California appeals court rules sexual harassment complaint against teacher public record

A Santa Monica math teacher lost a lawsuit in a California appeals court to keep a sexual harassment complaint against him private. The court found substantial public interest in the release of details of the investigation into a parent’s charge that the teacher sexually harassed his thirteen-year-old daughter. The charge was not fully substantiated. -db [...]

California appeals court rules dissemination of information about sex offender is protected speech

A California appeals court ruled against a landlord who had charged that her tenants had acted wrongly in telling a prospective buyer of the property that a registered sex offender lived across the street. The court reversed a lower court ruling, finding that the tenants’ disclosure “directly implicated issues concerning the protection of people, especially [...]

College publications director wins first round in case over speech criticizing employer

Operating under the umbrella of the Supreme Court decision limiting employee speech, a college publications director won the first round in a lawsuit against her college for firing her for saying that the college forced employees to do political work. A federal district  judge reinstated he woman’s suit saying that as a statement on corruption, [...]

California college dean loses defamation suit against blogger

A Los Angeles judge agreed with a blogger that a former Cal Poly College of Engineering dean had violated his First Amendment free speech rights in filing a defamation suit over posts challenging an agreement to open an engineering program in Saudi Arabia that would allegedly bar women, Jews and gays. The judge said the [...]

California union subject to defamation suit as state court denies SLAPP claim

A California labor union is facing a defamation suit after a state appellate court ruled that a company executive was justified in filing suit against the union for distributing unflattering leaflets to the executive’s neighbors. The court ruled that the leafletting concerned a private matter, did not rise to the level of public interest and [...]

Dentist loses defamation case must pay Yelp and reviewers for legal fees

A California dentist, who sued Yelp and reviewers for a bad review concerning a filling the dentist put into the mouth of the reviewers’ six-year-old son, must pay court costs according to a ruling in district court. A California appellate court ruled last year that Yelp could not be held for defamation because the post [...]

Canadian Supreme Court creates new defense for reporters facing libel charges

The Canadian Supreme Court made it more difficult to sue for libel last month when it made two rulings that allow reporters to cover controversial stories aggressively so long as the stories are considered worthy of public interest. -DB The Canadian Press December 22, 2009 By Mike Blanchfield OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada [...]

California personnel rules block reasonable public disclosure of police misconduct

An editorial in The Monterey County Herald argues that laws restricting access to records about police misconduct do not permit scrutiny of police officials in administrative positions who should not be able to hide behind secrecy provisions. -DB The Monterey County Herald Editorial August 14, 2009 Before it’s over, don’t be surprised if the apparent suspension [...]