MediaLawLetter November 2010
Download Publication MLRC Media Law Resource Center 2010 Annual DinnerLooking Back, Looking Forward: The Changing Business Of News MLRC Launches International Media Law Project Minutes Of The MLRC Annual Meeting Defense Counsel Section Reviews Projects And Goals At 2010 Annual Meeting LIBEL & PRIVACY 9th Cir.: Ninth Circuit Affirms Judgment And Verdict In Surfer Libel…
Defense Counsel Section Reviews Projects and Goals at 2010 Annual Meeting
The Defense Counsel Section’s Annual Meeting was held on November 11, 2010, in New York at the Proskauer Rose Conference Center. DCS Executive Committee President Robert D. Nelon called the Annual Meeting to order, welcomed everyone to lunch and thanked them for attending. President’s Report Bob Nelon noted that it has been a privilege and…
MLRC’s Projects and Finances Reviewed at 2010 Annual Meeting
MLRC’s annual meeting was held on November 10, 2010, at the Grand Hyatt in New York. The meeting was called to order by Director Henry S. Hoberman of RHI Entertainment, standing in place of Kenneth Richieri, Chairman of the MLRC Board of Directors. Director Elections The first order of business was election of directors. David…
Ninth Circuit Sides with Booksellers and Media Coalition Plaintiffs in First Amendment Challenge to Furnishing and Luring Statutes
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled that Oregon’s “furnishing” and “luring” statutes violated the First Amendment because they criminalized a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech. Powell’s Books v. Kroger, Nos. 09-35153, 09-35154 (7th Cir. September 20, 2010). Background The Oregon Legislature enacted the statutes to stop child sexual abuse in its early stages by criminalizing…
First Amendment Protects Amazon’s Customers’ Choices of Expressive Material from Disclosure to North Carolina’s Department of Revenue
Thanks to a lawsuit filed in March by Amazon.com, the North Carolina Department of Revenue will not have access to the reading, listening and viewing choices of hundreds of thousands of Amazon’s North Carolina customers. In October, a federal court in Washington held that an information request issued by the Department as part of a…
Illinois Court Upholds Reporters Privilege in Hate Crime Suit
A civil defendant, Paul Hoffman, moved unsuccessfully to depose Chicago Tribune and Winnetka Talk reporters about interviews they conducted with the plaintiffs, Margaret and James Horstman. Horstman v. Hoffman, No. 09-4863 (Ill. Cir. Nov. 16, 2010) (Duncan-Brice, J.). The case concerned a dispute between neighbors in an upscale Chicago suburb that started over construction parking…
Protecting Whistleblowing Sources in Canada
By Brian MacLeod Rogers In a double-barrelled decision, Globe & Mail v. Canada (Attorney General), 2010 SCC 41, the Supreme Court of Canada both extended its case-by-case approach for protecting journalists’ confidential sources to include civil proceedings in Quebec and struck down a publication ban relying on its well-developed Dagenais/Mentuck test for such discretionary…
Other Side of the Pond: Super Injunctions; Phone Hacking; Costs; Libel Tweets; Libel Reform; Damages in Ireland
There have been a number of cases this month when the courts have shown a determination to keep super injunctions within clearly defined limits and have tried to strike a balance between the need to protect private information and the need for open justice. Super injunctions were being too readily handed out by the courts…
Australian Court Holds Headlines Not Copyrightable
By R. David Hosp A recent decision out of a Federal Court in Australia offers rare clarity regarding the application of copyright law to newspaper headlines. The protectability of headlines has become an important issue recently as bloggers, search engines and aggregators have developed redistribution models using third-party headlines in links and summaries online. While…
Velcro Suit Does Not Stick: Court Dismisses Copyright Claims Against Bruno
This past August, a federal district court in Los Angeles dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the makers of the motion picture Bruno in which the plaintiff alleged that a scene in the film which featured the lead character wearing a suit made of Velcro infringed on a scene from plaintiff’s script which also…
Washington Supreme Court Vacates Order Preventing Release Of Police Records In High-Profile Fatal Shooting Of Four Sheriffs Officers
In a unanimous opinion, the Washington Supreme Court held November 18 that police records may not be categorically withheld from the public, even in the face of a claim that disclosure threatens the suspect’s fair trial rights. The court confirmed that defendants who claim that adverse publicity threatens their right to an impartial jury must…
Alaska Online Newspaper Obtains Senate Candidate’s Employment Files in Public Records Suit
