Reporter held blameless in sex abuse case suicide

A Lousiana state appeals court ruled that a reporter with KNOE-TV was not liable for the suicide of a blind man who allegedly committed a sexual assault against a blind student. The reporter had reported that the alleged crime was under investigation and named the accused. -db From the Courthouse News Service, December 6, 2011, [...]

A&A: Blogger ‘s identity exposed, and legal threats made against her

Q: I am writing today for guidance regarding my rights as a blogger. I am the author of a cosmetics complaints blog and creator and one of the admins of the complaints Facebook Page. The blog and page initially were started in an effort to obtain a refund from a cosmetics company due to sanitation [...]

Blogger’s right to anonymity upheld in federal court

A federal district judge held that a blogger could remain anonymous since his First Amendment rights were paramont to discovery needs in a defamation case. The “Skywalker,” as the blogger is known, is charged with defaming the spiritual leader of the Art of Living Foundation. From the Courthouse News Service, November 16, 2011, by Maria [...]

Kardashian set to sue ex-publicist for slander

Reality star Kim Kardashian is gearing up to sue her ex-publicist for suggesting that her marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries was “staged.” Kardashian is divorcing Humphries after only 72 days of marriage and a glitzy, celebrity marriage ceremony. -db From Cover Media, November 10, 2011. Full story    

Minnesota TV station loses million dollar libel judgment

A Minnesota jury found that an ABC affiliate station acted with reckless disregard for the truth and awarded a naturopathic healer $1 million in a defamation suit. The suit hung on the testimony of one of the healer’s clients that the healer had advised her to stop taking an anti-anxiety medication. The jury found the [...]

Rapper responds to Lohan defamation lawsuit

Through his lawyers the Rapper Pitbull struck back at Lindsay Lohan who sued him for defamation for a hit song that mentioned Lohan’s incarceration. Providing a detailed account of her encounters with the law to prove Lohan is a California resident, the lawyers said she did not have standing to sue in Long Island. Lohan’s [...]

Bloggers’ ranting style protects in free speech cases but may hurt in other realms

Bloggers may win victories in defamation cases since their heated critical commentary is easily identified as opinion rather than fact and not libelous, but the advantage may have a serious down side, writes John Sharkey for the Citizen Media Law Project. Sharkey is concerned that in ruling for bloggers in defamation cases,  judges are making [...]

Woman claims documentary defames her as rapist and prostitute

A woman is suing a documentary maker for portraying her as a rapist and prostitute 30 years ago when she followed her fiance to England. The woman said she granted interviews with the filmmakers on the belief that they were making a film on paparazzi.-db From the Courthouse News Service, November 7, 2011, by Matt [...]

Chicago doctors bring defamation suit against Google after negative online review

Two Chicago doctors are suing Google for a review complaining of “facial lumps” after plastic surgery. The doctors want $50 million for damage to their reputation. The review most likely appeared on Google Place, a site allowing users to rate local businesses and post comments. -db From paidContent, November 4, 2011, by Jeff Roberts. Full [...]

California: Santa Rosa Press Democrat wins defamation suit

A district judge ruled for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in a suit that claimed the newsaper had defamed a woman by calling her a “serial squatter” and a “tenant from hell.” The judge said the newspaper used court records correctly in portraying the woman. -db From the SF Weekly, October 26, 2011, by Ellen [...]

Pittsburgh: Defamation countersuit can proceed in sexual assault case

A federal judge ruled that a man accused of hypnotizing his employee and sexually molesting her could counter sue the employee for defamation. The woman made a number of statements to ABCNews.com describing the hypnosis and sexual assault that her employer says were made with malice and reckless disregard for the truth. -db From the [...]

Opinion: Complicated student speech case not ideal for U.S. Supreme Court

A columnist for Justia argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should not take the case of Kara Kowalski suing her high school for suspending her for the mean comments she made at home about a fellow student on MySpace. The columnist notes that Kowalski speech involved the bullying of another student so that if the [...]

Salt Lake: Prosecutor claims newspaper libeled her

A prosecutor alleged that the Salt Lake Tribune libeled her in a report accusing her of making racially charged remarks about a candidate for district attorney. She was demoted before the Tribune acknowledged that the accusations were not true. The prosecutor said the article was written to promote a Democratic candidate over the Republican incumbent [...]

European court upholds right to sue Internet publishers in each country

Internet publishers may face a deluge of lawsuits in Europe after the European Court of Justice ruled that individuals can sue for invasion of privacy in each country where the offensive information can be accessed. “Publishers, though, should not be subject to stricter laws than would apply if the court action was taking place in [...]

