Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts

Lee v. Makhnevich

STATUS: Complaint filed in NY Federal Court on November 29, 2011

S.D.N.Y.: Toothache lawsuit may stifle medical gag orders against online rants
MSNBC
Lawyers for Robert Lee, 42, this week asked a New York federal court to declare that dentist Stacey Makhnevich's contract, which effectively tries to gag patient's reviews, is unethical, invalid, and illegal.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9124107-toothache-lawsuit-may-stifle-medical-gag-orders-against-online-rants

>>Complaint
http://mlrc.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0xOTYxMjI0JnA9MSZ1PTEwMzMyOTU4MDEmbGk9OTIxODMwOA/index.html

McKee v. Laurion

UPDATE ( 2/1/13)

STATUS: Court of Appeals Decision Revered.

Minnesota Supreme Court: Online Post Calling Doctor "a Real Tool" is Protected Speech
Associated Press
The decision reversed a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that would have let the doctor's lawsuit proceed to trial.
http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_22483221/minnesota-supreme-court-online-post-calling-doctor-real?source=rss

Opinion:
http://www.mncourts.gov/opinions/sc/current/OPA111154-0130.pdf

 
UPDATE ( 9/3/12)


STATUS: Minnesota Supreme Court hears oral arguments about whether case should go to trial.

Minn. Sup.:Can You Tag Your Doctor a Tool Online
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=168552176

UPDATE (1/27/12)STATUS: Appeals court sends case back to trial.

Minn. App.: Duluth Doctor's Defamation Suit Sent to Jury
The Associated Press
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/01/24/duluth-doctor-defamation/

>>Opinion: McKee v. Laurion
http://www.mncourts.gov/opinions/coa/current/opa111154-012312.pdf


UPDATE ( 9/15/2011)

STATUS: Date scheduled for Oral Argument at Minnesota Court of Appeals.

--Notice of Oral Argument

http://macsnc.courts.state.mn.us/ctrack/docket/docketEntry.do?action=edit&deID=586764&csNameID=71108&csIID=78382


UPDATE (7/7/2011)


STATUS: Plaintiff stated on June 25, 2011, that he will appeal

Minn. Dist.: Duluth doctor appealing judge's decision to toss out defamation suit

Duluth News Tribune
A Duluth physician whose defamation suit against a former patient’s son was thrown out of district court said he has no choice but to file an appeal. Dr. David McKee, a neurologist with Northland Neurology and Myology, said he still is being targeted in online attacks related to the lawsuit he filed in June 2010 against Dennis Laurion. . . McKee said a sudden concentration of unfavorable critiques about him cropped up online shortly before Sixth District Judge Eric Hylden dismissed the suit. “It appears that Mr. Laurion made over 100 adverse postings on the Internet once he became aware that he was going to receive a favorable decision on the motion for summary judgment,” McKee said. “Appealing seems to me the only way to curb the activities of this malicious person.”
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/202704/


STATUS: Defendant's motion for summary judgment granted on April 28th, 2011

Minn. Dist.: Judge Tosses Suit Over Bad Review of Doctor

On Point News
A Minnesota judge has boosted free-speech protections for online commentary by finding a neurologist cannot sue a patient's son over criticisms of his bedside manner that allegedly damaged his professional reputation. Dennis Laurion posted comments on doctor rating websites in which he vented about how Dr. David McKee of Duluth, Minn., treated his father while performing a neurological examination on him. Kenneth Laurion, 83, was recovering from a stroke at a hospital.
http://www.onpointnews.com/NEWS/Judge-Dismisses-Suit-Over-Bad-Review-of-Doctor-s-Work.html

--Decision: McKee v. Laurion
http://www.onpointnews.com/docs/Mckee-v-Laurion.pdf

Sherrod v. Breitbart

UPDATE (6/27/13)

 
STATUS: Defamation suit can proceed.

