Libel
Libel Lawsuit Against Black Lives Matter Sacramento Can Go Forward
BLM posted racist e-mails that purported to have come from plaintiff, and added that plaintiff's "INFORMATION HAS BEEN VERIFIED"; but the e-mails had apparently come from an ex-tenant who was impersonating her.
College Basketball Star Wayne Arnold (Concordia) Sues for Libel, Discrimination, Etc.
It all started with a stolen PlayStation 5.
Libel Plaintiff Cites "Cancel Culture" in Seeking Protective Order for Identities of Witnesses
The case stems from defendant's claims that plaintiff, a comic book writer, said racist things to her at a comic-book-business social function.
Libel Case Based on Allegations that Plaintiff Had Made Specific Racist Statements Can Go Forward
The plaintiff, Frank Gogol, and the defendant, Malissa White, are both comic book writers.
Palin v. NYT Jurors "Learned of the Court's" Decision Against Palin Before Rendering Verdict
"The jurors repeatedly assured the Court's law clerk that these notifications had not affected them in any way or played any role whatever in their deliberations."
Some History of Insults of Lawyers, and Whether They Are Libelous
"He hath no more law than [a monkey/bull/goose]" vs. slight mischaracterization of legal advice.
Court Rejects Pacira Biosciences' Trade Libel Claim Over Article in Leading Medical Journal About EXPAREL
"The peer-review process—not a courtroom—... provides the best mechanism for resolving scientific uncertainties."
Judge: Criticisms of Epoch Times Were Substantially True or Opinion, Not Libel
“Like it or not, news analysis is often delivered with plenty of English on the ball in service of an ideological agenda and market viability. Whether such practices contribute positively to delivering our species closer to the truth is a question for philosophers. It is not enough to support a defamation claim.”
Thomas Calls for Reconsidering New York Times v. Sullivan
Well, it's Judge Bradford Thomas of the Florida Court of Appeal, but still an interesting synthesis of recent criticisms, with some extra analysis added.
Extra Remedies for Libel if the Libeler Chose Target Based on Race, Religion, Sex, Etc.?
A lawsuit claims N.Y. law authorizes this; if it prevails, expect many more such claims in a wide range of libel cases.
#MeToo/#TheyLied Among the Communists / "Anti-Fascists" / Left Anarchists: This Time About Personal Jurisdiction
“The allegedly defamatory statements Ms. Legarde made included not just online posts but defamatory statements in calls and emails to six people whom Ms. Legarde allegedly knew were Vermont residents and who were associated with Plaintiff through Vermont-based organizations.”
#TheyLied and the Fair Report Privilege
"A person cannot confer [the privilege for fair report of court filings] upon himself by making the original defamatory publication himself and then reporting to other people what he had stated"
Merely Retweeting Link to Old Article Doesn't Restart Statute of Limitations
So holds the court in a libel lawsuit brought by Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s former personal trainer.
Lawyer's Letter to School Seeking Money for Long-Past Alleged Sexual Abuse by Ex-Teacher May Be Libelous,
notwithstanding the “litigation privilege,” if the statute of limitations has long passed and there is therefore no reasonable prospect of meritorious litigation.
"No One Knows What the Jury Will Make of the Parties' Social-Media Slings and Arrows"
Advice from a judge to the litigants in a libel case.
Dismissed Professor vs. Student Libel Lawsuit Leads to Sanctions Requests, Denied All Around
"The statements include that Hubbard ... has been 'advocating for pederasty (pedophilia) for as long as he has taught at the University of Texas.'"
Dominion Voting Libel Suit Against Fox News Can Go Forward
"Dominion's well-pleaded allegations, however, support the reasonable inference that Fox's reporting was not accurate or dispassionate."
Gen. Michael Flynn's Brother v. CNN Lawsuit Over Allegations of Being a "QAnon Follower"
can go forward as to the "false light" claim, but not as to the libel claim (at least unless the plaintiff can amend his Complaint to adequately allege specific economic losses).
"Dating an Actress … Would Not Cause 'Public Hatred,' 'Shame,' [or] 'Ridicule'"
MyPillow founder Michael Lindell loses lawsuit over allegedly false claim that he had a "secret romance with 30 Rock actress Jane Krakowski and wooed her with flowers and champagne."
Religious Freedom Doesn't Bar Discovery in Libel Case By High-Level N.H. Catholic Priest Against Dissenting Group
“The Very Reverend Georges F. de Laire, J.C.L., who serves as the Judicial Vicar and the Vicar for Canonical Affairs for the Diocese of Manchester, brings a defamation claim against Gary Michael Voris, Anita Carey, and St. Michael’s Media, Inc. a/k/a Church Militant.”
Zoom Workshop on Prof. David McGowan's Forthcoming "A Bipartisan Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan"
A discussion with Prof. RonNell Andersen Jones (Utah), two noted media lawyers and clinical teachers (Prof. Dale Cohen, UCLA, and Prof. Gregg Leslie, Arizona State), and me about this forthcoming Journal of Free Speech Law article.
Is It Defamatory to Falsely Call Someone a Racist, White Supremacist, Socialist, or Communist?
No, because courts conclude that those terms are just opinions and name-calling.
Political Candidate Can't Sue Critics Pseudonymously, Under Seal, with Gag Order
"Plaintiff is an adult who chose to enter the political arena and now to file this litigation, asserting claims against Defendant as a result of Defendant's alleged statements and activities concerning Plaintiff and Plaintiff's political campaign."
