Enjaian v. ALM Media

Enjaian v. ALM Media (12/23/14)

STATUS:Court grants defendant's motion to strike.

N.D.Cal.: Tweeted Article About Lawyer Facing Stalking Accusation Isn't Defamatory
Technology & Marketing Law Blog
Defendant's brought an anti-SLAPP motion under California's anti-SLAPP statute and the court grants it.
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2014/12/tweeted-article-about-lawyer-facing-stalking-accusation-isnt-defamatory-enjaian-v-alm.htm

Order:
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/4:2014cv03872/280243/27

Spooner v. The Associated Press

Spooner v. The Associated Press
STATUS: Lawsuit settled in December 2012.

NBA Ref & AP Settle Suit Over Reporter's Tweet
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/blog/law/2011/12/nba-ref-ap-reporter-settle-over-tweet.html?page=all

Darm v. Craig

UPDATE (10/12/11)

STATUS: Darm and Craig reached a settlement in Oregon's first Twitter-based defamation case.

Ore.: Blogger, Dr.Darm settle landmark Twitter lawsuit
Portland Tribune
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=131846715288885300


STATUS: Complaint filed in August 2011.

Or.Cir.: Be careful what you tweet, it just might get you sued
KATU News
A local woman is being sued by a doctor for $1 million and what's interesting about it is that it is likely Oregon's first Twitter-based defamation.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/128428913.html

--Complaint: Darm v. Craig
http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications1/MLRC_MediaLawDaily/Attachments3/Darm_Complaint-2.pdf

Simorangkir v. Love

UPDATE (2/26/15)
STATUS: Appeals Court will not throw out defamation case.


Cal.App.:Courtney Love Fails to Get Appeals Court to Dispense Defamation Lawsuit
The Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/courtney-love-fails-get-an-778048?mobile_redirect=false


Order: http://www.scribd.com/doc/257057866/Courtney-Love




UPDATE (3/3/2011)

STATUS: Settlement reached on Feb 3rd, 2011

Courtney Love to Pay $430,000 to Settle Twitter Defamation Case

The Hollywood Reporter
Rocker Courtney Love has settled the lawsuit brought against her by a fashion designer who claims she was defamed in a series of messages posted on Twitter. The settlement with Dawn Simorangkir (aka the “Boudior Queen”), which sources say is being finalized today and will be announced next week, will cost Love about $430,000.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/courtney-love-pay-430000-settle-163919

UPDATE (1/10/2011)

STATUS: Trial scheduled to commence on Feb 8th, 2011

Courtney Love Twitter Trial Moved to February

The Hollywood Reporter
Lawyers for Love and fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir—who is suing the rocker over a March 2009 tirade of Tweets in which Love called the self-proclaimed "Boudoir Queen" a prostitute and a thief—were in the Los Angeles courtroom of Hon. Debre Weintraub this morning for the final status conference in the case. The trial date, which was to have been on Jan 18, has been pushed to Feb 8 for scheduling purposes. The trial is expected to last at least a week.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/courtney-love-twitter-trial-moved-68744

See also:

OMG! Twitter Trial Looks GTG*

Blog Law Online (Eric P. Robinson)
. . . If there is no pre-trial settlement, this would apparently be the first defamation trial in U.S. based on comments posted on Twitter. While this would be the first defamation case involving what could arguably be considered a new medium, the standard requirements in a libel case will apply: that is, Simorangkir will have to show that Love's Tweeted comments would have been reasonably understood to disparage Simorangkir, and that Simorangkir actually suffered damages as a result.
http://bloglawonline.blogspot.com/2011/01/omg-twitter-trial-looks-gtg.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter



Simorangkir v. Love, No. BC410593 (Cal. Super. filed March 26, 2009).
Status: Pending

Clothing designer Dawn Simorangkir sued singer Courtney Love for postings on Love’s blog (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=165705423) and Twitter account disparaging Simorangkir, from whom she expressed an interest in buying clothing, after they had a falling out.

Love responded in August 2009 with a motion to dismiss under California's anti-SLAPP law, which was denied in October.

