Background Report Company Ordered to Pay $21 Million for Misleading Users
On December 15, 2021, a United States District Court Judge in the Central District of California issued a large award and an injunction against MyLife.com, Inc., a company that provides users with background reports on individuals. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) accused MyLife of displaying search results that implied the subject of the search had…
Read More
On January 7, 2022, an investor in the cryptocurrency “EthereumMax” filed a “proposed class action lawsuit” (the lawsuit will not officially become a class action until the judge presiding over the case grants “class certification”) against a boxer, Floyd Mayweather (“Mayweather”), Kim Kardashian (“Kardashian”), and former NBA player, Paul Pierce (“Pierce”). Mayweather, Kardashian, and Pierce…
Read More
On March 10, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the reversal of a jury verdict by a District Court Judge in a case regarding Katy Perry’s (“Perry”) megahit “Dark Horse.” Perry was sued by a songwriter, Marcus Gray (“Gray”), who claimed that Perry copied his song “Joyful Noise.” Originally,…
Read More
On February 22, 2022, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded (i.e., sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings) a lower court decision dismissing a suit between writer-director Francesca Gregorini (“Gregorini”) and Apple TV. Gregorini sued Apple for copyright infringement in January 2020, claiming that Apple stole multiple elements including important portions…
Read More
On January 20, 2022, a California appeals court overturned an order that would have required former members of the Church of Scientology (“Scientology”) to arbitrate their claims against the church. Three of the four former members left the Church willingly, while the fourth was told they could no longer participate. They claim stalking and harassment…
Read More
On January 24, 2022, Rapper Cardi B won a defamation case against Youtuber Latasha Kebe (“Kebe”) and her company, Kebe Studios. An eight-person jury in Georgia awardedCardi B $1.25 million in damages (including $250,000 in medical expenses) for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury later increased that amount by…
Read More
On January 12, 2022, a California federal Judge dismissed a would-be class action lawsuit against Netflix. The Plaintiffs alleged that Netflix promoted their show “13 Reasons Why”, featuring a young woman who committed suicide, to the detriment of numerous teenagers who followed suit. Plaintiffs further alleged that Netflix had been given warnings from experts in…
Read More
On November 29, 2021, a Ninth Circuit panel agreed with a lower court in putting an end to a copyright case over “You Raise Me Up,” saying major record labels and Spotify did not transform a 1977 hit from Iceland into the chart-topper sung by Josh Groban. The panel turned down arguments from Johannsongs-Publishing Ltd.,…
Read More
On December 6, 2021, the Ninth Circuit refused to back a ruling from a California judge that the daughter of the late Marvel comic book writer, Stan Lee, deserved to be sanctioned $1 million for her failed lawsuit against a company her father co-founded, concerning ownership of her father’s name and likeness. JC Lee accused…
Read More
On January 4, 2022, the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court’s decision to certify two classes of performers and musicians who sued online concert archive Wolfgang’s Vault for alleged copyright infringement, finding that “individual issues predominate over the ones affecting the proposed classes.” In an unpublished opinion, a three-judge panel said that musician Greg Kihn,…
Read More