Topic: Litigation

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Social Media and Potential Jurors

Social media profiles and postings by potential jurors can provide litigation counsel with substantial information about these individuals, including their likes, dislikes, and views on various issues and potential biases. A March 25, 2016 federal trial court ruling, however, led both parties to agree to forego these searches.… Continue reading

Hacked private messages used in court

A South African high court recently ruled that a civil litigant’s private Facebook messages, which were unlawfully obtained by the hacking of his personal account, were nevertheless admissible as evidence against him. In Harvey v Niland, the litigants were members of the same corporation.  Niland was also an employee of the corporation.  After leaving his … Continue reading

Proving the authenticity of a digital account at trial: a lesson from the second circuit

While certain state legislatures may be getting closer to understanding digital assets and digital accounts in trusts and estates, using digital assets and digital accounts as evidence in the federal court system remains a murkier proposition. In United States vs. Vayner, 2014 WL 4942227 (Oct. 3, 2014 2d Cir. ), a jury had convicted the … Continue reading

Pre-suit discovery on social media

A Kings County, New York court has held that a plaintiff may obtain social media information (such as another’s user information and evidence posted through social media) as part of pre-suit discovery under New York law. This decision could have ramifications in a number of jurisdictions that permit pre-suit discovery to preserve evidence and/or obtain … Continue reading

Don’t tell bloggers about NAD wins

If a company sues a competitor about an advertisement that the company believes is false or misleading about the company’s product, a court victory is frequently cause for a press release, as well as announcements on social media and to bloggers.  When the complaint is made to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council … Continue reading

Agence France Presse v. Morel – THIRD UPDATE

We have posted previously on Agence France Presse v. Morel, the initial opinion of which was issued January 2013, as well as several updates in the case since then. The case so far Briefly summarizing the case so far, photographer Daniel Morel posted some photographs on Twitter.  Agence France Presse (“AFP”) copied eight of those … Continue reading

No Secret in Brazil

The popular social networking app “Secret” has reportedly been temporarily enjoined in Brazil. A civil court in Brazil ordered both Google and Apple to remove Secret from their respective app stores, and to pull the apps from the phones of their users. In its opinion, the Brazilian court raised concerns that Secret’s anonymity feature can … Continue reading

Social media ads and physical injury

Can social media ads lead a court to hold a business responsible for a physical assault that occurred after the customer left the business’ premises?  On July 9, 2014, a federal trial court in Pennsylvania ruled in Paynton v Spuds that the restaurant’s marketing and ads on Facebook were a “significant” factor in denying the … Continue reading

Google – Hanginout in court

In November 2013, Hanginout, Inc. (“Hanginout”) filed a lawsuit against Google Inc. (“Google”) alleging, among other things, that Google had infringed on Hanginout’s HANGINOUT mark. Hanginout, a Virginia based social media company, uses its HANGINOUT mark for its interactive video response platform, which enables its users to create, promote, and sell their own brands by … Continue reading

Beware of the threatening tweet

Early April saw the arrest of a 14-year-old girl who sent a threatening tweet aimed at American Airlines.  Tweeting under her own account, this girl, identified only as Sarah, posted “hello my name’s Ibrahim and I’m from Afghanistan. I’m part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I’m gonna do something really big bye.”  American … Continue reading

Online v. Offline Agreements: Braverman v. Yelp

A New York state trial court recently ruled in a long-running dispute between a cosmetic dentist and Yelp, the online consumer review site. Braverman v. Yelp, Inc., No. 158299-2013 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 24, 2014). The dentist originally complained that Yelp had defamed him by permitting negative reviews about him to appear on Yelp’s site.  That claim … Continue reading

Settlement forfeited over Facebook post

Civil lawsuits are most frequently resolved by an out of court settlement. Employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuits are no exception. When a company makes the business decision to settle a civil lawsuit, the company generally requires the plaintiff(s) to agree to  terms of confidentiality and requires that confidentiality provision be included in the settlement agreement. A confidentiality provision … Continue reading

Minors’ credit card purchases

If your social media page permits a user to purchase goods or services from you, a December 20, 2013 ruling from the Northern District of California may be of interest. The case involves minors using their parents’ credit cards without authorization (in 2011) in order to purchase several hundred dollars’ worth of Facebook Credits.I.B. v. … Continue reading

LinkedIn office locations not enough for personal jurisdiction

Since 1961, plaintiff MetroMedia Company has used the Metromedia name in connection with a number of ventures, and owns several valid federal trademark registrations incorporating the name and mark METROMEDIA. In 1992, defendant Ronald Cowan formed a company with Susan Conway, which was later converted to Metromedia, Inc. in 2010 and to a partnership named … Continue reading

Agence France Presse v. Morel – 2nd update

We have written previously about a court opinion relating to photos posted on Twitter, in Agence France Presse v. Morel, the opinion of which was issued in January. The relevant facts from the case are as follows: Agence France Presse (“AFP”) provided photographer Daniel Morel’s copyrighted images to Getty Images (US), Inc. (“Getty”), who then … Continue reading

District of Nevada OKs plaintiffs’ Facebook ad for collective action

A Nevada federal district court recently refused to enjoin plaintiffs’ counsel’s solicitation of potential class members via an advertising campaign on Facebook and Twitter. In Gamble v. Boyd Gaming Corp., No. 2:13-cv-01009-JCM-PAL (D. Nev. Nov. 20, 2013), defendant Boyd Gaming accused plaintiffs’ counsel of using “false and misleading” advertisements in its attempt to identify and … Continue reading

Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean: Private facebook posts are protected

On August 29, 2013, the District of New Jersey ruled that the federal Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) covers “private” Facebook wall posts.  The plaintiff, a registered nurse and paramedic, sued her former employer in federal court asserting a number of claims including violations of the SCA.  The SCA prohibits unauthorized access of stored wire and … Continue reading

Facebook not permitted to be sole means of service

We previously covered a court ruling that the Federal Trade Commission was permitted to supplement actual service of a complaint with Facebook service. “Service of Process Via Facebook,” Apr. 4, 2013. On July 9, a federal trial court in Kansas faced the issue of whether service via Facebook was acceptable as the sole means of service … Continue reading

YouTube Class Action

On May 15, 2013, a federal district court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class action certification in a case involving YouTube. The Football Ass’n Premier League Ltd et al v. YouTube Inc., No. 1:07-cv-03582 (S.D.N.Y. May 15, 2013). We had previously covered the case involving Viacom’s lawsuit against YouTube, where the same district court ruled, on … Continue reading

Service of process via Facebook

On March 7, 2013, the Southern District of New York ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) could serve foreign defendants via Facebook and e-mail in connection with a case where the FTC charged defendants with a violation of U.S. law relating to deceptive conduct.[1] According to the FTC, the underlying complaint related to an … Continue reading

Agence France Presse v. Morel & The Scope of Twitter’s Copyright License

Despite the variety of legal recourse available to copyright owners, exclusive rights to creative content posted in the Twittersphere can sometimes be difficult to enforce and defend.  Complications due to social media websites’ frequently-changing terms of service and viral gossip such as Facebook’s recent “copyright hoax” can leave the copyright owner doubting the strength of … Continue reading

Anonymous Negative Reviews

Austin-based cleaning company Austin Gutter King Corporation, Inc. made headline news in Texas this week by filing a lawsuit against the poster of a negative review of its business on Google Places, the search engine’s business listing and review website. The review originally came from a user named “Norma Lee,” but a court-ordered request from … Continue reading
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