Legal Blog Faces Defamation Liability for Mischaracterizing Prior Legal Proceedings–Huon v. Above the Law
Plaintiff, a lawyer, was charged with assault in 2008 and charged in 2009 for cyberstalking and witness harassment (based on one of his blog posts?) involving the same alleged victim. He was acquitted of both charges. His charges and trial…
Appeals Court Affirms Harassment Order Based on Vague Testimony of Indirect Contacts
This is a civil harassment case. Kwan and Murcia both worked at CVS but at different stores (both as managers). Kwan filed a request for a harassment restraining order against Murcia, alleging that he was cyber harassing her and texted…
Section 230 Precludes Injunctive Relief Against Message Boards–Medytox v. InvestorsHub
We’re celebrating #ThrowbackThursday today at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog! InvestorsHub runs message boards on financial topics. A user, Hawley, posted several messages on InvestorsHub about Medytox and its principals. Medytox and the principals sued Hawley for defamation and…
When Does Social Media Chatter Become Criminal? Previewing The Supreme Court’s ‘Elonis’ Case (Forbes Cross-Post)
Social media combines the power of printed words with the immediacy of oral conversations. While social media frequently enriches our lives, it also enables incivil behavior such as the threats of violence against others. Should we interpret a social media…
PissedConsumer Defeats Preliminary Injunction–Roca v. Consumer Opinion Corp.
Roca makes and sells dietary supplements. They’ve made a series of legally dubious choices, but I think their problems start with their desire to suppress negative consumer reviews. The court describes that: [Roca’s] Purchase Agreement requires customers to agree that,…
Are Parents Liable For Their Children’s Online Pranks?–Boston v. Athearn
Dustin Athearn, who was 13, decided to “have some fun” at a “friend’s” expense. He did what any modern teenager does to poke fun at someone: he created a fake Facebook page in their name. Along with a friend Melissa,…
Manuel Noriega Loses Right of Publicity Suit Against Activision (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Tyler Ochoa What does former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega have in common with former NFL running back Jim Brown and a host of former college athletes? All of them are suing videogame companies for using their likenesses…
Another Messy Employee-Employer Dispute Over Facebook Page Ownership
Courtney Austin managed the Preston County Animal Shelter. She was initially hired on an hourly basis but converted at her request to salary. Shortly after she was hired, she created a Facebook page for the shelter, and she sought and…
Hertz Faces Negligence Suit For Employee’s Facebook Bashing of a Customer–Howard v. Hertz
Maurice Howard is a Hertz customer who alleged that a Hertz employee (Shawn Akina) posted the following comment about Howard on Facebook: I seen Maurice’s bougie ass walking kahului beach road . . . n*** please! A number of Akina’s…
The New U.K. Online Gambling Law: Cyberlaw 3.0 – or a Return to Cyberlaw 2.0? (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Marketa Trimble The new amendments to the U.K. gambling law in the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 will take effect on November 1, 2014, following a U.K. judge’s rejection of a challenge to the validity of…