A California appellate court has ruled that a lawsuit by indie rock musicians against Rolling Stone over an article that was surrounded by a fold-out ad for Camel cigarettes should be dismissed under the state anti-SLAPP statute. AAN, along with several other media organizations, filed an amicus brief last summer in support of Rolling Stone in the case.

Continue ReadingRolling Stone Wins Anti-SLAPP Decision in Misappropriation Suit

A three-judge panel of the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in December upheld a U.S. District Court's 2008 dismissal of a defamation suit brought against the Scene and one of its reporters by an Ohio doctor. The circuit court found Dr. Edward Patrick failed to demonstrate the threshold requirement of falsity in regards to a 2004 article that the doctor claimed falsely suggested his resume was misleading, his medical credentials were not valid, and that his board certification process was fraudulent.

Continue ReadingAppeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Suit Against Cleveland Scene

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a 2007 lower court decision in its ruling in Wilson v. Central Intelligence Agency, which barred the former CIA officer from revealing the length of her tenure with the agency in her 2007 memoir. The three-judge panel said that the CIA made a good argument to keep the information secret and that it would not "second-guess" the agency's decision. AAN was part of a group that filed an amicus brief supporting Wilson in the case.

Continue ReadingCourt Rules CIA Didn’t Violate Valerie Plame Wilson’s Free Speech Rights

A New York judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against the social networking giant, ruling that the site isn't responsible for false posts by users. In her ruling, Judge Debra James said that "Facebook is entitled to the liability shield conferred by the Communications Decency Act," which protects websites from defamation suits based on user-generated content.

Continue ReadingJudge Tosses Defamation Suit Against Facebook

A federal judge this week threw out Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart's lawsuit seeking to force Craigslist to pull its "adult services" ads, ruling that the ads aren't explicitly offering sex. The judge said the online classifieds site is merely an "intermediary" that is not legally "culpable for aiding and abetting" folks who may commit illegal acts. "Sheriff Dart may continue to use Craigslist's website to identify and pursue individuals who post allegedly unlawful content," the judge wrote in his ruling. "But he cannot sue Craigslist for their conduct."

Continue ReadingFederal Judge Tosses Sheriff’s Suit Against Craigslist