Where Do We Go To Get Our Mask Apology?
Plus: The editors reveal their favorite issues and articles from the Reason magazine catalog.
Libel
Is It Libelous to Accuse BDSM Participant of Having Hand Tremor and Vision Problems,
and thus not being able to safely participate in BDSM activities (presumably on the dominant side)?
Plaintiffs "Played Spanish Music at Home"; Neighbors "Complained to the Police"; Tort Litigation Ensued
No success for the plaintiffs, at least at this stage.
Libel Lawsuit (Related to Causing-Suicide Allegations) Between Two Trans Political Commentators,
"Defendant White would go on to accuse Ms. Erlick of sexually abusing and—most importantly, including by Defendant White’s own reckoning—causing the death of the person (Danie) who made the accusation."
Defaming Like a Rockstar? No, Said Court in Lawsuit Against DaBaby
An interesting illustration of the defamation per se / per quod distinction, recognized in some states.
University of Idaho Murders Yield Libel Lawsuit Against "Internet Sleuth"
According to the Complaint, "Ashley Guillard promotes herself on Amazon and TikTok as an Internet sleuth that solves high-profile unsolved murders by consulting Tarot cards, and performing other readings, to obtain information about the murders."
Slander Suit After "Two Wealthy … Men … Got Into a Fistfight While Trick or Treating with Their Families"
"Gimelstob and Kaplan were friends for a while, but their relationship soured when Kaplan got upset because Gimelstob did not show up to his birthday party."
Defendant's "Cyber Campaign" "Was Multi-Faceted, Intricate and Extensive, Sly, Anonymous, and Horrible"
A court grants summary judgment in a #TheyLied case, after the defendant had stopped defending it, concluding that "Ms. Abid's refusal to litigate is purposeful and consistent with her malign, manipulative character shown in this record."
Unconstitutional for Court to Threaten Suspending Custody Rights for "Any Further Unfounded Allegations" of Abuse
The order “could encompass speech ... that [the mother] believe[s] valid and substantiated even if CPS ultimately determines that [it is] not.”
Ex-Congressman Alan Grayson Loses Libel Claim Before Eleventh Circuit
"The defendants' [reliance] on ... source materials, including an official congressional report, articles in well-known newspapers and magazines, and police reports ... '... alone ... defeat[s] any claim of actual malice.'"
#TheyLied Libel Claims Can Go Forward with Sufficient Evidence of "Actual Malice"
"We ... recognize ... that allowing this case to move forward could embolden abusers ... and could discourage victims and their families from seeking help. But, at the same time, we must acknowledge the potential for false accusations and the right that someone who is falsely accused has to recover for the harm thereby caused."
Obvious Gripe Site Isn't "False Personation"
“We conclude no reasonable person would believe Plummer created a website describing himself as vexatious, incompetent, or dishonest.”
Court Rejects Avas Flowers' Libel Claims
"The allegedly defamatory nature of this statement is the implication that Plaintiff holds itself out as a local business when it is not. But truth is an affirmative defense to defamation under Delaware law, and the ... Declaration [submitted by Avas] does not deny that Plaintiff maintains call centers abroad in locations such as Mexico or Asia."
Libel Lawsuit by Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Against The Intercept Rejected
A federal court held that Prince was a public figure, and hadn't offered enough plausible allegations that the defendants knew the statements were false or likely false (the so-called "actual malice" showing).
"One of the Side Effects of COVID-19 Is Litigation"; and in Litigation, as in Medicine, Delay Can Be Deadly
An appeal a day late (even if not a dollar short). [UPDATE: But there may be a lifesaving treatment!]
Nicki Minaj v. "Nosey Heaux" Libel Lawsuit
"On information and belief, and as discovery will likely reveal, Green has been acting as a proxy for another performer who, mistakenly believing that she and Plaintiff are stars of equal stature, has repeatedly used other social media intermediaries in a hopeless effort to advance her career at Plaintiff’s expense."
Libel Lawsuit Over Tweet by Prominent Novelist Don Winslow Can Go Forward
Winslow had accused a doctor working on contract with an immigration detention center of "perform[ing] illegal hysterectomies on women at the direction of Trump and [DHS]."
