Posts on ‘October 24th, 2008’

The Florida Supreme Court has rejected false light as a legal cause of action, killing an $18.3 million award against a Florida newspaper in one case and limiting a lawsuit by Jews for Jesus over an online story in another case. The decisions in the two closely watched cases mean people in Florida who believe they were cast in a bad light in otherwise accurate reports have lost an avenue to challenge publishers. The court found that recognizing false light as a tort could chill free speech rights.

A Tennessee judge has been indicted on two counts of official misconduct for having probationers perform labor on his private property while they were participating in a drug court under his supervision. In a statement, Ronald E. Darby’s lawyer said the judge denies any wrongdoing or violation of criminal law.

A federal judge in New Jersey dealt a setback to the plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation over human tissue stolen from corpses for use in transplants. The judge on Wednesday granted a defense motion under to exclude expert testimony on whether the tissue could have transmitted HIV, syphilis, cancer and other diseases. The judge also granted summary judgment for the defense on some causation issues, but held off on ruling on the plaintiffs’ challenge of some defense experts.

A Manhattan judge has ruled that two women who were New York residents at the time of their 2005 wedding in Massachusetts can obtain a divorce in New York. The lawyer for the couple said the decision marks the first time a New York judge has afforded full faith and credit to a same-sex marriage that took place in the United States.