Media & Communications Law

Judge Gives Green Light to Some of Dan Rather’s Claims Against CBS

Former CBS news anchor Dan Rather can proceed with a claim that his ex-employer breached its contract with him and damaged his reputation by firing him after a controversial 60 Minutes weeknight edition report in 2004 about President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard. But a…

Sep 23, 2008 8:50 PM CDT

Federal Judge Axes Ex-DA’s Libel Suit Over John Grisham’s ‘Innocent Man’

A libel suit filed over a true-crime book written by best-selling author and attorney John Grisham has been dismissed by a federal judge. Grisham’s book, The Innocent Man, focuses on the wrongful conviction of two men for the 1982 murder of an Oklahoma cocktail waitress, and U.S. District Judge Ronald…

Sep 18, 2008 10:27 PM CDT

Jones Day Sues Over Website Posting Attorney Home Purchase Info

Jones Day has sued a website that highlights lawyers—even posting their photos and linking to firm biographies—and other professionals who buy and sell their homes in Chicago, Las Vegas, St. Louis and South Florida. After two Jones Day associates were featured on the BlockShopper site, the Cleveland-based BigLaw firm sued,…

Sep 11, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

‘Borat’ Filmmakers Win Legal Battle

The makers of Borat didn’t deceive a driving instructor and two etiquette teachers into appearing in the goofy comedy, a federal judge in New York has ruled. Because the three signed a release agreeing to appear in a “documentary-style” film and accepted compensation, they have no cause for complaint about…

Sep 10, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Will Misdated Report About United Airlines Bring Legal Consequences?

Updated: A report yesterday that United Airlines had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy sent the company’s stock plunging from over $12 to less than $3, in under an hour, before the erroneous news was corrected and the share price largely recovered. But it’s unclear whether there will be any legal…

Sep 9, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

‘Harry Potter’ Author Wins Case Over Fan’s Harry Potter Encyclopedia

The author of the best-selling Harry Potter books has won her lawsuit over a fan’s effort to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia. Author J.K. Rowling has persuaded a federal judge in the Southern District of New York that Steven Vander Ark’s Harry Potter Lexicon would cause her irreparable harm, reports…

Sep 8, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

E-Mail Puts N.Y. Times Publisher in Deposition Seat

Add another well-known name to the list of those unhappy about e-mail communications. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the New York Times, is going to have to testify in a defamation suit filed in New Jersey against one of the newspaper’s reporters by Donald Trump, over a book the reporter…

Sep 3, 2008 10:31 PM CDT

Author Salman Rushdie Files Libel Suit—and Wins—Within 1 Month

In a unusually speedy resolution of a libel suit that may serve as a model for others, author Salman Rushdie received a public apology from a defendant yesterday in London’s High Court and a formal declaration from a judge that claims made in a book about him were false. Salman…

Aug 27, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

Ex-News Anchor Pleads in E-Mail Snooping Case

Until a few months ago, Larry Mendte was a television news anchor at CBS 3 in Philadelphia. Today, the ex-anchor was in the news at his former station and throughout the country after he pleaded guilty in a criminal case in federal court to intentionally accessing the private e-mail accounts…

Aug 22, 2008 5:00 PM CDT

Jackson Browne Sues John McCain Over Song Use in Campaign Advertising

People may need a reason to believe in Republican John McCain as the country’s next president, but singer, songwriter and liberal activist Jackson Browne doesn’t want it to be his signature late 1970s song “Running on Empty.” Browne has sued the presumptive Republican nominee, along with the Ohio Republican Party,…

Aug 14, 2008 10:42 PM CDT

Pentagon Papers Leaker Daniel Ellsberg Sees Parallel in Disclosure of Wiretap Program

The man who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971 is still eager to expose government secrets. Daniel Ellsberg told an ABA Annual Meeting panel today that he disclosed the 7,000-page study of the history of the Vietnam War in hopes that President Richard Nixon could…

Aug 9, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

New Website Sells Restaurant Reservations

There are laws against reselling tickets. But offering restaurant reservations online to the highest bidder may be entirely legal. A 10-day-old Internet venture, which has created a new website to do just that has attracted customers and critics, reports the Chicago Tribune. However, despite unhappiness on the part of some…

Aug 8, 2008 8:48 PM CDT

No Suspicion? No Problem: Feds Can Still Take Laptops at Borders, Read Contents

Confirming what some had previously feared, federal agencies say they can confiscate travelers’ laptops at U.S. borders for virtually any reason, and read and share with others the contents of documents the personal computers contain. These policies of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S.…

Aug 1, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Victims or Whiners? L.A. Celebrities Seek Protection Against Paparazzi

Complaining that they are being besieged by the tabloid photographers, celebrities met with Los Angeles officials yesterday to seek protection from further harassment. “But Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton criticized many of the ideas as unenforceable, and one head of a photo agency characterized some of the celebrities as…

Aug 1, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Rob Lowe & Nanny Who Sued Him Both Proclaim Victory re Court Ruling

After a California judge’s decision to dismiss a defamation claim by actor Rob Lowe and a retaliation claim by his former nanny, Jessica Gibson, both sides proclaimed victory this week in the ongoing litigation. It began with a pre-emptive strike by Lowe, 44, who filed a complaint in April claiming…

Aug 1, 2008 3:35 PM CDT