Court Finds That Threatening Video Posted to YouTube and Facebook Can Constitute a “True Threat” — US v. Jeffries
[Post by Venkat] US v. Jeffries, 10-CR-100 (E.D. Tenn) (Report and Recommendation; Oct. 22, 2010) Background: The defendant was charged with transmitting a video through interstate commerce which contained a threat to kill or injure a Knox County Chancellor. The…
Forwarding Defamatory Email Immunized by 47 USC 230–Mitan v. A. Neumann
By Eric Goldman Mitan v. A. Neumann & Associates, 2010 WL 4782771 (D. N.J. Nov. 17, 2010) This is another email forwarding case. Others in this line include Phan v. Pham (2010), John Doe Anti-Terrorism Officer v. City of New…
Dentist Review on Yelp Gets Partial Anti-SLAPP Protection–Wong v. Jing
By Eric Goldman Wong v. Jing, 2010 WL 4457330 (Cal. App. Ct. Nov. 9, 2010). The SF Chronicle article on the complaint filing. The dentist’s “open letter” about the lawsuit filing. Tai Jing posted a negative review of Dr. Yvonne…
Victim’s Misstated Age on MySpace Could Contribute to Mistake of Age Defense–State v. Berry
By Eric Goldman State v. Berry, 2010 WL 4226707 (Or. App. Ct. Oct. 27, 2010) This is yet another case involving sex with an underage girl where the defendant believed she was older than she actually was. See my previous…
Blog Host Can’t Be Bound by TRO for User Posts (Blockowicz redux)–Bobolas v. Does
By Eric Goldman Bobolas v. Does 1-100, 2010 WL 3923880 (D. Ariz. Oct. 1, 2010) This lawsuit involves Bobolasgate.info, a Greek-language blog/website that appears to criticize Greek real estate and media mogul George Bobolas (ranked as one of the top…
Sending Politically Charged Emails Does Not Support Disturbing the Peace Conviction — State v. Drahota
[Post by Venkat] State v. Drahota, 280 Neb. 627 (Sept. 24, 2010) [pdf] Background: Drahota was a student at the University of Nebraska who corresponded via email with his political science professor Avery. According to the opinion, they “shared a…
September 2010 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Contracts * Hutchison v. Yahoo, 2010 WL 3706571 (9th Cir. Sept 20, 2010). AT&T’s early termination fee wasn’t a penalty, even as applied to a termination with only 2 weeks of service left. * Evan Brown: Software…
Yelp Wins 47 USC 230 Dismissal of Dentist’s Lawsuit–Reit v. Yelp
By Eric Goldman Reit v. Yelp!, Inc., 2010 WL 3490167 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Dr. Glenn Reit is a Manhattan dentist. His Yelp page and website. As of May 2009, the Yelp page had 11 reviews: 10 favorable…
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Content Regulation * Wolk v. Olson (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2010). Defamation claim against “Overlawyered” blog dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. The court treats the blog as equivalent to a mass-media publication. * Kelledy v. Cockerham,…
P2P Gambling Site is Illegal Bookmaker–Betcha v. Washington
By Eric Goldman Internet Community & Entertainment Corp. v. Washington State Gambling Commission, 82845-8 (Wash. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Betcha is one of those too-clever-by-half dot com ideas that practically beg VCs to roll the dice. Rather than allow…