MediaLawLetter September 2024
Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack
George FreemanMLRC Executive Director on how flag burning could influence the presidential election; and ponders just what makes London, site of the upcoming MLRC Conference, such an unusually pleasurable city.
Maine Libel Decision Favoring Media Organizations Affirmed
Cynthia Counts and Rachel WerthehimerThe First Circuit affirmed the summary judgment decision of the District of Maine that dismissed defamation claims filed by a former Veterans Administration podiatrist against four media organizations and four reporters.
Journalist Prevails on Fair-Report Privilege Defense After Unsealing Critical Court Records
Matthew S.L. Cate and Robert S. GutierrezA series of news articles fairly and accurately reported on criminal proceedings, even if they deployed “some literary license” in reporting that a disbarred California lawyer was “linked to [a] black eye,” a district court judge ruled in August.
Strange Facts, But Wire Service Defense Wins the Day in Florida
Charles GlasserWhile the facts of the case are almost one-in-a-million, the legal issues – involving libel by embedding allegedly defamatory tweets written by others – is something we are dealing with more and more frequently.
Discovery Trumps Statute of Limitations in Libel Suits
Jack GreinerThe Ohio Supreme Court recently decided that a libel plaintiff could bring a lawsuit well beyond the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations if the plaintiff didn’t know about the libel until after the statute had run.
George Santos Loses Cameo Copyright Case
Raphael Holoszyc-Pimentel, Eric Feder, and Nathan SiegelSantos sued after the show Jimmy Kimmel Live! used short videos of Santos saying absurd things in exchange for money on the site Cameo—videos that Kimmel allegedly tricked Santos into making. The defendants moved to dismiss Santos’ complaint on the grounds that they made a fair use of Santos’ videos.
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claimed Censorship Case Against Facebook and Fact-Checking Organizations Brought by RFK, Jr. Group
Daniela Abratt-CohenThe Court held the district court properly dismissed a case filed by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., that advocates against vaccines, finding that it failed to a state a claim that fact-checks, and other restrictions, regarding its ability to post and fundraise on Facebook violated the First Amendment and other federal laws.
Court SLAPPs County’s Suit to Restrain Publication of Text Messages
Linda Riedemann NorbutIn a significant victory for press freedom and a reaffirmation of First Amendment protections, a Florida court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Escambia County seeking to compel the return of text messages from County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh’s personal phone.
Minnesota Court of Appeals Enjoins Trial Court from Enforcing Prior Restraint Orders Against Broadcast Station
Isabella Salomão NascimentoThe appellate court’s order enjoined the trial court judge from enforcing a pair of orders that prohibited a local television station from reporting on a document it legally obtained from the online court docket and that went so far as to require the document’s destruction.
Government Contractors Must Respond to Public Record Requests, Georgia Supreme Court Rules
Peter CanfieldOn August 13, 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously reaffirmed the public’s right under Georgia law to demand records from state and local agencies’ private contractors.
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer
Jennifer DukarskiMichigan lawyer on notable cases, the future of AI, karaoke picks, and more.