Emoji Version Variations Help Identify Fabricated Evidence–Rossbach v. Montefiore Medical
Rossbach worked at Montefiore Medical Center. She claims her supervisor sexually harassed her and then the center retaliated against her. This screenshot is the evidentiary centerpiece of her claim: The last line is the court’s: “This image is a fabrication.”…
There Are Multiple Types of “Clickwrap.” They Should All Be Enforceable–Calderon v. Sixt
This case involves rental car contracts. Typically, a rental car company can form a contract at three different times: when making an online reservation, when actually completing the reservation in person (nowadays, usually it’s an electronic signature on a point-of-sale…
Blogger Loses Copyright Ruling Over Photo…But No Mention of the CC-BY-SA License!–Von Der Au v. Imber
Von Der Au is a professional photographer. The photographer took a photo of the Semperoper opera house in Dresden, Germany. The defendant blogs at MichaelGImberBlog.com and republished the photo in a post. The court claims the “value of a license…
TripAdvisor Doesn’t Get Early Section 230 Dismissal–Putt v. TripAdvisor
Putt booked a tour through TripAdvisor’s subsidiary, Viator. On the tour, she suffered personal injuries. Putt sued TripAdvisor for negligence, misrepresentation, and more. Section 230. TripAdvisor invoked Section 230. The court says it’s too early to tell if TripAdvisor qualifies…
My California Young Lawyers Association Interview About Emojis
[In August, I did an interview with Skyler Gray that ran in the California Young Lawyers Association newsletter.] How did an intersection of emojis and the law begin? Were there legal issues concerning the original punctuation emojis, such as “:)”…
If You Want an Enforceable Online Contract, You Better Keep a Good Chain of Evidence–Snow v. Eventbrite
Eventbrite wanted to send a lawsuit to arbitration, so it invoked the arbitration clause in its TOS. But did the plaintiffs assent to Eventbrite’s TOS? The court says no. What went wrong? Eventbrite has three online venues: its desktop website,…
Another Roundup of Online Contract Formation Cases
Time for another roundup of online contract formation cases. HomeAdvisor, Inc. v. Waddell, 2020 WL 2988565 (Tex. Ct. App. June 4, 2020) The court finds this a valid contract formation process: The court explains: the submittal page was uncluttered, with…
Judge Isn’t Impressed By Lawyer’s Purported Unfamiliarity With LinkedIn–Reyes v. Tanaka
Juror #1 was empaneled on a trial. Myles Breiner is one of the plaintiff’s lawyers. On the 6th day of trial, Breiner sent Juror #1 an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Out-of-court interactions between jurors and the litigating lawyers is…
Defendants Keep Getting Arbitration Despite the Anarchy in Online Contract Formation Doctrine
Online contract formation law has gotten strange. The proliferation of “wrap” variations has tied up judges in knots. Despite the increasingly baroque and incoherent legal doctrines, the bottom line has largely remained the same: most online contracts are properly formed…
Strike 3’s Copyright Litigation Campaign Completely Strikes Out
Another judge denies an unmasking subpoena to Strike 3, even though the judge has previously issued subpoenas to Strike 3, and even though it may mean that Strike 3’s infringement case will fail and Strike 3 will be left without…