UC Berkeley’s law school dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, and his wife, law professor Catherine Fisk, faced a bizarre scene this week when third-year students invited into their home for a dinner held a disruptive protest and refused to leave. The students accused Fisk of assault after she tried to pull a microphone from the hands of Malak Afaneh, leader of Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine. Continue reading “Berkeley Students Disrupt Dinner at Law Dean’s Home; Accuse Law Professor of Assault”
Category: Torts
The Associated Press (AP) is reportedly looking at a possible lawsuit after a bombshell article on GOP Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno was found to contain serious errors and contradictions. The article by Brian Slodysko suggested that Moreno had posted on the website Adult Friend Finder (AFF) to find male lovers. The story was eagerly picked up by newspapers like The Washington Post. Moreno is a Trump-backed anti-establishment candidate who is on the ballot this Tuesday in the Ohio primary. Continue reading “Associated Press Under Fire for Salacious Article on Ohio Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno”
We have been writing about the alarming record of the Biden dogs attacking staff and Secret Service agents through the years. At first, the story was a humorous distraction as some of us wondered if the First Family had a vicious dog. It then became more alarming as each of the dogs were found to be attacking staff and had to be eventually removed. Even more worrisome was the response of the White House and President Joe Biden, who dismissed a Secret Service agent’s account and brushed off the incidents. Now, a report indicates that Commander is responsible for at least 24 attacks. The record shows not only a lack of concern by the Bidens for staff, but a bizarre litany of vicious German Shepherds in their care. Continue reading “Master and Commander: The Biden Dogs Accused of Dozens of Additional Attacks at White House”
Below is my column in The Hill on the legal and legislative actions taken with regard to increasing numbers of robotic “companions” around the world. The resulting debate is testing the limits of privacy and sexual freedom.
Here is the column:
It takes a lot to get me to raise fairness concerns over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. I was highly critical of Cuomo in his dismissal of the rights of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation fight when Cuomo not only insisted that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford must be believed but demanded that Kavanaugh take a polygraph examination. However, Cuomo has legitimate objections to a new Justice Department finding that he sexually harassed 13 women over an eight-year period. Continue reading “The Biden Administration Declares Cuomo May Be a Brutal, Serial Sexual Harasser … Or Not”
On Wednesday, I received a letter from Bryan M. Sullivan, a partner at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP, who is the lawyer of Kevin Morris (who is the lawyer for Hunter Biden). The letter warns that I could face a defamation action if I do not retract (or if I repeat) my criticism of Morris’s representational relationship with Hunter. Putting the personal invectives aside, Sullivan did offer a couple of details on the possible defense of Morris in a pending ethics complaint brought by a conservative legal group.
In my torts class, we discuss the often uncertain line between ordinary citizens and public figures. The latter classification places a person under a higher standard to prove defamation. This week, the South Carolina Supreme Court handed down a major ruling in Cruce v. Berkeley County School Dist. that sharply curtailed the definition of a public official and a public figure in a case involving a high school football coach. Continue reading “South Carolina Supreme Court Declares High School Football Coach Neither a Public Official Nor a Public Figure”
In July 2023, we discussed the lawsuit of Notre Dame Sociology Professor Tamara Kay against the student newspaper the Irish Rover. I was highly skeptical of not just the complaint but the facts alleged by Professor Kay. As stated at the time, Kay’s claims were challenged as false after the review of other journalists. According to Justice Steven David, I may have been understated. The case was dismissed this week by St. Joseph County, Indiana, Superior Court under Indiana’s Anti-SLAPP law. Continue reading “Notre Dame Professor Loses Defamation Case Over Pro-Abortion Advocacy”
The long-awaited tort action from the family of Ashli Babbitt has now been filed in Southern California. Babbitt was shot and killed on Jan. 6th and her family is seeking $30 million in a wrongful death action. Equally important, the lawsuit could force additional answers to why Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed the unarmed protester as she attempted to climb through a window near the House Chamber. I have previously raised concerns over the shooting as conflicting with governing standards on the use of lethal force. I also noted contradictions in Byrd’s own statements and the government’s conclusion that this was a justified killing. The complaint below adds some troubling facts to these prior concerns.
Continue reading “Family of Ashli Babbitt Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Action”
In teaching torts, I begin my discussion of the intentional infliction of emotional distress by having students write in their notes “not everything is the infliction of emotional distress.” The reason for the cautionary line is that law students tend (particularly on exams) to call any insult an infliction of emotional distress, ignoring the elements of the tort requiring severe forms of conduct or speech to qualify. That line came to mind in reading the recent decision of the Utah Court of Appeals rejecting tort claims, including an IIED claim, in Keisel v. Westbrook. The case involves Russell Westbrook, the Thunder’s point guard who reacted angrily to the taunting of Shane Keisel, a Jazz fan, at a game in March 2019. Keisel brought an array of tort claims that have now been correctly rejected by the courts. Continue reading ““Disagree Better”: Court Rejects Torts Claims of Taunting Fan Against Russell Westbrook”
There is an interesting case out of Harvard where OBGYN professor and founder of Boston IVF, Dr. Merle Berger, is being sued for allegedly inseminating a woman with his own sperm. It is reminiscent of the case of Dr. Donald Cline who was accused of impregnating dozens of women with his own sperm. Continue reading “Harvard Professor Sued for Allegedly Inseminating Woman With His Own Sperm”
There is an interesting controversy brewing between NBC and the Trump campaign over a parody using the image of NBC News senior Capitol Hill correspondent Garrett Haake. The network has asked the campaign to take down the video that attacks Trump’s political opponents while using a voiceover that sounds like Haake. While Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita has pointed out that this is parody “to keep @NBCNews Lawyers off my a**,” it may not be enough. NBC could have a case under torts. Continue reading “NBC Demands Trump Campaign Take Down Parody Video”
The New York Times lost a critical effort to block the defamation lawsuit brought by University of Alabama basketball player Kai Spears. However, the Times was able to toss out the false light claim in what could be a fascinating fight going forward. Continue reading “New York Times Loses Effort to Block Kai Spears Defamation Action”
The parents of Holden Armenta have retained counsel and sent a retraction letter to Deadspin in moves that usually precede the filing of defamation actions. Armenta was the target of a vicious and false attack by Deadspin’s Carron J. Phillips. The writer has long been controversial, but Deadspin retained him. It could now come at a high cost, but the defamation action will face challenges. Continue reading “Deadspin Defamation: Parents of Holden Armenta Move Toward Libel Action Over Blackface Allegation”
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has issued a warning that a story about its staff holding hostages in Gaza is possible “misinformation” and should be removed from the media. The UN has long supported censorship and we previously discussed how figures like World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for such action to combat what he called the “infodemic” — a claim made as his own organization came under fire for its actions vis-a-vis China on the pandemic. Now UNRWA is raising possible defamation of the group. Indeed, the latest statement reads like a notice letter in a defamation case, but how serious is it? Continue reading ““Must Stop Immediately”: United Nations Declares UNRWA Terrorism Story “Misinformation””