March 10, 2016 Litigation / Privacy Rights

Nashville Jury Awards Erin Andrews $55 Million

Fox Sports news reporter Erin Andrews was awarded $55 million on Monday, March 7, 2016 by a Nashville jury in a lawsuit over a secretly filmed nude video.

The $75 million lawsuit was brought against her stalker, Michael Barrett, as well as the owner and management company of the Nashville Marriott where the video was filmed.

Andrews’ attorneys argued that the hotel erred in allowing Barrett to learn where she was staying in the hotel, and by letting him book a room next to her. …

October 28, 2015 Privacy Rights

Lamar Odom & HIPAA: A Kardashian Takeaway for Employers

This post first appeared on Goldberg Segalla’s Professional Liability Matters blog.

Reality television fans and others were saddened recently when news of a Kardashian family member’s overdose hit the news. Lamar Odom, sometime beau of Khloe Kardashian, was hospitalized after the incident, and his privacy was reportedly violated when staffers at the medical center where he was treated took pictures of him. The staffers were immediately fired due to this conduct. Lamar’s plight contains a teachable lesson for those employers who must comply with the …

October 27, 2015 Litigation / Privacy Rights

Hulk Hogan Takes First Bout Against Gawker

On Wednesday, October 21, 2015, a Florida state judge granted former WWE star Hulk Hogan the opportunity to search private electronic communications of employees of Gawker Media LLC, which is being sued by Hogan for intentionally leaking confidential and racist remarks made by the wrestler. The incident stems from the $100 million lawsuit filed by Hogan for Gawker’s role in allegedly releasing and covering the publication of a sex tape involving Hogan in 2012.

The famed-wrestler believes that employees of Gawker intentionally released information that …

February 10, 2014 Privacy Rights

#BigBrotherisWatching Twitter Takes on US Gov Over Disclosure of Surveillance Information Requests

A recent agreement between tech companies Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Yahoo and the Justice Department provided that these companies would be allowed to disclose when certain national security forces – such as those acting under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – required the tech giants to turn over information related to their users. Now, the social media company Twitter has announced that it is ready to sue the Obama administration for the right to disclose information related to government surveillance requests targeting Twitter users.…

October 22, 2013 Defamation / Golf / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Libel / Privacy Rights / Rights

Tiger’s 2013 Grade: “C” for Cheater?

Chances are that Tiger Woods has never gotten an “F” on any test or examination in his life. After all, he’s won 79 PGA Tour events, is a 14-time major champion and, prior to turning professional, spent two years as an undergraduate at Stanford University, one of our nation’s most prestigious institutions. This is at least part of the reason that Brandel Chamblee’s 2013 season-in-review “report card”, published last week on Golf.com, in which he gave Woods a grade of “F” for the season, …