Illinois Supreme Court Says Woman Deceived by Fake Online Relationship Can’t Sue for Misrepresentation -– Bonhomme v. St. James
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Bohomme v. St. James, 2012 IL 112393 (May 24, 2012) Most people take for granted that people aren’t 100% truthful when interacting online. On one end of the spectrum, people make misstatements that are widely acknowledged…
First Circuit Rejects Data Insecurity Claims on the Basis of Article III Standing–Katz v Pershing
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Katz v. Pershing, 11-1983 (1st Cir.; Feb. 28, 2012) [This is an old catch up post that fell by the wayside.] Pershing provides services to brokerage firms, and it makes available a platform (NetExchange Pro) for…
LLC Members in Online Store Venture Bound by Partnership Fiduciary Duties — Health and Body Store v. Justbrand Limited
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Health and Body Store, LLC v. Justbrand Limited, 11-4132 (3d Cir.; May 11, 2012) *Sigh.* Another group of people attempt a web venture with zero documentation and end up in court. One of the many perennial…
Facebook Post and Blog Entry About Judicial Endorsement Held to be Defamatory — Lewis v. Rapp
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lewis v. Rapp, COA11-1188 (N.C. Ct. App.; May 1, 2012) Lewis was a senior judge in North Carolina who was running for re-election. Lewis was also a vocal supporter of William Rabon who was a state…
A Twitter Exception for Defamation?
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] William Charron pubished a short piece for the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law that caught my eye (“Twitter: A “Caveat Emptor” Exception to Libel Law” [pdf]). His central point: Twitter’s characteristics and limitations should…
New York Judge *Slams* Bittorrent Copyright Plaintiffs – K-Beech; Malibu Media; and Patrick Collins v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] K-Beech, Inc. v. Does 1-37, CV 11-3995 (E.D.N.Y.) Malibu Media, LLC v. Does 1-26, CV 11-1147 (E.D.N.Y.) Malibu Media, LLC v. Does 1-11, CV 11-1150 (E.D.N.Y.) Patrick Collins, Inc. v. Does 1-9, CV 11-1154 (E.D.N.Y.) Order…
An Unmasking Effort Gets Gutted Some More – Art of Living Foundation v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Art of Living Foundation v. Does, 10-cv-05022-LHK (N.D. Cal.; May 1, 2012) I posted earlier about the Art of Living Foundation’s (AOLF) efforts to unmask online critics (posting psueudonymously as ‘Skywalker’ and ‘Klim’). In early rulings,…
Comments on the Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Ruling in U.S. v. Nosal
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] US v. Nosal, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. Apr. 10, 2012) Nosal was a Korn/Ferry employee who, after his departure, convinced some remaining employees to provide him with confidential information to help…
Hermès Obtains (Ex Parte) $100M Award Against Alleged Counterfeiters–Hermès v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Hermès v. Does, 12-civ-1623 (S.D.N.Y.; Apr. 30, 2012) We’ve blogged repeatedly about trademark owners obtaining ex parte orders that provide extraordinarily broad relief, ranging from domain name seizures to orders directing search…
Fourth Circuit Slams Juror’s Use of Wikipedia—US v. Lawson
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] US v. Lawson, 10-4831 (4th Cir.; Apr. 20, 2012) Lawson and his co-defendants were convicted of violating the “Animal Welfare Act” through their participation in “gamefowl derbies” (cockfighting). One of the elements of the crime was…