A California jury dismissed a lawsuit against Courtney Love accused of defaming her former lawyer in a Twitter post that held that the lawyer was “bought off” while representing Love in a lawsuit against the managers of the estate of her dead husband Kurt Cobain. The case attracted considerable notoriety partly because it was the first defamation case involving Twitter. (The Hollywood Reporter, January 24, 2014, by Eriq Gardner)
The verdict rested on the failure of the lawyer, Rhonda Holmes, to prove that Love acted with actual malice or with reckless disregard for the truth. The jury determined that Holmes was a public figure so the actual malice standard applied to the alleged defamatory statement. (Digital Media Law Project, February 13, 2014, by Eric P. Robinson)