Libel
Court Rejects Fan's Libel Claims Against L.A. Clippers Player Russell Westbrook and the Utah Jazz
Westbrook and the Jazz characterized the fan's insults to Westbrook as racist; in context, the court concluded, these were constitutionally protected statements of opinion.
#TheyLied Libel Lawsuit Over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Can Proceed,
recommends a Magistrate Judge, in a case brought over defendant student organization chair's claims that plaintiff had engaged in "sever[e], consisten[t], and widespread" misbehavior.
Libel Suit Terminated Because of Plaintiff's Discovery Misconduct
The flip side of what happened with defendant-side discovery misconduct in the Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones cases, though with much smaller stakes.
Publishers' Claims Over Alleged Harassment Campaign by eBay Can Go Forward
"A group of eBay employees devised and engaged in a campaign of harassment, stalking, and threats to stop the Steiners from reporting about eBay" in their ECommerceBytes trade publication.
Maintaining Online Copy of Court Opinion Isn't Libelous, Even When It's Reversed
A district court refuses to enter default judgment against caselaw publisher Leagle, concluding that the plaintiff's claims against Leagle were legally insufficient.
Getting Dartmouth to Revoke Plaintiff's Admission Wasn't Speech on Issue of Public Interest,
under California's "anti-SLAPP" statute (which allows for prompt dismissal of claims brought based on certain kinds of speech).
No Absolute Privilege for Accuser's Allegations in High School Sex Misconduct Investigation,
because the investigations doesn't offer the sort of due process available in a judicial trial.
Alleged "Psychic Intuition" Still Isn't Enough to Make a Federal Claim "Plausible" Enough to Withstand Dismissal
An allegedly psychic "Internet sleuth" alleged a professor was involved in the University of Idaho student murders; the professor sued; then the "sleuth" countersued.
Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre's Defamation Lawsuit Against Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe Thrown Out
Passes are parabolas, "you've got to be a sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low" was hyperbole.
Court Upholds Denial of Pseudonymity to Plaintiff in #TheyLied Libel Suit Stemming from Title IX Complaint
"Appellant wants the option to hide behind a shield of anonymity in the event he is unsuccessful in proving his claim, but he would surely identify himself if he were to prove his claims."
"Large Libel Model" Lawsuit Against OpenAI Headed Back to Georgia Court
OpenAI tried to remove Mark Walters' lawsuit to federal court, but has now withdrawn that attempt.
#TheyLied Plaintiff Suing for Defamation Over Sexual Misconduct Accusations Can't Use Subpoena to Unmask Pro-Defendant GoFundMe Organizers
"The subpoena is ... a classic ‘fishing expedition’ in constitutionally protected waters.”
No, Court Won't Order Removal of Online Copies of the Decision in Your Online Case, Even if
you argue that you're losing job opportunities because employers see that decision.
Prosecutor Linda Fairstein's Libel Lawsuit Over Netflix "Central Park Five" Series ("When They See Us") Can Go Forward
"There is evidence that, by opting to portray Fairstein as the series villain who was intended to embody the perceived injustices of a broader system, defendants reverse-engineered plot points to attribute actions, responsibilities and viewpoints to Fairstein that were not hers and are unsupported in defendants' substantial body of research materials."
Massive Sanctions Against Rudy Giuliani for "Willful Shirking of His Discovery Obligations" in Libel Lawsuit Against Him
Among other things, "Default judgment will be entered against Giuliani as a discovery sanction ..., holding him civilly liable on plaintiffs' defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damage claims ...."
Lawsuit Over Alec Baldwin's Publicly Labeling Woman "Insurrectionist" for Her Jan. 6 Activities Dismissed by Court
Plaintiffs sued for defamation, and also for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from the comments aroused by Baldwin's posts.
Court Reduces $1.4M Verdict to $71.5K in #TheyLied Renaissance Faire Libel Case
Defendant had accused plaintiffs, "the King and Queen of [the Pittsburgh] Renaissance Faire," of failing to properly deal with allegations of sexual harassment, and of retaliating against sexual harassment victims; the jury found that the defendant knew the statements were false, or at least recklessly disregarded the risk of falsehood.
No Sealing of Plaintiff's Expunged Court Records That Are Central to Plaintiff's Libel Claim
"[T]he fate of Plaintiff's claims hinges to some extent on the truth or falsity of Defendant's statements regarding Plaintiff's conviction of a crime. Whether Defendant's statements are false—a determination that relies at least in part on Plaintiff's criminal records—is directly relevant to the public."
Illinois Court Rejects Claim for Group Libel of Poles Living During World War II Era
People may be able to successfully sue based on allegedly false and defamatory statements about themselves, or about very small groups of people that include themselves—but not based on statements about whole countries or ethnic groups.
Plaintiff Professor's Losing Libel Lawsuit May Lead to His Former Lawyers Foreclosing on His Home
(Part of the fees also stemmed from defending against Ohio State's investigating his alleged research misconduct.)
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Where's the Liability in Harmful AI Speech?," by …
Profs. Peter Henderson, Tatsunori Hashimoto, and Mark Lemley, just published in our symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Speech; more articles from the symposium coming in the next few days.
Journal of Free Speech Law: My "Large Libel Models? Liability for AI Output"
Just published, in our symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Speech; more articles from the symposium coming in the next few days.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "An AI's Picture Paints a Thousand Lies: Designating Responsibility for Visual Libel,"
by Prof Jon M. Garon, just published in our symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Speech; more articles from the symposium coming in the next few days.
