Law 360 Media & Entertainment Sept 25 headlines
From Media & Entertainment Law360
| TOP NEWS Feds Face ‘Extremely Short’ Deadline To Argue TikTok Ban A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to respond to TikTok by Friday afternoon if it wants to continue with its planned ban of the popular social media app on Sunday, a deadline the administration’s attorneys called “extremely short.” Read full article Fox News Beats Slander Suit Over Carlson ‘Extortion’ Remark A Manhattan federal judge ruled Thursday that Fox News host Tucker Carlson didn’t defame an ex-Playboy model when he likened her involvement with President Donald Trump to “extortion,” declaring that most viewers would not expect “actual facts” from Carlson. Order attached | Read full article » Hawley Pushes Bill To Let Social Media Users Sue Platforms Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., urged colleagues from the Senate floor Thursday to advance his bill that would let social media users sue Big Tech platforms if they believe they have been silenced or discriminated against. Read full article » Bolton’s Defense Of Book Release Meets Skeptical Judge A D.C. federal judge repeatedly fired back Thursday at John Bolton’s defense team’s assertion that the former national security adviser fully complied with his government contract before publishing his highly anticipated White House memoir, which detailed an unflattering account of President Donald Trump’s conduct in office. Read full article » Trump’s Niece Says He Cheated Her Out Of Family Inheritance President Donald Trump and two of his siblings tricked, bullied and swindled their niece, Mary L. Trump, out of her inherited share of the family business, fleecing her out of tens of millions of dollars, according to a lawsuit she filed in New York state court on Thursday. Complaint attached | Read full article » DEALS 6 Firms Build EW Scripps’ $2.65B Ion Media Purchase The E.W. Scripps Co. on Thursday agreed to buy broadcasting business Ion Media for $2.65 billion, in a deal that features a $600 million equity investment from Berkshire Hathaway and was put together with help from law firms BakerHostetler, Brooks Pierce, Simpson Thacher, Kirkland, Skadden and Cooley. Read full article » CAPITAL MARKETS AMC To Sell 15M Shares To Stay Afloat Amid Pandemic Theater chain giant AMC Entertainment said Thursday it would be selling up to 15 million shares with the guidance of Weil and Latham to raise money as many of its U.S. theaters remain closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a regulatory filing.Read full article » INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WDTX Judge ‘Confident’ Trials Can Start Oct. 1Texas’ federal courthouse in Waco can open back up for trials on Oct. 1, its only district court judge said in an order. Order attached | Read full article » ‘LOVE’ Artist’s Estate Says Deal ‘Completely Blindsided’ It The estate of the late sculptor Robert Indiana, best known for his “LOVE” piece, told a New York federal court on Wednesday that it was “completely blindsided” by a deal between the estate’s sole beneficiary and an art foundation suing the estate over Indiana’s work. Letter attached | Read full article » PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION Analysis Ginsburg’s Successor Likely To Back Narrow TCPA Reading Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s absence on the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to swing a heated dispute over what qualifies as an autodialer under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in businesses’ favor, especially if she is succeeded by a front-runner from the Seventh Circuit who authored a key opinion on the issue. Read full article » EMPLOYMENT Ex-Grindr VP Says She Was Fired For Questioning PPP Loan Grindr’s former vice president of finance on Wednesday accused the dating app of firing her after she questioned a Paycheck Protection Program loan the company had received and that she believed violated Treasury Department guidelines. Complaint attached | Read full article » Hearst Accused Of Enabling Exec Who Demeaned WorkersAn executive at Hearst Communications mocked and demeaned older and female employees with “little more than a slap on the wrist” from his managers, according to a suit filed in New York state court by a former director who says the conditions led her to quit. Complaint attached | Read full article » SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR J2 Insiders Unjustly Enriched By $200M Investment, Suit Says Digital media business J2 Global Inc. was hit with a shareholder derivative suit Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court claiming certain former or current insiders were unjustly enriched through the company’s $200 million investment in another venture affiliated with them. Read full article » LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE Backpage Execs Want Judge DQ’d Over Spouse AG’s ‘Bias’ Former Backpage.com executives accused of facilitating prostitution argued Wednesday that an Arizona federal judge must recuse herself from the case due to comments by her husband, who is the state’s attorney general, that show a “strong bias” against the now-defunct site. Motion attached | Read full article » Judge Transfers Ex-Prosecutor’s Netflix Defamation Suit A Florida federal judge ruled Thursday that a former Manhattan district attorney’s defamation suit against Netflix over its docudrama on the Central Park jogger rape case belongs in New York, where most of the potential witnesses are located. Order attached | Read full article » Ex-Pimco CEO Gets OK To Appeal ‘Varsity Blues’ Sentence The former CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co. can ask the First Circuit to shave time off his nine-month prison term for a guilty plea in the “Varsity Blues” college admissions case, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, saying his claim that prosecutors withheld evidence is at least plausible. Order attached | Read full article » IMMIGRATION DHS Proposes Fixed Time Limits On Student, Journalist Visas The U.S Department of Homeland Security proposed a new rule Thursday that would place fixed time limits on student and journalist visas, saying it’s concerned about the current visa programs being abused and jeopardizing national security. Notice attached | Read full article » RETAIL & COMMERCE Coronavirus Litigation: The Week In Review Disney faces claims that it wrongfully barred a maskless autistic boy from one of its stores, a racing group says Coca-Cola used the pandemic to ditch a $34 million sponsorship agreement, and an ex-UPS worker says she was wrongfully fired for taking time off work to quarantine.Read full article » EXPERT ANALYSIS Aviation Watch: Controllers’ Liability In Kobe Bryant CrashTwo air traffic controllers who communicated with the pilot of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter before its crash were recently joined to the litigation over the accident for allegedly failing to provide the pilot with radar service — but the cause of action against them rests on legal quicksand, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert. Read full article » A Road Map For Drafting Persuasive Discovery Motions Best practices that can help litigators write convincing discovery motions include thinking about the audience, addressing a few key questions, and leaving out boilerplate from supporting briefs, says Tom Connally at Hogan Lovells. Read full article » |
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Analysis
What Does A GC Do When Told: ‘Pay Up, Or Else’?
