Another Failed Doctor Lawsuit Against a Patient For Online Reviews–Brandner v. Molonguet
This is another lawsuit by a doctor over a patient’s negative online reviews. Dr. Brandner is an oral surgeon in Louisiana. In 2005, he treated Molonguet. Molonguet protested Brandner’s fees, but a court ruled for Brandner. In response to that…
Robert Half Can’t Stop Former Employees From Telling The World Where They Used To Work (Forbes Cross-Post)
As the saying goes, a business’ most important asset is its people. That maxim applies with extra force in the staffing industry, where people literally are its business. Perhaps that explains why Robert Half, a leading staffing company, uses an…
Employee Terminated For Ill-Advised Facebook Post Gets Unemployment Benefits
This is an unemployment benefits case. Sarah Black, who was employed by Puget Sound Security Patrol made the following post to her Facebook account in February 2012: u kno wat, I do not give a f[* * *] about a…
Tweeted Article About Law Grad’s Suit Over Stalking Investigation Isn’t Defamatory
This is a defamation lawsuit brought by a law grad (Enjaian) against the legal press based on a story involving Enjaian’s own (personal) legal matter. (I blogged about the most recent example here: “Legal Blog Faces Defamation Liability for Mischaracterizing Prior…
Criminal Harassment Charges Survive First Amendment Challenge, Even Without The Threat of Personal Injury
This is a criminal harassment case. As recounted by the court, the Johnsons lived on the same street as the victims, the Lyonses. The Johnsons acquired some land adjacent to the Lyonses and sought to develop it, but ended up…
Facebook Putdown Leads to Lawsuit Between Sorority Sisters–Grimes v. Saban
This is an assault case brought by Sarah Grimes against her sorority sister, Kristen Saban. Grimes and Saban went out for a night of partying. Afterwards, Saban and Grimes were allegedly arguing, with Saban telling Grimes “no one liked her…
Stupid Online Teen Banter Isn’t “Disorderly Conduct”–State v. Nelson
We’re revisiting the perennial topic of how to address teens doing stupid teen things online. As we’ve discussed repeatedly, teens constantly test limits online and typically lack the wisdom and perspective of adults. In my era, typical offline teen pranks…
Will A ‘Cast Of Thousands’ Become A ‘Cast Of Thousands…Of Plaintiffs’? A Preview of Garcia v. Google (Forbes Cross-Post)
[Note: I wrote the following post on Monday before the oral arguments. I haven’t had a chance to view Monday’s oral arguments, but from the news reports and Twitter feeds, it sounds like Kozinski and McKeown will be squaring off….
First Amendment Bars School Discipline For Student’s Rap Video About School Coaches
Bell was a student at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. A few female students told Bell that two male athletic coaches had made inappropriate comments toward them. Bell, an aspiring rapper, made a video about the two coaches….
Lawyer Disciplined for Sending Facebook Message to Adverse Party
An 18 year old had sex with a co-worker and ended up pregnant. She gave up the baby for adoption, but the biological father did not consent. The mother had signed an adoption consent form. Prior to the date of…