge Grants Directed Verdict to Beasley Broadcasting in Shock Jock Case
On May 31, 2011, Florida Circuit Court Judge Christine Greider entered a directed verdict in favor of Beasley Broadcasting in a private facts and negligent hiring lawsuit arising out of on-air statements made by a Florida shock jock. Jane Doe v. Beasley Broadcasting Group Inc., Beasly Broadcasting of Southwest Florida, Inc., and Beasley FM Acquisition,…
FCC Releases Report on “The Information Needs of Communities”
By Kurt Wimmer In January 2010, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would begin examining “the future of media and the information needs of communities,” and it didn’t take long for critics to sound the alarm. Fearing that a proceeding launched by a Democrat-controlled FCC would adopt new regulations from the media-reform movement and…
Third Circuit Rules Cropping Photo Credits Violates the DMCA
By Toby Butterfield and Joshua Wolkoff The Third Circuit reversed a decision by the District Court for the District of New Jersey granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant radio station and individual defendant station hosts, and held, among other things, that the mere removal of a photo credit from a digitally uploaded photograph…
Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split on Publication and Marketing Use of Pharmaceutical Records
By Henry R. Kaufman and Michael K. Cantwell On June 23 the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important First Amendment decision striking down state restrictions on the availability, publication and use of prescription-related records and data. The ruling is likely to make it more difficult in the future for states or the federal government to…
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Law Regulating “Violent” Video Games
By Paul Smith and Katherine Fallow It took eight months for the Court to issue a decision in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n, No. 08-1448, but the First Amendment advocates who agonized over the meaning of the long wait were rewarded on June 27 with a stunning victory for the First Amendment. The reach…