Candidates Say Public Campaign Funds Chill Their 1st Amendment Rights

Mar 1, 2011 10:01 AM CST

After Cease-and-Desist Letter Over Using ‘Texas Workers Comp’ in Blog, Lawyer Sues State Agency

A state agency telling a Texas workers’ compensation lawyer not to use certain words on his blog was a bit like the government once telling the late comedian George Carlin not to use the seven dirty words in his stand-up routine. It led to lots more of same. A Lubbock,…

Feb 25, 2011 8:40 PM CST

Subway Sued by Midwest Chain Asserting Right to Advertise Its ‘Footlong’ Sandwiches

A legal dispute in Iowa has some of the trappings of high school: food fights and grammar debates. The legal clash revolves around whether “footlong” is a noun that describes Subway sandwiches or an adjective that can be used to describe any 12-inch sandwich, the Des Moines Register reported. Iowa-based…

Feb 16, 2011 10:54 PM CST

Suit Claims Plaintiff Shocked to Learn Nutella Was ‘Next Best Thing to a Candy Bar’

A class-action lawsuit filed by the mother of a 4-year-old child claims she was misled by Nutella’s claims that the hazelnut spread is a “healthy breakfast” and “nutritious.” The suit (PDF filed by Courthouse News Service) claims Nutella “falsely and misleadingly markets Nutella as healthful,” even though it contains 70…

Feb 3, 2011 2:06 PM CST

Arm & Hammer Drops Kitty Litter Ad Suit Pointing Out That Cats Don’t Talk

The company that owns Arm & Hammer Super Scoop kitty litter has dropped its lawsuit contending it’s impossible to substantiate ad claims that cats prefer Fresh Step. “Cats do not talk,” the suit had pointed out. Church & Dwight Co. says it dropped the suit because Clorox Co., which owns…

Feb 3, 2011 12:31 PM CST

Seduced: For Lawyers, the Appeal of Social Media Is Obvious. It’s Also Dangerous

Feb 1, 2011 10:20 AM CST

5th Cir. Eases La. Attorney Ad Rules, OKs Endorsements, Some Slogans

Finding that a blanket ban on results-oriented attorney advertising violates the First Amendment, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down a challenged Louisiana rule of professional conduct that prohibited testimonials and factual information about results achieved in prior representations. And a three-judge appellate panel also…

Jan 31, 2011 10:34 PM CST

Taco Bell Defends Its Beef, Says It Will Take Unspecified ‘Legal Action’

Taco Bell has a beef with the lawyers who filed a class-action suit claiming its “seasoned ground beef” isn’t as meaty as it sounds. The California class action filed by Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles had claimed meat accounts for less than half of Taco…

Jan 26, 2011 4:54 PM CST

Finicky Felines Prefer Super Scoop Kitty Litter, Not Fresh Step, Federal Lawsuit Contends

Citing a competing—and, it says, superior—study of feline toileting preferences, one leading manufacturer of kitty litter has made a federal case out of another’s advertising claim that finicky cats prefer the Fresh Step brand manufactured by Clorox Co. In fact, contends Church & Dwight Co. in a lawsuit filed today…

Jan 6, 2011 1:00 AM CST

Colo. Author Faces Fla. Obscenity Case, Allegedly Sold Signed Copy of ‘Pedophile’ to Authorities

The Colorado author of The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct has been arrested in a Florida obscenity case after allegedly selling a signed copy of his book to Polk County undercover officers. Philip Ray Greaves II was arrested at his Pueblo home on a…

Dec 20, 2010 6:54 PM CST

SCOTUS Gives Nod to 2nd Circuit OK of ‘Heavy Hitters’ Law Firm Slogan & Descriptive Trade Names

By refusing to hear an appeal of a 2nd Circuit decision earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court has apparently turned a friendly eye on the use of law firm slogans and descriptive trade names that include a bit of chest-beating, according to the Associated Press. Although it is potentially…

Dec 13, 2010 6:28 PM CST

Feds Arrest Russian ‘Spam King,’ 23, Accuse Him of Generating 10 Billion Garbage E-Mails Daily

Federal agents say they have arrested a 23-year-old Russian “spam king” allegedly responsible for generating some 10 billion unwanted e-mails daily—a third of the world’s total—from a network of infected computers. Oleg Nikolaenko was arrested in Las Vegas last month and is scheduled to appear tomorrow in federal court in…

Dec 2, 2010 10:00 PM CST

Reports: Facebook Is Close to Trademarking the Generic Word ‘Face’

Corrected: As reported earlier by TechCrunch, the Facebook social networking site is close to getting a trademark on the generic word “face.” To do so, following a notice of allowance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, however, Facebook must not only pay a fee but file a statement of…

Nov 24, 2010 5:52 PM CST

Seeking Clients Via Facebook? In Ky., Bar May Regulate Social Media Comments

Lawyers in Kentucky who reach out to potential clients through social media such as Facebook and MySpace may see their comments regulated by the Kentucky Bar Association. The bar has proposed a regulation that would bar solicitations through social media unless lawyers pay a $75 filing fee and permit regulation…

Nov 18, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Duane Morris Demand Letter Makes Mom & Pop Shop’s Day; ‘Fudgesicle’ Now Known as Trademark Bar

Owners of a small ice cream shop in California were surprised and pleased to receive a cease-and-desist letter from Duane Morris recently, threatening legal action over an item on the Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous menu known as the fudgesicle, reports SF Weekly in its SFoodie blog. “Our first reaction was…

Nov 3, 2010 6:08 PM CDT