Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer: Rick Kurnit
Rick Kurnit is a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit in New York City. If you’d like to participate in this ongoing series, let us know – medialaw@medialaw.org. How’d you get into media law? What was your first job? My father was a prominent “mad man” in the 60’s and owner of an ad agency that was…
Canadian Supreme Court to Address Jurisdiction in Online Defamation Case
Leave Granted in Goldhar v. Haaretz.com By Chloe Snider On March 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) granted leave in Goldhar v. Haaretz.com, 2016 ONCA 515 [Goldhar]. This case is important because the SCC will address three key issues relating to the assumption of jurisdiction by Canadian courts, in particular, in the context…
Recent Cases Challenge Constitutionality of Massachusetts’ Wiretap Statute
By Emma Hall and Vanessa Brown A federal judge in Massachusetts issued two decisions in March 2017 addressing separate constitutional challenges to the state’s wiretap statute. See Martin v. Evans, CV No. 16-11362-PBS, 2017 WL 1015000 (D. Mass. Mar. 13, 2017); Project Veritas Action Fund v. Conley, CV No. 16-10462-PBS (D. Mass. March 23, 2017)…
Media Law for Journalists Workshop
MLRC Institute Program Provides Legal Guidance to Freelancers On Tuesday, March 14 the MLRC Institute held its fifth Media Law for Journalists Workshop. This nation-wide program, supported by the MacArthur Foundation and Mutual Insurance Company, is designed to provide practical legal guidance on libel, privacy, newsgathering, copyright and access law for freelancers, bloggers, reporters, editors…
Reporting on Immigration in the New Environment
By Cathleen Farrell Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak about several topics that are near and dear to my heart: immigration, the media and the changing political and media landscapes. I hope that my observations will be if not helpful to you at least they’ll be interesting and I promise to…
Cuba After Castro
By Adolfo Fernández It is a great honor to be here. I hope we can shed some light on Cuba’s situation, our national tragedy. When dealing with Cuba, we need to avoid the usual categories like parliament, administration, checks and balances, the rule of law… For those in power in Cuba, the Revolution is a…
MLRC Miami Conference 2017
5th Annual Conference on Legal Issues Concerning Hispanic and Latin American Media On Monday March 13, over 50 lawyers from North and South America convened at the University of Miami School of Communication for MLRC’s 5th annual conference on Legal Issues Concerning Hispanic and Latin American Media. The genesis of the conference was the growth…
Texas Doctor’s Libel Suit Pronounced Dead by Appeals Court
By Jim Hemphill A Houston-area doctor has lost the latest round in a long-running dispute with the parent company of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. Cox Media Group. LLC v. Joselevitz, No. 14-16-00333-CV, 2017 WL 1086572, at *10 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] Mar. 21, 2017, no pet. h.). Background The doctor, Joel Joselevitz, sued…
Lawsuit Over Ellen DeGeneres Segment Fails as a Matter of Law
Making Fun of Plaintiff’s Name Not Actionable A lawsuit against the producers of the Ellen DeGeneres show over a comedy segment making fun of plaintiff’s name failed as a matter of law to state a claim for defamation, privacy or emotional distress. Pierce v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, No. 5:16-CV-207 (M.D. Ga. Feb. 15, 2017) (Abrams,…
Court Cuts Off Johnson in His Attempt to Assert Libel Claim
By Jim Rosenfeld and Jaya Kasibhatla A Delaware Court rejected a Pennsylvania plaintiff’s attempt to take advantage of Delaware’s generous 2-year statute of limitations for defamation and false light claims, dismissing the plaintiff’s lawsuit with prejudice and in its entirety, without leave to amend. Johnson v. Warner Bros., et. al., No. 1:16-cv-00185 (D. Del.) Judge…
Reality TV Suit Dismissed Under Anti-SLAPP Statute
By Laura Prather and Christina Crozier A Texas federal district court has dismissed all claims in a case involving the reality TV show 8 Minutes. In Forsterling v. A&E Television Networks, Cause No. 4:16-cv-02941 (S.D. Tex. March 9, 2017), Judge Lynn Hughes granted the media defendants’ motion to dismiss under the Texas anti-SLAPP statute and…
Texas Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss in “Welfare Queen” Defamation Case
Court Cautions Against Reliance on Wikipedia in Determining Article’s Gist By Marc Fuller On March 17, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court decided a closely-watched defamation case brought by a woman who claimed she was libeled when a Dallas magazine referred to her as a “welfare queen.” D Magazine Partners, L.P. v. Rosenthal, 2017 WL 1041234…
California Jury Awards $1.1 Million in Libel Damages Against Cal Coast News
On March 16, 2017, a jury in San Luis Obispo County, California, awarded $1.1 million dollars to a private figure hazardous waste disposal contractor, finding that he was defamed by the San Luis Obispo-based online news site Cal Coast News. Background In a 2012 article titled, “Hazardous waste chief skirts law,” Cal Coast News reporters…
Back to Basics: LA, Miami Conferences Delight; Digital Conference Upcoming
From the Executive Director’s Desk Amidst the day-to-day drama from Washington and our strategizing on how to meet the challenges and offenses posed by the Trump Administration, the MLRC is also continuing to fulfill its fundamental mission. We are holding conferences; running our committees; distributing our Daily Report, our weekly ICYMI, monthly LawLetters and quarterly…
MediaLawLetter March 2017
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s DeskBack to Basics: LA, Miami Conferences Delight; Digital Conference Upcoming MLRC Miami Conference 20175th Annual Conference on Legal Issues Concerning Hispanic and Latin American Media Cuba After Castro by Adolfo Fernandez Reporting on Immigration in the New Environment by Cathleen Farrell Media Law for Journalists WorkshopMLRC Institute Program…