Florida Takes Aim at The New York Times’ Editorial Independence
George FreemanJournalistic tradition – and the Times’ fairly incredible record – does not warrant the kind of interference Florida posits. More realistically, in the context of our polarized environment and Florida politics, this looks like a totally unsupported infringement by government into the independent press.
NY Times Anti-SLAPP Win Offers Roadmap for Standalone State Court Actions
Jackson BuschThe Times took a calculated risk in bringing the state case when there was little precedent for using a federal decision as a basis for a New York anti-SLAPP action. But the court’s decision maps out a clear path for libel defendants to use a state suit to avoid the current uncertainties of seeking fees in the federal courts.
Delaware Court Dismisses UnitedHealth Defamation Case Against The Guardian
Rachel Carpman, Kate Bolger, James Rosenfeld, and Kai FalkenbergThe Delaware Superior Court dismissed healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s defamation lawsuit against The Guardian and then denied UnitedHealth’s subsequent motion to amend its complaint with third-party publications intended as evidence of defamatory meaning.
California Superior Court Strikes Claim Brought Against Nexstar Alleging Violation of California’s Safe at Home Statute
Jordyn OstroffJudge Gary D. Roberts of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Nexstar’s anti-SLAPP motion in its entirety. The court first concluded that the claims were protected by the anti-SLAPP statute because they were based on Nexstar’s news broadcasts made in connection with (1) Doe’s underlying litigation against her landlord, and (2) issues of public interest, because Doe’s litigation had garnered extensive media coverage, and concerned issues of interest to large portions of the Los Angeles community.
Fifth Circuit Rejects “Server Test” and Adopts “Transmit Requirement” for Determining Copyright Infringement of Public Display Right Online
Michael J. LambertIn a case of first impression, the Fifth Circuit declined to adopt the Ninth Circuit’s “Server Test” for evaluating copyright infringement of the public display right under 17 U.S.C. § 106(5). Instead, it adopted the “transmit requirement,” which asks who transmitted the copyrighted content and whether the transmission was permitted, rather than who stored the content on its server.
South Carolina Podcaster Fined for Contempt for Missing Deposition
Eric RobinsonSouth Carolina Common Pleas Judge R. Keith Kelly ordered journalist and podcaster Mandy Matney to pay a total of $176,500 for her failure of appear at a March 27 deposition in a case stemming from the 2019 death of Mallory Beach, part of the Murdaugh family saga.
The Second Circuit Finally Presses Record
Mickey OsterreicherThe Second Circuit has now found what journalists, civil liberties advocates, police departments, and eight other federal appellate courts had been saying for years: the First Amendment protects the right to record law enforcement activity conducted in public. The ruling is important not only because it governs New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, but because it…
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer
Jessica DavidovitchHBO lawyer on life in the client’s chair, what makes outside counsel click, AI headaches, and the tiniest bit of White Lotus tea.