VPPA Still Doesn't Protect App Downloaders--Perry v. CNN

Plaintiff sued CNN under the Video Privacy Protection Act, alleging that CNN wrongly disclosed plaintiff’s viewing records without plaintiff’s consent. The allegation is that plaintiff used the CNN app, which records viewing history, and CNN sent this information to Bango, a…

After all of the excitement over click fraud a decade ago, we don’t often see click fraud cases any more. However, just in the past couple months I’ve seen 3 rulings that I wanted to share with you. Wickfire, LLC…

You Can't Be Fired For a Facebook Post Calling Your Boss a "LOSER"--NLRB v. Pier Sixty

This is a Facebook firing case. The employee worked at Pier Sixty, which operated a catering company in New York. In early 2011, its employees became involved in a union organizing campaign, ultimately voting to unionize. Hernan Perez worked as…

I’ve posted to SSRN a new article titled Judicial Resolution of Nonconsensual Pornography Dissemination Cases. I co-authored it with Angie Jin, a recent Cornell Law alum. The paper is in draft form, and we would gratefully welcome your comments. The…

How Should a Lawyer Respond to a Yelp Review Calling Him "Worst. Ever."?--Spencer v. Glover

(Spoiler alert: suing the client is not the correct answer). The Opinion Glover hired and then fired Spencer as his divorce lawyer. Glover then posted this Yelp review: Worst ever. Had to fire him after I gave him a chance…

Faulty Mobile Device User Interface Jeopardizes Uber’s Contract Formation--Metter v. Uber

This is a lawsuit against Uber alleging that it improperly assessed a cancellation fee without advising the rider in advance. Uber sought to compel arbitration. The court declines. The arbitration clause is contained in Uber’s terms of service, and the…

I posted about this case a year ago at Forbes, and it remains one of my most-read blog posts of all time. The legal question is simple: can an employer fire an employee because of the employee’s vacation photos posted…

You surely recall the Hassell v. Bird ruling from last year. A lawyer was unhappy with a Yelp review about her. The lawyer sued the putative author (with dubious service of process), got a default ruling that the review was…

FTC Explains Why It Thinks 1-800 Contacts' Keyword Ad Settlements Were Anti-Competitive--FTC v. 1-800 Contacts

As you may recall, the FTC is pursuing 1-800 Contacts for antitrust violations based on 1-800 Contacts having sued and then settled with competitors who bought keyword ads on 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks. Recently, the FTC filed its “Complaint Counsel’s Corrected…

The Commissioner of Social Security ruled that Nelson’s disability ended in 2010 and terminated benefits. In 2014, Nelson filed a federal lawsuit contesting that determination. In 2014, the judge ruled in her favor. In 2016, Nelson went back to court….