Personal Injury › Constitutional Law › Communications & Media Law

Let Them Eat Cake! (And Then Write an Online Review about It)

Arizona's restaurant scene is buzzing these days with last Friday's season finale of "Kitchen Nightmares". Just Google "Amy's Baking Company" and a proliferation of stories about the featured business appears, including a...more

Social Media Law (Part 3: Defamation)

The use of social means to engage in defamation is nothing new. Indeed, defamation requires the very social element of publication. Social media - Facebook pages or posts, tweets, blogs and online comments - merely make...more

Re-Publishing a Third-Party’s Unbiased Endorsement Can be Perilous

It should come as no surprise that making a false statement about a competitor’s product or service is actionable. Similarly, albeit slightly less obvious, repeating a false statement that someone else makes about a...more

Donald Trump Sues Bill Maher for Monkeying Around on Late-Night Talk Show

Here at Law Law Land, there are a few pearls of wisdom we like to repeat — perhaps to a fault — just because they are so helpful and right. Copyright law doesn’t protect ideas, only the expressions of ideas. Being legally...more

When Do Social Media Comments Become Defamation On The Internet?

It was reported that a 14-year-old Georgia middle school student is suing two of her classmates for libel after they created a phony Facebook page for her. The page had her name and information, with her profile picture...more

Miss Universe Pageant Scores Big Against Former Contestant

The Quaker State can be proud of many things. The Liberty Bell. Andy Warhol. Tastykake. Trading Places. The Immaculate Reception. But one part of its history that Pennsylvania may wish to forget (besides dog killer...more

Stopping Competitors From Denigrating Your Product

"Cats prefer Whisker Nibblets to Gato Gourmet 4:1." "Only Marie’s sandwich cookies are made with real chocolate and cream." "Seatur’s Slick works 40 percent faster than other leading motor oils." "Shampoo with Lixertonic and...more

This Is One of the Top Ten Best Blog Posts Ever Written about Online Defamation

Although we have confidence in the quality of our work, the headline above might be viewed by some as mere hyperbole or rhetorical exaggeration. And that is the case with most top ten lists, at least those that are based on...more

Beware the Clumsy Retraction, and Other Lessons from Idaho

A recent Idaho state court opinion ordering an Idaho newspaper to unmask the identity of an anyomous commenter on the newspaper's website demonstrates, among other things, the pitfalls that come with a clumsily worded...more

When your online rant can get you sued

In my last three posts, we covered online defamation from the business owner’s perspective. Today, we look at it from the consumer’s perspective...more

Conclusion of Online Defamation Series – Anti-SLAPP

Other than drawing more attention to the damaging online material, paying for a lawyer and having to answer uncomfortable questions under oath, what are the other risks about bringing a defamation claim? If you are not...more

How to Identify the Anonymous Online Defamer

After reading part one of this series on whether legal action is the right move to respond to negative online comments as discussed in part one, you have decided you need for defamation. So, how do you figure out who to sue...more

Baglow v Smith: Appeal Court Sets Aside Summary Judgment and Orders Trial

A further development in what could become a precedent-setting case involving online political discourse and blogs: the Ontario Court of Appeal has set aside the order of summary judgment in Baglow v Smith and has directed...more

Jury Awards $13.8 Million in Internet Defamation Suit

A Texas couple was awarded $13.8 million by a jury for defamation after anonymous posters to the Internet site Topix.com accused them of being sexual deviants, rapists, and drug dealers. Mark and Rhonda Lesher said they...more

Jackson Walker VIA Media postcard - April 2012

In This Issue: - Paul Watler's Perspective A Million to None in Texas Defamation Rulings — The same red-flag words may yield vastly different results in defamation litigation. Two recent Texas rulings serve as...more

Learning the Rights and Wrongs of Commercial Speech

Michael Jordan recently learned that his achievements on the basketball court do not translate into success in court when his opponent is the First Amendment. In a ruling against Mr. Jordan, a federal judge in Chicago...more

Don Draper: Modern-Day Criminal?

This blogger will be the first to admit that I may have a slight television addiction. I’m routinely behind in my DVR watching (at least we’ve moved beyond the dark ages of the late 1990s when I had to record my...more

Political Ad Content---When Do You Need to Worry?

Political speech has been called the "life-breath of democracy" by the US Supreme Court and receives very strong First Amendment protection.  For that reason, the FCC has said that it will "not...more

Are Bloggers’ Free Speech Rights Under Attack?

A recent legal opinion has some concerned about just how broad free speech rights may be for bloggers who are not associated with institutional media, such as newspapers and television stations. In Obsidian Finance Group,...more

I Know What You Did Last Night: Employer GPS Monitoring

The US Supreme Court ruled last month that a warrant is required for police to track a suspect with a GPS device, or the search violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable searches.  Many...more

“Actual Malice” is not Actually Malice: Clarifying and Solving One of the Supreme Court's Enduring Paradoxes

“[T]hese definitions distort common English . . . . When the Supreme Court uses a word, it means what the Court wants it to mean. ‘Actual malice’ is now a term of art having nothing to do with actual...more

Modern Slander: Man Sues Ex-Girlfriends for Online Remarks

A quick look at Matthew Couloute, Jr.’s resume gives you a sense of the young attorney’s glowing reputation. He was hired as the youngest assistant states attorney in Norwalk, Conn, he was promoted within two...more

First Amendment Defeats Right of Publicity Claims Against Electronic Arts’ NCAA Football Video Games

On Sept. 9, 2011, Judge Freda Wolfson of the United States District Court for the district of New Jersey issued a 67 page opinion that is not only the latest in a series of decisions involving Electronic Arts’ (EA) sports...more

Rakofsky v. The Washington Post Company, et al.,

Verified Petition For Admission Pro Hac Vice

Rakofsky v. The Internet, The Defense Responds Here are the first pleadings on behalf of the defense in Rakofsky v. Internet. You may find of particular interest the Affidavit and Trial Transcript. Please see full Pro...more

Rakofsky v. The Washington Post Company, et al.,

Affidavit of Eric Turkewitz In Support of Motion to Extend Time, et cet.

Rakofsky v. The Internet, The Defense Responds Here are the first pleadings on behalf of the defense in Rakofsky v. Internet. You may find of particular interest the Affidavit and Trial Transcript. This is the...more