A lawsuit by an online news organization to obtain records concerning the Republican nominee for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat may have made the difference in the out come of the election. Alaska Dispatch v. Fairbanks North Star Boro (Complaint). The employment-related documents obtained as a result of a public records suit file by Alaska Dispatch…
Illinois Court Grants Summary Judgment in Right of Publicity Case
In her recent opinion in Abbs v. Lily’s Talent Agency, et al., Case No. 07-CH-34634, Judge Kathleen M. Pantle of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., ruled that an advertising agency and an advertiser were not liable for violating the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, 765 ILCS 1057/1, et seq., in light of incontrovertible…
Section 230 Applies to Forwarded Email
The New Jersey federal district court granted summary judgment to non-media libel defendants, holding that the forwarding of an allegedly defamatory email was shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Mitan v. A. Neumann & Associates, No. 08-6154, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121568 (D.N.J. Nov. 17, 2010) (Brown, J.) (unpublished). The court reasoned…
Nevada Supreme Court Reinstates Newspaper’s Motion For Attorney Fees
In an interesting decision, the Nevada Supreme Court held that a trial court abused its discretion by summarily denying a newspaper defendant’s post-trial motion to recover attorney fees and costs. Chinese American Chamber of Commerce v. The Southern Nevada Chinese Weekly et al., No. 54554 (Nev. Nov. 19, 2010). The newspaper had sought to recover…
Washington Court Grants Anti-SLAPP Motion, Awards Fees, Costs
A court in the Western District of Washington has issued the second federal decision interpreting Washington’s new anti-SLAPP statute, granting the defendants’ special motion to strike and their request for attorneys’ fees and costs. The first such ruling was Aronson v. Dog Eat Dog Films, Inc., — F. Supp. 2d —-, 2010 WL 3489590 (W.D….
NM Court to Address Standard of Proof for Actual Injury in Private Figure Libel Cases
On October 18, the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed to review a case presenting the issue of proof of damages in private figure libel cases. In August, a divided New Mexico appeals court held that proof of humiliation or mental anguish is sufficient to prove “actual injury” and proof of injury to reputation is not…
NJ Press Association Asks State Supreme Court to Abolish Presumed Libel Damages
The New Jersey Press Association has asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to abolish presumed damages in defamation claims and reverse a recent appellate decision granting presumed damages to a private plaintiff. W.J.A. v. D.A., No. A-0762-09T3 (NJ App. Sept. 27, 2010). At issue in the case was a website created by plaintiff’s nephew accusing…
Supreme Court of Kentucky Dissolves Temporary Injunction as an Impermissible Prior Restraint on Speech
In Hill v. Petrotech Resources Corporation (2010 – SC-00182-1), the Supreme Court of Kentucky recently decided an issue of first impression in Kentucky – whether a court may enjoin the expression of certain thoughts and opinions before a final adjudication determining that the expression is unprotected by the federal or Kentucky Constitution. The Court ruled…
D.C. Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Washington Post on Libel Claim
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the Washington Post on libel claims over two newspaper articles that described plaintiff as a “hoarder” and discussed mental health issues surrounding obsessive accumulation of possessions. Shipkovitz v. Washington Post Company, et al., No. 08-7126, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 22093 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 22, 2010)…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Judgment and Verdict in Surfer Libel Case
In a memorandum opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment and verdict in a defamation jury trial involving a surfing magazine and the authors of two pieces published in the magazine. Craig Elmer Chapman, aka Owl v. Journal Concepts, Inc., et al., No. 09-16303, D.C. No. Civil No. 07-00002 JMS/LEK (9th Cir. Oct. 27, 2010)….
MLRC Launches International Media Law Project
At MLRC’s Annual Dinner, Chairman Kenneth Richieri announced the launch of a new MLRC international initiative. He noted: “Thirty years is a significant milestone for any organization and the MLRC Board felt it was important to mark that achievement in a meaningful way. In your program you’ll find a description of the International Media Law…
MLRC 2010 Annual Dinner
MLRC members and friends celebrated the organization’s 30th Anniversary at the Annual Dinner on November 10th at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Chairman of the MLRC Board of Directors Kenneth Richieri began the evening with a tribute to MLRC’s founders, current and former Directors, Defense Counsel Section Executive Committee Members, and the Trustees of…