Former Southern California bank vice president claims request for public officials’ salaries led to his firing

A Riverside man claims the bank that employed him fired him for taking an interest in local politics on his own time by attending a public meeting of the City Council to ask about pay of public officials. The former bank vice president said in the meeting he had not made any accusations but said [...]

Employee of private security firm in Iraq claims Pulitzer prize-winning reporter libeled him

An ex-Marine and former employee of a private security firm in Iraq is suing reporter Steve Fainaru for defamation in the book, “Big Boy Rules” about mercenaries in Iraq. The man claims Fainaru called him “a sadistic killing machine” and libeled him with a number of false statements including some about his  lack of care [...]

Two Tea Party workers claim party leaders defamed them on Facebook

Two Tea Party Patriots workers sued the organization and two leaders for posting comments under an alias that claimed one was a child molester and the other a victim of rape and child molestation. The complaint states that the leaders knew the statements were false and as a result they should pay punitive damages. -db [...]

Federal judge rules for ‘The Hurt Locker’ in suit over use of soldier’s identity

A federal judge in California ruled that writers and producers of  “The Hurt Locker,” a film about bomb-disposal in Iraq, were protected by the First Amendment in presenting important information about a public issue. A soldier sued the film-makers for benefiting from his identity without permission. “The court found, however, that on-screen depictions of the [...]

Oregon Twitter defamation case may be difficult to prove

In an unprecedented case in Oregon, a doctor is suing a blogger for stating incorrectly on Twitter that the doctor lost his medical license and his right to practice. In fact, the doctor was reprimanded for allegedly touching a female patient inappropriately and required to have a chaperone present when treating female patients. -db From [...]

‘Basketball Wives’ cast member claims website defamed her

NFL football player Chad Ochocinco’s fiance is suing the website Media Take Out for an article that says she cheated on Ochocinco with his friend NFL player Terrell Owens. The webisite also said she was quitting the reality show “Basketball Wives” because she was “knocked up” and wanted to become a “full-time mom.” -db From [...]

California court rejects libel suit against Korean-language news company

A California appeals court ruled that the Korean Broadcasting System had not defamed Yuin University in statements that it was a “degree factory.” A judge wrote that “since the ‘degree factory’ statement was cautiously phrased in terms of apparency, the statement is less likely to be reasonably understood as a statement of fact rather than [...]

Palin faces steep climb in proving ‘The Rogue’ defamation

Former Alaskan Governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has threatened to sue Random House and author Joe McGinniss for false statements in an unauthorized biography, “The Rogue.” But lawyers specializing in libel say that as a public figure, Palin will have to meet the actual malice standard, showing  that McGinniss had malicious intent in [...]

Miami food company sues Yelp for defamation

A Miami company that delivers meals has sued Yelp for defamation claiming Yelp showed negative reviews before positive ones. One legal expert thinks the company, YS Catering, does not have a strong case since the Federal Communications Decency Act exempts online service companies from defamation claims based on users’ posts. -db From MediaPost, September 26, [...]

Tradition of anonymous speech threatened by vicious defamatory postings

Cyberbullies have sullied Internet freedom in defamatory and cruel attacks against innocent citizens that have ruined lives. It is difficult to know what to do about it while defending the American tradition of anonymous speech, especially speech critical of the government. A Chicago lawyer makes a proposal that he thinks balances the interests of those [...]

Minnesota decision shreds truth as a defense in libel

The Minnesota District Court has upheld a $60,000 claim against a blogger who posted truthful information about a man that contributed to the man’s losing his job.The court ruled that the blogger had interfered with the man’s contractual arrangements with his employer. Itai Maytal argues for the Citizen Media Law Project, “The Supreme Court has [...]

Man sues National Enquirer for accusing him of killing Caylee Anthony

A meter reader who found the body of Caylee Anthony is suing the National Enquirer for their article headlined, “Mater Ready Killed Caylee.” The man, Ray Kronk, was never charged in the crime while Calee Anthony’s mother Casey was indicted and found innocent by a jury this year. Kronk said he was a private figure [...]

Halliburton claims British Petroleum defamed them in report on Gulf oil spill

Halliburton is not willing to sit back while a report from British Petroleum pins the blame for the Gulf oil spill on them with a claim that the company did a faulty cement job on the Deepwater Horizon well. Halliburton is suing BP in a Texas court calling the report “self serving” with serious omissions [...]

