In early May 2024, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) notified the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that it intended to file suit against CPSC and CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka for allegedly violating...more
As readers of this Blog know, we often write about the pleading requirements under the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”). In that regard, many of our articles involve cases in which CPLR 3016(b) is at issue – the...more
Rarely do we see a franchise dispute settled, only to generate more litigation. In Pirtek USA, LLC v. James Bradley Lager, et al., 2023 WL 4676067 (Bankr. N.D. Texas, 2023), Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Jerson addressed several...more
Social media is causing defamation claims to become more common. There are several areas for consideration if you feel your business has been defamed. First, what is defamation? Expressing an opinion is not defamation. For...more
This article discusses Business Disparagement under Texas law. This article does not discuss the tort of defamation or slander of title. Although similar to defamation or slander of title, the false assertion in a business...more
This day in time, you have to be careful what you say or write. Indeed, the utterance of only a few words can lead to an expensive lawsuit and the potential award of damages for causes of action such as defamation, business...more
In today’s world — where social media has become a source of news for many — companies and individuals often find themselves the subject of negative and anonymous online comments. These comments can give rise to legal claims...more
The high-profile U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding a Colorado wedding cake has important implications for public agencies, which must often act in a quasi-judicial capacity. ...more
“Beer: The cause and solution to all of life’s problems.” Mr. Homer J. Simpson would love the recent case of a Massachusetts craft beer company that has been trying in federal court to get the employment website Glassdoor...more
To paraphrase William Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage, businesses may ask you for a review, but they only want praise. Indeed some businesses have tried to ensure only good reviews by including non-disparagement clauses...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit adopted and applied the Supreme Court of the United States’ rationale for an award of attorneys’ fees in patent cases to a trademark case. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit aligned...more
The background of this case is that Boomerang Recoveries LLC, a reinsurance program review company, investigated Farmers Insurance Company’s reinsurance contracts to identify any premiums Farmers had been overcharged in...more
Years ago, a potential client called to ask if she could be successfully sued for libel if she published a tell-all memoir, revealing the details of a marital affair with a gentleman she intended to identify. My first...more
At first, employee social media use sounds like a matter of common sense. Candidates for a job should be careful what they post on social media sites, and make sure they’re not sharing any unsavory details about their past...more
On Monday, Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals partially affirmed a District Court order allowing Range Resources Corporation’s (“Range”) defamation and business disparagement claims against a landowner to proceed. ...more