General counsel have a dirty little secret: Sometimes their companies receive extortion demands, and occasionally the organization gives in. Here, Law360 looks at how GCs guide their companies in deciding whether to yield to a criminal’s demand.
Weil Joins Ranks Of BigLaw Firms Giving Pandemic Bonuses
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has unveiled a one-time package of bonus rewards for associates who worked during the COVID-19 crisis, making it the latest BigLaw firm to offer such associate bonuses.
Orrick, K&L Gates Latest To End COVID-19 Salary Cuts
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and K&L Gates LLP confirmed Thursday that they are eliminating the salary reductions implemented earlier this year, joining several other BigLaw firms to roll back austerity measures after months weathering the coronavirus pandemic.
Analysis
Law Grads Fear Tech Troubles Ahead Of Remote Bar Exam
Less than two weeks before thousands of attorney hopefuls in over a dozen states are scheduled to take the bar exam remotely, technological problems ranging from trouble clicking multiple-choice options to suspicious money transfers after downloading the exam program are cropping up, suggesting a remote exam is easier said than done.
DC To Allow Limited Diploma Privilege Amid Pandemic
Washington, D.C.’s highest court ruled Thursday it will allow certain recent law school graduates to obtain a D.C. bar license and begin practicing law without taking or passing an exam due to widespread disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attys Brace For Tidal Wave Of Pandemic-Era Malpractice Suits
A confluence of economic, emotional and technological woes inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic will stir up a storm of lawyer-targeted lawsuits and insurance claims in the coming months and years, a panel of professional liability experts said Thursday.
ABA Insurer Survey Shows Steady Flow Of Malpractice Claims
The “usual suspects” of practice areas that historically lead the legal industry in malpractice claims continued to top the list in recent years, according to data from the American Bar Association and a panel of experts, even as the COVID-19 pandemic promises to radically alter the trends.
Freshfields Elects 1st Female Senior Partner In Its History
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP on Thursday announced the appointment of a new leadership team that includes the London-based law firm’s first female senior partner-elect.
Barrett Remains Top Contender For Supreme Court Pick
Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett appears to have maintained her spot atop a short list of U.S. Supreme Court candidates ahead of President Donald Trump’s public announcement Saturday, conservative sources told Law360 on Thursday.
Analysis
Ginsburg’s Death Fuels Push For Progressive Mass. Top Court
With the recent deaths of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Massachusetts Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, legal experts say Bay State Gov. Charlie Baker faces added pressure to appoint progressive state justices to fill Justice Gants’ seat and another vacancy to offset a rightward shift on the nation’s highest court.
Senate Easily Promotes Magistrate Judge To Va. District Court
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to promote a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, approving a jurist with experience as both a prosecutor and a public defender to keep cases moving in the district, which is dubbed the “rocket docket.”
NJ Assembly OKs Judge Protections After Salas Shooting
The New Jersey Assembly unanimously passed legislation Thursday that would bar the online posting of judges’ and prosecutors’ home addresses or phone numbers following a shooting at the Garden State residence of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas that left her son dead and husband wounded.
Global Firm Fragomen Acquires Immigration Tech Co.
International immigration law firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP has acquired an immigration technology service to act as the cornerstone of a new Fragomen Technologies Inc. subsidiary, the company announced.
Dyson Looks For Americas GC As Division’s Top Atty Resigns
The general counsel of the Americas division at Dyson has announced her plans to leave the company, which designs and manufactures vacuum cleaners and other household appliances, according to a recent post on LinkedIn.
