| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
Police Internal Affairs Records Ordered Disclosed in Public Records Act Case Involving Police Use of Force
September 2023 - Duffy Carolan representing The Marin Independent Journal secures important victory in matter of first impression under the California Public Records Act and police transparency laws enacted in 2018 involving disclosure of police internal affairs records pertaining to police use of force causing great bodily injury. The Superior Court order requiring the City of San Rafael to disclose its records is
here. See also
Marin IJ wins lawsuit for San Rafael police arrest file.
| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
Jassy, Carolan and Um Listed Again in The Best Lawyers in America®
August 2023 - Jean-Paul Jassy, Duffy Carolan and William Um were listed again in The Best Lawyers in America®, a peer-selected honor. Carolan has been listed since 2008, and was recognized in the fields of Litigation - First Amendment and Media Law. Jassy has been listed since 2011, and was recognized in the fields of First Amendment Law, Litigation - First Amendment and Media Law. Um has been listed since 2017, and was recognized in the field of Insurance Law.
| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
Firm Secures Victory in Public Records Act Case over Fire Engine Detour to Pink Poodle Bikini Bar Caught on Video
July 2023 - Duffy Carolan representing The Mercury News secured an order under the Public Records Act commanding the City of San Jose to turn over investigatory and disciplinary records pertaining to an incident involving a fire engine crew traveling outside of an area of service and stopping in front of a bar known as the Pink Poodle, where a bikini clad women is captured on video exiting the engine, and then to the area of another adult entertainment establishment. A fire captain was demoted in connection with the incident. The Superior Court’s order is
here, and the paper’s reporting on the matter can be seen
here.
| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
Payne Elected to Los Angeles Copyright Society Board of Trustees
June 2023 - Jeffrey Payne was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Copyright Society, a members-only organization of attorneys who practice in copyright, trademark, communications, and related areas. LACS’s members include outside lawyers and lawyers at motion picture studios, media companies, and other corporations and entities dealing with intellectual property.
| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
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.
| NATIONAL TIER 1 Litigation - First Amendment Media Law METROPOLITAN TIER 1 Los Angeles First Amendment Law Insurance Law Litigation - First Amendment Media Law San Francisco Media Law |
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.