Libel Lawsuits Against Federal Government Officials (E.g., Senator Warren or President Trump)
Under the Westfall Act, the Justice Department can generally take over the defense of many such cases—and then get them dismissed.
Libel
Rule 11 Sanctions in "Quackwatch" Libel Case
Plaintiffs claimed that defendants had libeled them to foreign officials—but didn't have enough evidence that the defendants had actually said anything to those officials.
Sarah Palin's Libel Lawsuit Against the New York Times Can Go to Trial
There is enough evidence that the Times knew their allegations were false (or at least were likely false) to go to the jury.
#MeToo, #TheyLied, and Pseudonymous Litigation (II)
When can libel plaintiffs, suing over allegedly false claims of sexual misconduct, sue pseudonymously? When can defendants defend pseudonymously?
Statements about American Jews as a Group Can't Be Libelous
So holds a federal court, quite correctly; of course, the same is true about any religious group, racial group, or other such large group.
Tweeting That Someone Is Xenophobic Is Nonlibelous Opinion
An interesting decision in former AP journalist Charles Ganske's lawsuit against former Member of Parliament Louise Mensch, with allegations of Russian bots and Tweeting frenzies thrown in for good measure.
Saying a Lawyer "Need to Go Back to Law School" Not Libelous
Bonus: We learn that calling a doctor "a real tool" isn't libelous, either.
"The Most Gullible Man in Cambridge" Story Gets Even Stranger
The legally strange dimension: A claim that the magazine article author sexually harassed the subject of her article, apparently by "seek[ing] inappropriate personal and romantic intimacy with Plaintiff."
Judge Throws Out Devin Nunes' Libel Lawsuit Against Ryan Lizza
The suit was based on an Esquire article about an Iowa farm run by members of Congressman Nunes' family.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Stormy Daniels' Libel Lawsuit Against President Trump
Trump's Tweet ("A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!") was opinion, and thus not actionable.
Injunction in Libel Case Against the Spamhaus Project
An interesting decision stemming from a dispute about whether the Spamhaus Project properly placed DatabaseUSA.com on a blocklist.
#MeToo, #TheyLied, and Pseudonymous Litigation
When can libel plaintiffs, suing over allegedly false claims of sexual misconduct, sue pseudonymously? When can defendants defend pseudonymously?
Libel Case Flowing from the Philando Castile Shooting Can Go Forward
Defendant, a local mayor and sheriff's deputy, tweeted about Castile's girlfriend (who had gotten a settlement from local government entities), "She needs to come off County and State Aid now that she has some cash. It'll be gone in 6 months on crack cocaine."
Libel Lawsuit by Trump Supporter (and Sanctuary-State Opponent) Roslyn La Liberte Against MSNBC's Joy Reid Can Go Forward
So a Second Circuit panel just held.
FitzGibbon v. Radack Settlement
Noted political publicist Trevor FitzGibbon (who had represented Julian Assange) sued whistleblower lawyer Jesselyn Radack (who had represented Edward Snowden) -- a second time; now there's a second settlement.
Judge Allows Professors' Libel Case Against Ex-Students to Go Forward
The ex-students had accused the professors (at the City University of New York) of sexual assault and other misconduct.
"TCPA Class Certification Denial Exposes Major Spousal Scheme" Is a Statement of Opinion,
holds the Second Circuit in a case rejecting a libel lawsuit over a blog post headline.
Brandon Straka's #WalkAway Lawsuit Against LGBT Community Center Thrown Out
Straka loses on his discrimination, cyberbullying, defamation, and breach of contract claims.
"Shitty Media Men" List Libel Lawsuit Can Go Forward
Plaintiff had sufficiently alleged that the defendant didn't just create the list as a platform for others, but herself posted material about him -- though whether plaintiff ultimately prevails will depend on what discovery reveals.
Twitter Wins Lawsuit Over "Devin Nunes' Cow" Twitter Feed
Rep. Devin Nunes can't hold Twitter liable for allegedly defamatory posts by Twitter user:
"Ambulance Chaser Is Too Good a Term for Him" Isn't Libelous (At Least in Yelp Review)
"Defendant's Yelp post about plaintiff is reasonably and best understood to be, simply, name-calling."
Ohio S. Ct. Reverses Order Blocking Man from All "Posting About" His Sister and Mother
"Even if past [mentally distressing] speech that an offender made to a person ... could be considered ... integral to the criminal conduct of menacing by stalking [and thus unprotected], we do not believe that this principle may be applied categorically to future speech ... directed to others."
Court Allows Subpoena of Media for Unpublished but Nonconfidential Interview Outtakes
An interesting illustration of the qualified privilege that many courts recognize in such cases.
Libel Lawsuit Leads Court to Ban Even True Statements About Plaintiff's "Sex Offender Status"
Fortunately, the Michigan Court of Appeals has just reversed that injunction.
$1M+ Award for Law Professor Libeled by Ex-Girlfriend's Rape Accusation
"The Court's belief in the veracity of Wright's testimony dwindled while the trial progressed, as evidence of her inconsistent and questionable conduct was revealed piece by piece.... She lied about her advanced degrees. She signed e-mails as Dr. Wright when she is not a doctor. Her testimony and medical records conflicted time and time again ...."
N.C. Trial Court Holds Preliminary Injunctions Against Alleged Libel Are Unconstitutional
But permanent injunctions after a full trial on the merits might be a different story.
Court in Devin Nunes Libel Lawsuit: "The Tedious and Laborious Exercise …
of dissecting each of the sixteen bullet points illustrates the deficiency of plaintiffs’ complaint."
"Clear, Compelling, Written Language Is Required to Waive" Free Speech Rights
An important First Amendment holding in a factually fascinating case, which involves an alleged breach of contract, a World War II Medal of Honor, a dispute over a history book, and a discussion of anti-libel injunctions.
District Court in Ninth Circuit Issues Anti-Libel Injunction
But other courts in the Ninth Circuit have categorically said that such injunctions are unconstitutional—the law remains quite unclear.
"Well, We Have Reviewed That Order, Too"
Not a great thing to see in an appellate opinion, if you claimed that reviewing a court order shows that you should win.
Accusing Someone of Inadvertent Patent Infringement Is Not Libelous
"Even the most dedicated patent lawyer would have difficulty mustering 'hatred' for a computer user who inadvertently violated a patent."
12-Year-Old "Politically Vocal Boy" Loses Libel Claim Against Newsweek
The Newsweek article, among other things, quoted a professor who said two young public supporters of Trump "'camouflage' positions of the hard right 'as feel-good sweetness and light, when, in fact, they are defending raw racism and sexual abuse.'"
Candidate for Wisconsin S. Ct. (Judge Jill Karofsky) Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against Allegedly Libelous Campaign Ads
Today, Judge Judge Timothy M. Witkowiak refused to issue the injunction, partly on prior restraint grounds. The election is scheduled for tomorrow.
Johnny Depp's Libel Claim Against Ex-Wife Amber Heard Can Proceed
Heard's Washington Post op-ed didn't mention Depp, but the judge concludes that in context it would be seen as implying factual assertions about him.
Accusations of Trying to "Hit on Underage Girls" Aren't Defamatory Without Proof of Actual Damage,
at least under the Illinois "innocent construction" rule, under which "a nondefamatory interpretation must be adopted if it is reasonable"—"a reasonable reading of Lorenz's article is that although Wedgewood communicated with underage girls, he never meant to take things further."
Criminal Libel Conviction for Anti-Nixon Cartoon
An interesting 1969 case (based on a publication right after the 1968 election), reversed on appeal in 1974; thanks to Jacob Gershman (Wall St. J.) for letting me know about it.