Links and Case Documents:
Designer sues Courtney Love over web rants (Malaysian Insider, March 28, 2009)

Courtney Love's Crazy MySpace Posts Earn Her a Lawsuit (Cleveland Leader, March 29, 2009)

Love Loses Bid to Throw Out Defamation Case (Contact Music, Oct. 27, 2009)
Judge Allows Twitter-Libel Suit Against Rocker Love (On Point News, Oct. 27. 2009)
Complaint
Special motion to dismiss (anti-SLAPP motion)

Corbett v. Twitter

Corbett v. Twitter

STATUS: Dropped

Pennsylvania prosecutors sought a grand jury subpoena to Twitter, demanding the identity of two account holders , allegedly because they criticized the state attorney general. They said the identity of the Twitterers mattered if one was a defendant in a political corruption investigation, because it would show the defendant had a bad attitude that should earn him a higher sentence. According toa spokesman, the grand jury subpoena was dropped on May 21, 2010.

The two Twitterers, CasablancaPA and bfBarbie both received an e-mail from Twitter on Tuesday saying the company would respond tot he subpoena in a week 'unless we receive notice from you that a motion to quash the subpoena has been filed or that this matter is otherwise resolved."

Links and court documents
Subpoena (May 6, 2010)
Pennsylvania AG Dropping Twitter Subpoena, Wired, May 21, 2010
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tries to Unmask Twitter Critics, Wired, May 19, 2010

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

Siegal v. Kardashian, No. 09-93439 CA 15 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Dec. 29, 2009)

Status: Pending

Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet website has a page that links to news articles and press mentions of the diet. Several of these links suggested that Kim Kardashian was a fan of the diet. In October 2009, she took it upon herself to Tweet that she thought the diet was "unhealthy" and that the company was lying. On Dec. 25, her lawyers sent the site a cease and desist letter, asking that references to Kardashian be taken down.

Dr. Siegal brought suit Dec. 29, alleging that both the doctor and his company were defamed by the Tweets.

As of Jan. 6, 2010, there are no links on The Cookie Diet site to Kardashian.

Case information and links:
Complaint, filed Dec. 28, 2009
Kim Kardashian Sued for Twitter Defamation, THR, Esq., Jan. 4, 2010
Kim K: I'm Being Used by a Cookie Monster, TMZ.com, Dec. 25, 2009
Siegal v. Kardashian, Citizen Media Law Project,

Low and Tritt v. Pizza Kitchen, No. ____ (Tenn. Cir. Ct. filed Sept. 1, 2009).
Status: Pending.

Marketing company Low and Tritt sued the Pizza Kitchen restaurant in Knoxville over postings disparging the company on the restaurant's Twitter feed and Facebook page.

The messages at issue included, according to the suit, "Don't EVER use Lowandtritt marketing firm," and "Crooks - stolen email list and have tried to pressure me by threat of lawsuit to sign a license agreement to use their marketing materials."

In addition to the defamation claim, Low and Tritt is also suing for breach of contract and unpaid fees.

Links and Court Documents:
The Pizza Kitchen faces social media libel lawsuit
Facebook posts lead to $2M suit
Facebook posts by Knoxville restaurant owner lead to $2M lawsuit
Local restaurant owner facing $2 million libel lawsuit for online posts

Robinson v. Doe, No. ____________ (Idaho Dist. Ct. filing pending Aug. 2009).
Status: Filing pending.

Melissa Sue Robinson, a transgender candidate for Nampa, Idaho mayor in 2009, announced in August 2009 that she would sue the anonymous creator of a fake Twitter account with the username "WomanwithaPenis" that purports to be her. (Robinson's true Twitter account is "melisrob.")

Links and Case Documents:
http://www.fox12idaho.com/Global/story.asp?S=10975630&nav=menu439_4

CRIMINAL SENTENCING: Commonwealth v. Ruzal, No. ____ (Pa. C.P. 2009).
Status: Defendant sentenced to 33 days in jail

Defendant Scott Ruzal was convicted of driving while intoxicated in a March 16, 2009 trial. Before his sentencing, the prosecutor discovered that Ruzal had been sending Twitter messages during his trial commenting on the proceedings, such as “When all else fails, try ignorance. I watched four cops lie on a witness stand today and I didn’t say a word.”

At the May 7 sentencing, the prosecutor argued that the Tweets showed disrespect for law enforcement. Ruzal apologized for the drunken driving, but not for the comments, saying,“That wasn’t anything I said out of disrespect of the court. It was just an expression of a particular sentiment that I was feeling at the time.”

The judge sentenced Ruzal to 33 days in jail.

Links and Case Documents:
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/crime_courts/story/1276320.html