A district judge ruled for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in a suit that claimed the newsaper had defamed a woman by calling her a “serial squatter” and a “tenant from hell.” The judge said the newspaper used court records correctly in portraying the woman. -db From the SF Weekly, October 26, 2011, by Ellen Huet. Full story
A prosecutor alleged that the Salt Lake Tribune libeled her in a report accusing her of making racially charged remarks about a candidate for district attorney. She was demoted before the Tribune acknowledged that the accusations were not true. The prosecutor said the article was written to promote a Democratic candidate over the Republican incumbent in the race for district attorney. -db From the Courthouse News Service, October 27, 2011, by Jonny Bonner. Full story
In an unprecedented case in Oregon, a doctor is suing a blogger for stating incorrectly on Twitter that the doctor lost his medical license and his right to practice. In fact, the doctor was reprimanded for allegedly touching a female patient inappropriately and required to have a chaperone present when treating female patients. -db From a commentary in the Seattle Weekly, October 11, 2011, by Curtis Cartier. Full story
A California appeals court ruled that the Korean Broadcasting System had not defamed Yuin University in statements that it was a “degree factory.” A judge wrote that “since the ‘degree factory’ statement was cautiously phrased in terms of apparency, the statement is less likely to be reasonably understood as a statement of fact rather than opinion” and hence protected speech. -db From the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, October 6, 201, by Sherri M. Okamoto. Full story
A Miami company that delivers meals has sued Yelp for defamation claiming Yelp showed negative reviews before positive ones. One legal expert thinks the company, YS Catering, does not have a strong case since the Federal Communications Decency Act exempts online service companies from defamation claims based on users’ posts. -db From MediaPost, September 26, 2011, by Wendy Davis. Full story