A California teacher won a round in court when a state appeals court ruled that when she compared her gum-chewing student to a prostitute chewing gum, it was not a statement of objective fact and consequently not defamation. From the First Amendment Center, July 2, 2012, by David L. Hudson Jr. Full story
A New York appeals court decided that a upper New York state man could not sue for defamation after someone called him gay. The court argued that the history of legal precedents on the act was based on the assumption that it was a disgrace to be described as gay which is now no longer the case. -db From the New York Post, May 31, 2012, by Dareh Gregorian. Full story
A New York federal court ruled that scientific hypotheses are not libelous so that a pharmaceutical company ONY, Inc. could not sue the Journal of Perinatology for publishing a critical study of one of their products. The court said that the dispute should be played out in peer-reviewed scientific journals rather than the courtroom. -db From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, May 25, 2012, by Raymond Baldino. Full story
In a $30 million lawsuit, Phaedra Parks, an attorney featured in “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” claims that Vibe Holdings published articles accusing her of criminal activity. The lawsuit claimed that the accusations originated with a former client that Parks represented briefly but with whom she had no other business or personal relations. -db From the Courthouse News Service, May 24, 2012, by Marimer Matos. Full story
A former basketball star for the UCLA Bruins is suing Sports Illustrated for defamation. The player claims that a story in the magazine made false statements that he bullied fellow players. The lawsuit, that asks for $10 million in damages, includes sworn declarations disputing the facts alleging the bullying. -db From the Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2012, by Chris Foster. Full story