Facebook “Likes” Aren’t Speech Protected By the First Amendment–Bland v. Roberts
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Bland v. Roberts, 2012 US Dist. Lexis 57530, 4:11cv45 (E.D. Va.; Apr. 24, 2012) Bland and his cohorts worked in the Hampton Sheriff’s Office, under B.J. Roberts. Roberts ran for re-election against…
Misuse of Family Photograph by Photo Studio Supports Misappropriation Claim–Lee v. Picture People
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lee v. The Picture People, Inc., K10C-07-002 (RBY) (Del. Sup. Ct.; Mar. 19, 2012) Plaintiffs had their two year old’s picture taken at The Picture People, a store engaged in the business of family photography. At…
Court Orders Disclosure of Psychic Chat Records in Retaliation Case – Glazer v. Fireman’s Fund
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Glazer v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 11 Civ. 4374 (PGG) (FM) (S.D.N.Y.; Apr. 4, 2012). The complaint. Glazer (her LinkedIn page) sued Fireman’s Fund Insurance, alleging that Fireman’s Fund retaliated against her because she complained about…
Circumstantial Authentication Strikes Again in a MySpace Evidence Case — State v. Tienda
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tienda v. Texas, 358 S.W.3d 633 (Tx. Ct. Crim. App.; Feb. 8, 2012) This is another MySpace evidence case. Defendant was convicted of murder. The victim exchanged words with a group of people outside a nightclub,…
Terminating an NFL Player’s Endorsement Agreement for Polemic Tweets May Be Contract Breach–Mendenhall v. Hanes
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Mendenhall v. Hanesbrands, 2012 WL 1230743 (M.D.N.C.; Apr. 12, 2012) This case has it all: Twitter, a pro football player, terrorism, Osama bin Laden and contract law geekiness! Background: Rashard Mendenhall plays…
Lawsuit From Huffington Post Unpaid Contributors Gets the Boot – Tasini v. AOL
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tasini v. AOL, Inc., 11-CV-2472 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y.; Mar. 30, 2012) I thought the Huffington Post lawsuit brought by unpaid contributors would present some interesting discussion about the arcane laws governing unpaid internships, but that’s not the…
Parents’ Lawsuit Against Apple for In-App Purchases by Minor Children Moves Forward — In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation, 5:11-CV-1758 (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 31, 2012) Facebook recently dealt with a class action over sponsored stories where minors asserted violations of their publicity rights. The court enforced the Facebook terms…
Actress Suing IMDB Can Assert Claim Based on Privacy Policy – Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. & IMDB.com, Inc., C11-1709MJP (W.D. Wash.; Mar. 30, 2012) Hoang sued IMDB, alleging that IMDB took information she provided when she paid for her subscription and used this information to derive her…
Users Can’t Sue Sony for Changing Online Terms to Require Arbitration – Fineman v. Sony Network Entertainment
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Fineman v. Sony Network Entertainment, C 11-05680 SI (N.D. Cal.; Feb. 9, 2012) In a move that caused a stir among consumer activists and others, Sony revised its EULA in September 2011 requiring PlayStation 3 users…
Lawsuit Against Google for Putting Search Queries in Referral URLs Moves Forward – Gaos v. Google
By Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric Gaos v. Google, 5:10-CV 4809 (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 29, 2012) Gaos sued Google based on the theory that: (1) Google allows website owners (and third parties) to see what search terms a user…