US Law Archives - Page 66 of 71

What Are You Doing Legally on Twitter?

Attorneys William Coats and Jennifer Gossain wrote an article called “What Are You Doing Legally on Twitter?” that all Twitter-ers might want to read. Although Twitter is relatively new to the web, there have been lawsuits filed based on statements made in tweets. Despite being limited to 140 characters, a single tweet can violate some-body’s right of publicity or defame a person or entity.

Amanda Bonnen . . . had merely 20 followers. But the small number of followers did not prevent this ordinary Chicago woman from being sued for $50,000 for her tweet. This past May, Bonnen tweeted, “Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s OK.” Horizon Management Group took offense to Bonnen’s tweet and filed suit against her in Cook County, Ill., on July 20, 2009. Horizon alleged that Bonnen’s public tweet is libel per se and asked for damages in the amount of $50,000. Bonnen has since closed her Twitter account.

FTC Ready to Change Long-Time Ad Rules

Online advertisers beware. The Federal Trade Commission will soon adopt new regulations that change the long-time ad rules with the intent to prevent advertisers from making statements about products that are not true or that cannot be substantiated. A promotional practice called “astroturfing,” which is flooding the net with product reviews that contain false statements, may soon be history.

The Federal Trade Commission is apparently on the brink of updating its 29-year-old guidelines on product endorsements. While that threat has been looming for more than a year now, advertising lawyers say final rules are expected to be announced before the year is up. And the FTC, lawyers warn, will be making one thing clear: Phony online reviews will not be tolerated. . . . [T]he FTC . . . may be poised to require companies to provide proof to back up any claims about a product or a service.

Mandatory Insurance Is Unconstitutional

Wall St. Journal: Attorneys David B. Rivkin, Jr., and Lee A. Casey argue in a column in the WSJ today that mandatory insurance is unconstitutional and that an individual mandate could be struck down by the courts.

For more arguments on this topic see “Is ObamaCare Unconstitutional?“

Phoenix Firm to pay $415,000 to End Bias Suit

Arizona Republic: NPMG Acquisition Sub, LLC, a Phoenix, Arizona business that processes credit-card transactions will pay $415,000 to settle a racial-harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC claimed that NPMG Acquisition Sub’s supervisors created a racially hostile work environment for African-American employees.

Supremes to Decide Dispute Over Right to Make NFL Gear

In 2000, the NFL entered into an exclusive license agreement with Reebok International. Before that agreement was signed, American Needle, Inc., had individual licensing deals with several NFL teams. By the stoke of a pen, the NFL killed American Needle’s business. American Needle sued claiming that NFL’s exclusive deal with Reebok violated federal antitrust laws.

The 7th Circuit, based in Chicago, ruled in the NFL’s favor last year, prompting American Needle to appeal to the Supreme Court. Seeing a chance for a victory that could make a statement, as opposed to, say, a lucky win by a field goal, the NFL joined that request, hoping that it could get a wide-ranging ruling that could become the law of the land and exempt it from an array of potential antitrust litigation. The NHL and the NBA voiced their own support for a ruling. (Major League Baseball has an exemption from antitrust law).