In a class action wage and hour action, the trial court denied defendant’s petition to compel arbitration, implicitly finding defendant did not present evidence to support its claim there was an arbitration agreement. At the hearing, defendant asserted plaintiff electronically signed a 2011 arbitration agreement, but did not explain how it verified there was such […]
Call Me This And Call Me That, But Call Yourself. . .Outside The Jurisdiction Of California.
In a Facebook spat between skin care product competitors, one sued the other for defamation. Plaintiff resides in California, but defendant does not. The appellate court held that posting defamatory statements about another person on Facebook, “while knowing that person resides in the forum state, is insufficient in itself to create the minimum contacts necessary […]
46 Months For Un-Social Media Postings & Stalking.
Criminal defendant sent sexually suggestive and threatening texts and emails to his former girlfriend and her friends. He created a Facebook page in her name and posted nude photos of her on it. A jury found him guilty of stalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A (2)(A) & 2261 (b)(5). On appeal, defendant contends […]
To Every [ Defamation ] Action There Is Always Opposed An Equal Reaction–Isaac Newton.
At the time a lawyer was representing plaintiffs in an underlying action against defendants [the plaintiffs in the present action] for RICO violations [18 U.S.C. § 1961], the lawyer issued a press release captioned “FBI SAID TO BE INVESTIGATING GETFUGU’S CARL FREER,” the defendants his clients were suing. Later, the same lawyer issued the following Tweet: “GetFugu […]
Unauthorized Use Of Another’s Password Constitutes Identity Theft.
After minor received another person’s password and account information, he used it to gain access to her Facebook and posted obscene messages on two pages and altered her profile. Even though defendant did not obtain the password and account information “willfully,” because he had not solicited it, his use of the information was unlawful and […]
May I Speak With NJweedman.com, Please?
Petitioner, who hails from New Jersey, provides marijuana to the sick from a Rastafarian temple and operates a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. As a cult figure, he is known as NJweedman and operates a website called NJweedman.com. On the site, he calls upon jurists to acquit him on pending criminal charges. He petitioned […]
Facebook Class Action Settlement Approved.
Facebook launched a program called “Beacon” which updated a member’s profile to reflect actions the member took on websites belonging to companies contracting with Facebook. Thus, for example, if a member rented a movie through the participating website Blockbuster.com, Blockbuster would transmit information about the rental to Facebook, and Facebook would broadcast that information to […]
Supreme Court Denied Review In Order For Juror To Disclose Facebook Posts.
A few months ago, we reported on a unique order involving a juror and his Facebook posts. The California Supreme Court just denied review, so the case stands. Juror Number One v. Sup. Ct. (Royster) (Cal. Sup. Ct.; August 22, 2012) (Case No. S203713). Here is what we previously reported: Following a criminal conviction, the […]