Grieving Parents Can’t Sue Topix Website For Son’s Oxy Overdose (Forbes Cross-Post)
Andrew Witkoff wanted to buy the prescription pain-killer drug Oxycodone (a/k/a OxyContin, commonly called Oxy). He found Daniel Park on the Topix online message board. Andrew purchased Oxy from Park and fatally overdosed on the drug. Andrew’s parents sued Park…
Apple May Be Liable For Privacy Violations by Third Party Developed Apps
There are so many privacy lawsuits around the iOS ecosystem that it’s tough to keep track of them all. This particular (consolidated) lawsuit involves privacy claims against Apple and also against various apps, including Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Facebook,…
Linking to Defamatory Content Protected by Section 230—Vazquez v. Buhl
Teri Buhl posted allegedly defamatory content about Vazquez to the Internet. A CNBC editor linked to that post in an article entitled “The Sex and Money Scandal Rocking Hedge Fund Land.” The CNBC article characterized Buhl as a “veteran financial…
Yelp Wins Another Section 230 Case–Kimzey v. Yelp
This is such an easy case, it could have only been brought pro se. The suit involves two Yelp reviews by a user named “Sarah K.” that were allegedly defamatory and otherwise tortious. The court’s substantive discussion (some citations omitted):…
Ripoff Report’s Latest Section 230 Win–Seldon v. Magedson
It’s been a while since I blogged a Ripoff Report case. I’m sure you’ve missed hearing about them, but their litigation docket has calmed down somewhat since their heyday. This pro se lawsuit, rehashing tired arguments that have failed repeatedly…
Revenge Porn Is Bad, But It’s Not GoDaddy’s Fault (Forbes Cross-Post)
Revenge porn is odious, but so is a judge’s disregard for a federal law. In a lawsuit by revenge porn victims over the controversial revenge porn website Texxxan.com, a Texas state trial court had ruled that Texxxan’s web host, GoDaddy,…
Google, Yahoo and Amazon Beat Defamation Claims–Kabbaj v. Google
The pro se plaintiff alleges that unknown Does defamed him. He sued Google, Yahoo and Amazon for this defamation alleging: (1) Google administered a blogger service and profile pages that contained defamatory and threatening communications; (2) Amazon created several accounts…
Internet Law Professors File Amicus Brief in ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Case–Garcia v. Google
I’m sure you are familiar with Garcia v. Google, the copyright lawsuit against YouTube over the Innocence of Muslims video that led to a fatwa being issued against Garcia, an actress in the movie. In a truly awful opinion from…
Xcentric Ventures Chips Away at Small Justice’s Copyright Workaround to Section 230
Goren is a lawyer. Dupont made a less than flattering post about Goren to the Ripoff Report site, which is famous for not removing posts even at the request of the author. (Ripoff Report is one of the most successful…
Employer Gets Section 230 Immunity For Employee’s Posts–Miller v. FedEx
[Note: I am massively behind in blogging Section 230 cases. I probably have a dozen or so festering in my queue. C’est la vie. This case jumps to the front of the queue because of its recency and its relatively…