Political blogger fails in one of defamation suits over memoir alleging Obama engaged in gay sex

Daniel Parisi, a political blogger, filed a defamation suit against Jeffrey Rense, a radio talk show host who had written a foreword for a twisted memoir by Larry Sinclair claiming President Barack Obama had engaged in gay sex, drug use and murder. A federal district court ruled that Parisi had not made the case that [...]

Opinion: Celebrity defamation suits inundate courts

Megabuck libel suits filed by and against celebrities are burgeoning despite the low success rate, the huge lawyer fees and the bad publicity that inevitably arises from the additional attention brought by the lawsuits (Streisand effect). In a commentary in The Hollywood Reporter, Eriq Gardner suggests that a saner approach might be to play down [...]

State court rules no libel in stating connection between imams and suspected terrorists

A New York trial court ruled that merely stating that three imams had worked in the state prisons where four suspected Muslim terrorists were incarcerated was not a factual assertion that accused the imams of radicalizing the suspects. The court ruled that the New York Post article containing the statement had not libeled the imams. [...]

Lohan sues for rap song she claims hurt her reputation

Lindsay Lohan is suing the rapper Pitbull and associates for mentioning her arrest record in his hit, “Give Me Everything.” The song goes “he’s got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan.” Given her rap sheet, that seems like an innocuous reference, but Lohan claims the song released March 18 has injured her career and caused [...]

Christian rock star alleges Rachel Maddow defamed him

The Christian heavy metal drummer Bradlee Dean claims that MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow defamed him by saying he advocated the execution of gays and lesbians. He wants $50 million in damages for loss of business and reputation. Dean said Maddow’s real goal is to hurt conservative presidential candidate Michele Bachman. -db From the Courthouse News [...]

Fashion designer’s widow files $10 million defamation suit against Vanity Fair

Fashion designer Oleg Cassini’s widow, Marianne Nestor-Cassini,  alleges that Vanity Fair defamed her in a September article and is asking $10 million in damages from Conde Nast Publications. The complaint read that Nestor-Cassini tried to correct the record even before the article was published , “Upon becoming aware of the innuendos being made to plaintiff’s [...]

Free speech: Online postings change the terrain in defamation cases adding new perils

John Sharkey writing for the Citizen Media Law Project writes a real danger looms as courts deciding defamation cases concerning online postings are asked to issue injunctions restricting speech, a type of prior restraint that could be a substantial threat to the First Amendment. Sharkey says, “Even if we limit injunctive relief strictly to jury [...]

Journalists beware: Tweets can be libelous

Contrary to common-held belief that Tweets are ephemeral and not subject to libel law, statements on Twitter are fair game for libel suits say legal experts. So far there have been few suits, but as public use and awareness of Twitter increases, libel cases are expected to increase. So far observers could only come up [...]

Country singer sues National Enquirer for defamation

Country singer Mindy McCready filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer alleging that it published false statements about her and her custody fight for her five-year-old son. Writes Tim Kenneally in The Wrap, “In the suit, McCready (born Malinda Gayle McCready) cites a June 2011 article published first on the Enquirer’s website and then in [...]

Woman sues media outlets for defaming her with claim she had Schwarzewnegger ‘love child’

A flight attendant who worked on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s private jet is suing Gawker Media, the National Enquirer and the Daily Mail for articles saying she had a child with the former governor. The articles began in 2003 in the National Enquirer with an assertion that the attendant told friends that Schwarzenegger was the father of [...]

Company recruiting schools for Chinese students claims Christian school defamed it

United Students Association that places Chinese students in private Christian school is suing a school in Oregon for abandoning its contract and libeling the recruiter, costing the Texas corporation in revenue and reputation. The complaint reads that the Salem Academy reneged on its contract to take 15 students then sent  ”a number of false and [...]

Barbara Walters sued for defamation

A Massachusetts woman, Nancy Shay, claims that Barbara Walters defamed her by lying about her relationship with Walters’ adopted daughter in 1983 in Walters’ recently published, Audition: A Memoir. Shay’s lawyer alleges in a  court memorandum, “Barbara Walters used her influence and power to have Plaintiff Nancy Shay expelled from the Wykeham Rise School, when [...]

Georgia appeals court clears Atlanta newspaper of libeling Richard Jewell in Olympics bombing coverage

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did not libel Richard Jewell, the security guard, who notified authorities about an anonymous call warning of an impending bomb blast that killed two and injured 100 some people. Jewell’s prompt action resulted in an evacuation that saved lives. The newspaper reported that the FBI [...]

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