D.C. Cir.: Defamation Suit Against Breitbart Can Proceed
BLT: Blog of the Legal Times
Local lawyers hoping for a conclusive ruling on whether the anti-SLAAP law applies in federal court will have to keep waiting.  In a ruling this morning, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided the case on federal grounds.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2013/06/dc-circuit-defamation-suit-against-breitbart-can-proceed.html

Opinion:
 http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/AA5A0640B8CAA4A185257B95004EB083/$file/11-7088-1443074.pdf
  
UPDATE (2/6/12)

STATUS: Appellate panel puts case on hold and asks District Judge for statement of reasoning for ruling.

D.C. Circuit Wants Answers From Trial Judge On Denial Of Anti-SLAPP Motion
Blog of LegalTimes
In July, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a series
of two-sentence orders denying blogger Andrew Breitbart's motions to dismiss a
defamation lawsuit against him in Washington federal court. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is considering Breitbart's appeal of those
orders, wants more.


--Order: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/2-6-12-order.pdf


UPDATE (4/20/2011)

STATUS: Defendant filed a motion to dismiss on April 18, 2011

D.D.C.: Andrew Breitbart Argues for Dismissal, Challenges Venue in Sherrod Lawsuit

The Blog of LegalTimes
In a slew of new filings yesterday [April 18, 2011] in the libel lawsuit brought by former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, Breitbart and one of his co-defendants argued for a dismissal or, at the very least, a change of venue. . . In a joint motion for dismissal filed yesterday [April 18, 2011] in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Breitbart and co-defendant Larry O’Connor, who works with Breitbart, claim that in lodging accusations of racism against Sherrod based on her comments in the clip, they were engaging in protected speech under the First Amendment.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/04/andrew-breitbart-argues-for-dismissal-challenges-venue-in-sherrod-lawsuit.html

--Defendant's Motion to Dismiss: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/motion-to-disimss-or-transfer-venue.pdf

STATUS: Complaint filed Feb 11, 2011

D.C. Super.: Former USDA Employee Sues Conservative Blogger Over Video Posting

CNN
A former Department of Agriculture employee who was forced to resign last year after the posting of a misleading video has filed suit against Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who posted it. Shirley Sherrod's suit was filed in District of Columbia Superior Court on Friday. The civil suit accuses Breitbart of "defamation, false light and infliction of emotional distress," according to a statement issued by the law firm representing her.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/14/sherrod.lawsuit/index.html?section=cnn_latest

--Complaint: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2011/02/shirley-sherrods-dc-superior-court-libel-complaint-against-andrew-breitbart.php?page=1

Horizon Group Management v. Bonnen, No. 2009L008675 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County filed July 20, 2009).

Horizon Group Management v. Bonnen, No. 2009L008675 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County filed July 20, 2009).
Status: Dismissed.
Horizon Group Management, which owns the apartment that defendant Amanda Bonnen rents, sued her for a Tweet she sent to a friend (but publicly available on her Twitter feed), apparently about plans for the friend to stay at her apartment.

"You should just come anyway," the Tweet said. "Who said sleeping in moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks its okay."

Update: On Jan. 20th, the Cook County Circuit Court judge dismissed the case with prejudice, finding that the Tweet could have been innocently construed to reflect the plaintiff's opinion.

Links and Court Documents:Rounding Up the Buzz... Will one Chicago woman's Tweet cost her $50,000?, Chicago Bar-Tender, July 27, 2009
Complaint at http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bar-tender/Twitter%20lawsuit.pdf
Twitter apartment mold suit dismissed, Chicago Breaking News, Jan. 21, 2010
Judge tosses Twitter libel suit, WBBM 780, Jan. 22, 2010
Court's order dismissing suit, filed Jan. 20, 2010
Saadi v. Maroun, No. 07-CV-01976 (M.D. Fla. filed Oct. 31, 2007).
Status: $90,000 verdict for plaintiff.


Lawyer Edward T. Saadi filed a complaint against his cousin Pierre Maroun, Hala Fakhre Maroun, and several anonymous defendants based on blog and forum postings that alleged that Saadi consorted with terrorists, diverted funds from a non-profit to support terrorism, hadn't gone to law school and had a teenage girlfriend. Later Saadi added Maroun’s International, LLC as a defendant.

