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Jassy Vick Carolan LLP Secures Victory in Defamation Suit Regarding Emmy Award Winning Docuseries Making a Murderer
March 2023 - Kevin Vick and Meghan Fenzel brought a successful motion for summary judgment on behalf of clients Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos and Chrome Media, the filmmakers behind the Emmy Award winning Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer. In granting summary judgment and dismissing the plaintiff’s defamation and emotional distress claims, United States District Court Judge Brett H. Ludwig of the Eastern District of Wisconsin explained that, “Colborn’s turn in Making a Murderer may not have been to his liking, but that does not make it defamatory. Few aspire to enter the cultural zeitgeist on such controversial terms. That possibility, though, is a necessary byproduct of the freedom of press that the First Amendment protects. If media could portray us only at our best, we would be a country of antiseptic caricatures, and less intelligent for it. We have not sunken so low just yet.” A copy of the District Court’s opinion is available here. Press coverage of the decision is available here, here, and here.
Jassy Quoted in Front Page Article of New York Times As First Amendment Expert
January 2023 - Jean-Paul Jassy was quoted in the New York Times by reporters Jeremy W. Peters and Nicole Sperling in an article titled "'Based on a True Story' (Except the Parts That Aren't)." Jassy discussed legal issues concerning docudramas.
Jassy Vick Carolan Secures Appellate Victory in SLAPP Case for Palo Alto Weekly
January 2023 - Duffy Carolan secured an appellate court victory for client Palo Alto Weekly in SLAPP case where the Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld a trial court order dismissing a lawsuit against the paper filed by a candidate for a local school board who claim the paper’s coverage of his background and qualifications for office defamed him. The court held that the plaintiff failed to submit any admissible evidence to counter the paper’s evidence showing that the reporting was substantially true and published without the requisite degree of fault—constitutional malice. View Article. View Opinion.
Jassy and Vick Named Again to Super Lawyers - Southern California Edition
January 2023 - Kevin Vick and Jean-Paul Jassy were named again to the Southern California edition of Super Lawyers, following a peer-nominated, peer-reviewed and independently researched process to find the top 5% of attorneys in Southern California. Jassy is listed in the fields of Media & Advertising, General Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation; and Vick is listed in the fields of Intellectual Property Litigation, Business Litigation, Media & Advertising and Entertainment & Sports.
Jassy Vick Carolan LLP Prevails in Court of Appeal in Defamation Case Based on Section 230 Immunity and Anti-SLAPP Statute
December 2022 - The First District of the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s grant of the firm’s client’s anti-SLAPP motion. The plaintiffs-appellants had brought a defamation claim based on the defendant-appellee’s online sharing of a Facebook post for a march designed to protest against racist incidents at a Bay Area high school. The trial court struck the claim under the anti-SLAPP statute, Civil Code section 425.16, and held that defendant was entitled to immunity under Section 230, 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1). The Court of Appeal also affirmed the trial court’s award of attorneys’ fees and costs to the defendant-appellee. Kevin Vick argued before the Court of Appeal and was assisted at the trial and appellate levels by Jeffrey Payne. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s decision is available here.
Firm Secures Significant Insurance Recovery Victory In The California Supreme Court
November 2022 - William T. Um secured an important insurance recovery victory for long time firm client, Yahoo Inc., in an unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court. The Court, in response to a certified question by the Ninth Circuit, determined for the first time underlying California insurance law, that commercial general liability policies that provide coverage for injuries arising out of the “oral or written publication” of “material that violates a person’s right of privacy” may trigger an insurer’s duty to defend lawsuits alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which involves the privacy right of seclusion. As noted by an insurance coverage expert, “the California Supreme Court became the strongest voice in a chorus of state high courts to rule in favor of coverage for TCPA claims, recognizing that such claims involve the publication of material that violates a person’s right to privacy.” |
