Topic: Litigation

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

Jay Greathouse (US)By Jay Greathouse (US) on Posted in Litigation
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

James LeitoBy James Leito on Posted in Litigation, Privacy
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in General, Litigation
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

By on Posted in Copyright, Litigation
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

Seth Jaffe (US)By Seth Jaffe (US) on Posted in General, Litigation, Privacy
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in General, Litigation
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

By on Posted in Litigation, Trademark
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

Seth Jaffe (US)By Seth Jaffe (US) on Posted in Litigation, Social media policies
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

Jurors and social media

James LeitoBy James Leito on Posted in Litigation, Social media policies
A recent article published in the Duke Law and Technology Review sheds new light on the jury’s use (or more precisely, lack of use) of social media when given proper instructions from the Court. (See Amy J. St. Eve, et al., More from the #Jury Box: The Latest on Juries and Social Media, 12 Duke … Continue reading

Online v. Offline Agreements: Braverman v. Yelp

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Defamation, Litigation
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

Heather SherrodBy Heather Sherrod on Posted in Litigation
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Litigation, Privacy, Security
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

By on Posted in Litigation
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

By on Posted in Litigation
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

Seth Jaffe (US)By Seth Jaffe (US) on Posted in Litigation, Social media policies
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

Heather SherrodBy Heather Sherrod on Posted in Litigation
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Litigation
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Copyright, Litigation
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

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Litigation
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

By on Posted in Litigation
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

By on Posted in Defamation, Litigation
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

Twitter Follower Case Settled

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Litigation
Social media has led to some new forms of intellectual property, including the “Twitter follower” (a registered user of microblogging site Twitter that is interested in the postings of another user and that other user permits him/her to receive those postings automatically). A case that might have brought some clarity to the question of the value … Continue reading

Facebook Information: Privacy v. Discovery

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Litigation, Privacy
When can a party to a lawsuit get access to another party’s Facebook-posted materials for discovery purposes without violating privacy rights? On November 14, 2012, New York’s Appellate Division ruled on that question in an auto accident/personal injury matter involving two plaintiffs. See Richards v. Hertz Corp., No. 2011-02807 (N.Y. App. Div. Nov. 14, 2012. … Continue reading
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