A motion to dismiss the claims of defamation was denied on court findings that the statements were held out as factual, and not as opinions. Hala Maroun was subsequently dropped from the lawsuit. A defense motion for summary judgment was denied, and the case proceeded to trial.

After a three-day trial, the court dismissed the claims against Maroun's International.  The jury then found for Saadi and awarded $90,000: $30,000 in compensatory damages, and $60,000 in punitive damages.

The defendant has filed a post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or a new trial.

Links and Court Documents:
Case Information (Citizen Media Law Project)
Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (filed Mar. 30, 2008)
Judgment (filed Oct. 2, 2009)
Brandon v. Wizeman, No. 2008CP2602845 (S.C. Cir. Ct. default bench verdict Jan. 20, 2009).
Status: Settled (appeal of $1.8 million award to plaintiff after default judgment dismissed).

Defendant Donald Wizeman operates the Myrtle Beach Insider blog (myrtlebeachinsider.blogspot.com), which comments on local news and politics. In June 2007, a post on the blog referred to Scott Brandon, the head of a local advertising agency, as a “failed lawyer” and criticized one of his firm’s advertising campaigns. Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein entered summary judgment on liability against Wizeman after he did not appear at a Sept. 2008 hearing. Wizeman sought to have the ruling vacated in December, claiming that he had not received notice of the hearing; Goodstein refused, and Wizeman has appealed. Meanwhile, a special referee appointed by Goodstein awarded Brandon $800,000 in compensatory damages and $1.0 million in punitives.

Wizeman appealed, but before the appeal was heard the parties reached a settlement.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/brandon-v-wizeman
http://www.thesunnews.com/business/story/856883.html
CRIMINAL CASE: Arrest of James Buss (Madison, Wis. Nov. 29. 2007).
Status: No charges filed.


On Nov. 16, 2007, James Buss, a high school chemistry teacher, pseudonymously posted comments on a conservative bootsandsabers.com blog covering Wisconsin politics that seemed to support the shooters who killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999.

Assuming the persona of a teacher-hating conservative commenting on a school funding proposal dispute, Buss wrote, “We’ve got to get in back of the kids who have had enough of lazy, no good teachers and are fighting back. Kids like Eric Harris and Dylen Klebold.” Buss was arrested two weeks later. On Dec. 4, the local prosecutor announced that he would not file criminal charges against Buss because his comments were protected by the federal and state constitutions.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=692024
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=693765

Coons v. Oliphant, No. 07C339 (Tenn. Dist. Ct., Davidson County filed Jan. 31, 2007).
Status: Pending.

Ron Coons sued John Wayne Oliphant, Jr. over a message sent via the Evite invitation service and a MySpace page which alleged that he had drugged young women at parties. In his answer to the lawsuit, Oliphant claims that the challenged statements are either true or protected opinion.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.thebloggingjournalist.com/2007/03/vlogger_ron_coo.html
Copies of Evite and MySpace page, with plaintiff’s initial demand letter: http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN65308310.PDF
Defendant’s answer: http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN65309310.PDF
Greenbaum v. Google, Inc., No. 102063/07 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York County dismissed Oct. 23, 2007).
Status: Dismissed.

Elected Lawrence, N.Y. school board Member Pamela Greenbaum filed suit against Google, seeking the identity of the author of the “OrthoMom” blog (orthomom.blogspot.com/), in order to sue for statements on the blog that criticized Greenbaum’s position on use of public school facilities by private religious school students. “Orthomom” intervened in the case in order to prevent disclosure of her identity. On Oct. 23, 2007, the court dismissed the suit on the grounds that "Orthomom"’s statements on her blog were opinion, and not capable of defamatory meaning.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/greenbaum-v-google-blogger
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/CaseDetails.cfm?cID=390
http://www.nysun.com/article/5050
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17885228&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=479855&rfi=6
http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=781
http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=783
Order dismissing case at http://www.citizen.org/documents/greenbaumdecision.pdf