Media & Communications Law
Law Prof Drops Privacy Suit Against Above the Law; Blog Offers Prof Guest Spot
Posted Nov 4, 2009, 04:20 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A law professor at the University of Miami has seemingly changed his mind about the federal invasion of privacy suit he filed only last week against the publisher of Above the Law over a 2007 post on the self-described tabloid law blog.
Plaintiff Donald Marvin Jones today voluntarily dismissed the Southern District of Florida action in a one-sentence filing to which the Wall Street Journal Law Blog provides a link.
As detailed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, Jones asserted privacy claims against ATL's characterization of a 2007 arrest that did not result in any prosecution and, according to the law prof, concerned a situation in which his only mistake was to make a wrong turn in his Mercedes Benz into a rough section of Miami.
Jones, who is African-American contended that the ATL post did not accord with the facts of his case and encouraged readers in a "racist series of rants."
The law prof didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from the newspaper about his reasons for dismissing the case.
In a post about the dismissal, Above the Law says it has made no changes to its prior posts and paid no money to Jones. "The case was dismissed by the plaintiff without anything from our side, except a letter from our lawyer."
ATL has, however, offered Jones the opportunity to post a guest column explaining his side of the story, if he wishes.
Attorney Marc Randazza, who wrote the letter for the law blog, is quoted as saying that the suit was without merit.
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