Libel

‘Sense of entitlement’ led BigLaw partner to ‘brazenly’ appear at deposition and act ‘obnoxious,’ sanctions bid says

Alex Spiro, a partner with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, wrongly appeared at a Texas deposition without pro hac vice permission and then proceeded to act in a “ridiculously unprofessional” manner, according to a sanctions motion by a Los Angeles man suing Tesla CEO Elon Musk for alleged defamation.

Apr 10, 2024 10:27 AM CDT

Lawyer defending ex-CEO of Overstock arrested after she is no-show on voting-machine-possession charge

A Michigan lawyer was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday for failing to appear for a March 7 hearing on charges that she possessed and damaged a voting machine.

Mar 20, 2024 9:44 AM CDT

Trump seeks court approval of $91.6 million bond while he appeals E. Jean Carroll verdict

Donald Trump secured a $91.6 million bond to delay execution of a jury verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit while he appeals, putting to rest questions about whether he could come up with the funds amid a cash crunch.

Mar 8, 2024 11:26 AM CST

Ex-Greenberg Traurig partner’s defamation suit against blogger is ‘replete with unnecessary commentary,’ judge says

A social media influencer has won dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Greenberg Traurig partner over the posting of marital videos said to depict the lawyer as an abusive spouse and father.

Feb 12, 2024 10:48 AM CST

Law prof presses male sex-bias allegations in new suit after federal judge tosses his Title IX claim

Updated: A professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law has filed a new lawsuit against the school stemming from a former associate dean’s alleged comments in 2016 that she didn’t want to see white men teaching anymore in the trial advocacy program that he headed.

Feb 7, 2024 10:42 AM CST

After sanctions threat, Trump lawyer in $83.3M defamation case drops conflict claim stemming from BigLaw overlap

A lawyer for former President Donald Trump is backing away from a claim that an opposing lawyer and the judge in a defamation case involving writer E. Jean Carroll had an undisclosed conflict of interest.

Jan 31, 2024 10:24 AM CST

Trump’s appeal of $83.3M defamation verdict will cite alleged conflict due to prior Paul Weiss employment

Former President Donald Trump will appeal the $83.3 million defamation verdict issued against him on Friday based partly on an alleged conflict of interest between the judge and Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer for plaintiff E. Jean Carroll.

Jan 29, 2024 10:00 AM CST

Judge chastises Trump in defamation trial, lectures lawyers on procedural rules, says ‘this is not a tag-team lawyering’

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York, who is overseeing a new defamation damages trial against former President Donald Trump, has no patience for missteps and misbehavior.

Jan 22, 2024 11:19 AM CST

What are Giuliani’s next steps after $148M defamation verdict? Can he afford appeal bond?

Updated: Rudy Giuliani, once a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, can’t immediately appeal a recent $148 million verdict against him for defaming two Georgia election workers.

Dec 18, 2023 10:00 AM CST

Poll: Which ABA Journal magazine cover from 2023 was your favorite?

We covered a wide array of diverse, in-depth and hard-hitting legal topics at the ABA Journal in 2023.

Dec 18, 2023 8:40 AM CST

Trump raised immunity defense too late in defamation case over sexual assault denial, 2nd Circuit says

Former President Donald Trump waived a presidential immunity defense when he failed to raise the issue in an answer to a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging that his sexual assault denials defamed her, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Dec 15, 2023 8:50 AM CST

UIC law prof appeals after dismissal of civil rights lawsuit

Updated: A professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law has filed an appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago after his case stemming from his use of abbreviated racial and gender slurs in an essay question in a December 2020 final exam was dismissed.

Dec 5, 2023 2:23 PM CST

Fired BigLaw associate alleges evaluation was defamatory, detractors caused emotional distress

A fired associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has filed a pro se lawsuit alleging that the law firm discriminated against him because of his Cameroonian origin and defamed him in two evaluations.

Oct 25, 2023 9:24 AM CDT

The Defame Game: Libel cases are on the rise and increasingly politicized

Media law experts say they are seeing several developing trends in libel and defamation cases. Those trends include forum shopping, having an increasingly political component, adding allegations unrelated to the defamation claim, increasingly naming individual reporters as defendants and demanding huge damage awards.

Oct 1, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

MyPillow CEO rails against lawyers in defamation depositions, says he doesn’t make ‘lumpy pillows’

Lawyers contend that MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was “combative, vulgar, disrespectful, nonresponsive, evasive and consistently loud” during three depositions in a defamation case against him.

Sep 12, 2023 12:58 PM CDT