Defense Counsel Section Reviews Projects and Goals at 2011 Annual Meeting
Elizabeth Ritvo Incoming DCS President; Samuel Fifer Joins as Treasurer The Defense Counsel Section’s Annual Meeting was held on November 10, 2011, in New York at the Proskauer Rose Conference Center, Eleven Times Square. DCS Executive Committee President Nathan Siegel called the Annual Meeting to order, welcomed everyone to lunch, and thanked them for attending….
MLRC’s Projects and Finances Reviewed at 2011 Annual Meeting
MLRC’s annual meeting was held on November 9, 2011, at the New York Marriott Marquis. Director (and Chair of the Board-Elect) Elisa Rivlin of Simon & Schuster called the meeting to order in the absence of Kenneth Richieri, Chairman of the MLRC Board of Directors. Board of Directors Elections The five nominees for election to…
European Internet Forum Shopping Bonanza
By David Hooper The recent decisions in Olivier Martinez v. MGN Ltd and eDate Advertising GmbH v. X in the two cases (C509/09 and C161/10) decided by the European Court of Justice on 25 October 2011 raised the question of how individuals can sue internet publishers, when they believe that their image in terms of…
Infringement of Personality Rights on the Internet: Impact of ECJ Decision on French Law of Jurisdiction
In October the European Court of Justice issued an important decision affecting jurisdiction and choice of law in claims against online publishers. MLRC asked French and English counsel to analyze the impact of the decision. By Jean-Frédéric Gaultier and Emmanuelle Lévy The European Court of Justice, the highest court to interpret EU law, recently ruled…
Other Side of the Pond: Updates on UK and European Media Law
Libel Reform, Leveson Inquiry, Media Litigation, EU Assession and More By David Hooper The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the draft Defamation Bill published its report on 12 October 2011 and the government has now produced its summary of the responses to the consultation process in regard to the first draft of the Defamation Bill. The…
Cyberlibel and Hyperlinks: A Victory for Freedom of Internet Communication
By Richard G. Dearden and Wendy J. Wagner Is a hyperlinker who creates a hyperlink to a website containing defamatory statements liable for “publishing” the defamatory statements in the site? The answer is no. In the seminal cyberlibel decision of Crookes v. Newton, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the traditional common law rules…
Doe Defendant’s Right to Speak Anonymously Trumps Copyright Plaintiff’s Desire to Discover His Identity
Court Holds Plaintiff to a Rigorous “Balancing of Harms” Test By Joshua Koltun In a recent decision, the Hon. Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California, set a stringent standard for plaintiffs to meet before they can obtain the identity of an anonymous blogger who had been speaking about an issue of public interest. …
Illinois Court Quashes Subpoenas in “Cold Case” Shield Law Applied in Prosecution of 50-year old Murder
By Samuel Fifer Jack Daniel McCullough was living a normal, semi-retired, life in the Seattle, Washington area. A military veteran and Illinois native, Jack and his wife were living in a retirement community; Jack worked part time as a security guard and he and his wife were both stunned when Jack was arrested and charged…
Constitutional Protection for False Statements of Fact? Supreme Grants Cert. to Review the Stolen Valor Act
By Tom Clyde The United States Supreme Court has accepted certiorari in a case that will likely require the Court to decide what, if any, constitutional protection is afforded to speech that is knowingly false. As several commentators predicted, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari in late October to review the Ninth…
Oregon Appeals Court Reverses Wiretap Conviction for Videotaping Police Traffic Stop
The Oregon Court of Appeals clarified an ambiguity in its wiretapping law, which requires a party to ‘specifically inform’ another party when obtaining a recorded conversation. The Oregon court held that when one of the parties has already notified the other party that it will be recording a conversation, the second party is not required…
Traditional Minimum Contacts Analysis Applied to Online Libel Case
Court Finds Zippo’s Sliding Scale Approach Flawed By Jeffrey T. Cox and Melinda K. Burton On June 11, 2011, joining the recent trend of decisions throughout the country in the past year,* a Florida appeals court, in Caiazzo v. American Royal Arts Corp., No. 4D09-5152, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 8078 (Fla. App. 4th Dist., June…
Army Sergeant’s Claims Against Makers, Distributor of Hurt Locker Stricken In Entirety
Film a “Transformative” Work; Full First Amendment Protection Against Right of Publicity And Other Claims By David Halberstadter On October 13, 2011, Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen of the Central District of California granted the “special motion to strike” filed by the writer, director, producers and distributor of the Academy Award® -winning motion picture The Hurt…
Illinois Appellate Court Analyzes Protection for Anonymity in Online Libel Case
Burden on Plaintiff to Show Prima Facie Case An Illinois appellate court quashed a motion for pre-action discovery to obtain the identity of a pseudonymous online poster. Stone v. Paddock Publications, Inc., No. 09L5636 (Ill. App. Nov. 17, 2011). The court held that plaintiff failed to make a prima facie showing to support a libel…
California Court Refuses to Dismiss Privacy and Emotional Distress Claims Over “Predator” Sting
No Legitimate Law Enforcement Purpose; “Sensationalization” of News Could Be Outrageous A California federal district court recently denied NBC Universal’s motion to dismiss and strike constitutional privacy and emotional distress claims brought by a man snared in an episode of Dateline’s hidden camera sting program “To Catch a Predator”. Tiwari v. NBC Universal, Inc., No….
Illinois Court Grants Summary Judgment on Civil Rights Claims Based on Reality TV Program
Court Allows Claim for Violation of Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act to Proceed By Steve Mandell, Steve Baron, and Shari Albrecht The federal district court in Chicago recently granted summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff’s claim that her constitutional rights were violated based on the filming of the reality television program Female Forces, a show…
Minnesota Jury Hits Broadcaster With $1 Million Defamation Damage Award
Report About Holistic Healer Found False and Negligent In what appears to be the largest damage award ever in a Minnesota media libel case, a Dakota County jury awarded $1 million in damages to a naturopathy healer who was accused of improperly treating a patient. Wahl v. KSTP-TV, LLC, No. 19HA-CV-10-7322 (Minn. Dist. Jury verdict…
MLRC Annual Dinner 2011: Anthony Lewis Receives MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award
On November 9, MLRC honored Anthony Lewis, an author, former columnist and reporter with The New York Times, for his lifetime of invaluable contributions supporting the freedom of speech and the press. He received MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award, at MLRC’s annual dinner held at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New…
MediaLawLetter November 2011
Download Publication MLRC Anthony Lewis Receives MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom AwardMLRC Annual Dinner 2011 MLRC Annual Meeting DCS Annual Meeting LIBEL & PRIVACY Minn. Dist.: Minnesota Jury Hits Broadcaster With $1 Million Defamation Damage AwardReport About Holistic Healer Found False and NegligentWahl v. KSTP-TV, LLC N.D. Ill.: Court Grants Summary Judgment…