(Podcast) The Briefing: IP Rights and the “Public Good” Exemption to California’s Anti-SLAPP Law: An Update
The Briefing: IP Rights and the “Public Good” Exemption to California’s Anti-SLAPP Law: An Update
“SLAPP” is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The term was coined in the 1980s to describe lawsuits initiated to silence public speech about issues of public importance. Under the original...more
Ever since the landmark case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), to succeed on a defamation claim, plaintiffs who are also public figures have a constitutional requirement to show that the defendant acted...more
The 1964 Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, which requires public officials to prove “actual malice” to succeed on a defamation claim, was a watershed moment in defamation law. Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts was...more
On January 8, 2025, Governor Mike DeWine signed the unanimously passed Senate Bill 237, also known as the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), into law. UPEPA is designed to protect individuals’ constitutional...more
If you are considering filing a defamation lawsuit or other speech-based claim, you are likely aware that your claim may be challenged based upon free-speech principles or that the defendant may claim that their conduct is...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has once again revived Sarah Palin’s longstanding defamation suit against The New York Times. The Second Circuit’s opinion highlights important procedural and substantive issues in...more
The Appellate Court’s recent decision in Robinson v. V.D. has a little something for any practitioner who deals with questions of constitutional law or civil procedure. Among other things, the decision held that statements...more
The National Football League has paid more than $1.3 billion to settle claims from former professional athletes who suffered neurological damage due to concussions sustained while playing, with 4% of that earmarked for their...more
Yesterday, July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania joins more than 30 states that have enacted anti-SLAPP laws, providing protection to journalists and media outlets from meritless claims....more
Florida has introduced new legislation and implemented changes to various regulations impacting community associations, many of which have either gone into effect or will go into effect beginning July 1, 2024. This...more
In Rose Bui v. Ngo Ky (No. G062338, filed May 8, 2024 and certified for partial publication), the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District reversed a trial court’s grant of a special motion to strike Plaintiff’s complaint...more
A New York court once again declined to dismiss Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation over Fox News’s coverage of Donald Trump’s “Big Lie.” The court found that the parent company, Fox Corporation, could...more
In the case of Martinez v. Zoom Info Technologies, the Ninth Circuit addressed the “Public Interest” exemption to California’s anti-SLAPP law. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar talk about this case on this episode of The...more
On November 30, 2023, the Colorado Court of Appeals in Tender Care v. Barnett tested the limits of Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law in considering whether an individual’s online review of a company could invoke the protections of...more
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal, following the guidance issued by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v Pointes Protection Association1 (Pointes Protection) and Hansman v Neufeld2 (Neufeld), has issued its...more
Last week, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed the quantum of evidence required for a plaintiff to support a prima facie case and survive a motion to dismiss brought under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, Texas’s...more
Le 19 mai 2023, la Cour suprême du Canada (la « CSC ») a publié sa décision dans l’affaire Hansman c. Neufeld (l’« arrêt Hansman »), soit la plus récente affaire hautement médiatisée portant sur les poursuites « anti-SLAPP »...more
The Supreme Court of Canada, in commenting on anti-SLAPP legislation for the third time in the span of three years, has confirmed that even potentially meritorious claims must be dismissed if the public interest in the...more
On May 19, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada (Court) released its decision in Hansman v. Neufeld (Hansman), the latest high-profile anti-SLAPP case in Canada. Hansman clarifies the circumstances in which courts will dismiss a...more
In 2022 and early 2023, voting machine companies and the parents of school shooting victims won a string of court rulings against the media companies and personalities that had allegedly spread defamatory, viral lies about...more
In Safavi-Naini v. Rubin Thomlinson LLP, 2023 ONCA 86, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the dismissal of a defamation action under s. 137.1 of Ontario’s Courts of Justice Act (CJA). The decision provides guidance...more
The California Third District Court of Appeal recently upheld the actions of a healthcare facility reporting a provider to the National Practitioner Data Bank who resigned while under investigation. In doing so, the court...more