A recent Idaho state court opinion ordering an Idaho newspaper to unmask the identity of an anonymous commenter on the newspaper's website demonstrates, among other things, the pitfalls that come with a clumsily worded retraction. The case, Jacobson...(read more)
Courts Block "Stream of Commerce" Jurisidiction Claims
Back in March, we reported on a North Carolina federal court's dismissal of a defamation claim brought against two out-of-state publishers and an out-of-state author based on a lack of personal jurisdiction. In that case, Judge Louise W. Flanagan...(read more)
Ninth Circuit Tells ABC, Stossel "You Can't Say That!"
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently revived a defamation suit brought by a prominent California preacher against ABC and reporter John Stossel. The case, which had been dismissed by the District Court under California's...(read more)
Losing Florida Senate Candidate Files $500 Million Libel Suit
Jeff Greene, who was recently routed in his bid to win the Democratic nomination for the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida, has filed a massive -- in more ways than one -- defamation suit against the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald . The...(read more)
N.C. Federal Court Dismisses Libel Claim
North Carolina federal district court Judge Louise Flanagan offered a helpful reminder to lawyers last week that the first month of Civil Procedure class really does matter. The result of her Order in Dutcher v. Eastburn, Da Capo Press, LLC, and...(read more)
N.J. Supreme Court Applies Fair Report Privilege to Civil Filings
New Jersey's highest court has overturned an intermediate appellate decision that had refused to apply the "fair report" privilege to accounts of initial pleadings filed in civil lawsuits. The Supreme Court's decision , issued in the case of Salzano...(read more)
Ohio Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Radio Station on Defamation and False Light Claims by Political Candidate
A panel of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Appellate District in Ohio has affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an Ohio radio station in a defamation and false light invasion of privacy case involving a former candidate...(read more)
Can You Defame Jefferson Parish, LA?
The answer, of course, is a resounding no (and no, snarky readers, not because of the libel-proof plaintiff doctrine). The surprising thing about that question, is not the answer, but rather that nearly 50 years after the United States Supreme Court...(read more)