SUMNER REDSTONE AND FAMILY REACH SETTLEMENT IN CASE AGAINST HERZER

On January 4, 2019, a settlement was reached between former CEO of Viacom, Sumner Redstone and his family and Redstone’s one-time companion, Manuela Herzer, with both sides agreeing to stop all litigation and Herzer promising to pay back $3.25 million in gifts which Redstone’s family claims he was manipulated into giving her. The settlement ends…

On January 4, 2019, Florida U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams revived a 2017 lawsuit and ruled that a jury will hear copyright claims against LMFAO over their hit, “Party Rock Anthem.” Rick Ross, whose legal name is William Roberts II, sued LMFAO members Stefan and Skyler Gordy (a son and a grandson of legendary…

On January 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding whether copyright owners must completely register their works before filing a lawsuit. Several justices seemed skeptical of a claim that authors should be allowed to sue immediately after applying for a registration. The argument came by way of a case brought by Fourth Estate…

On January 2, 2019, a 25-page amicus brief was filed by the American Society of Media Photographers and the National Press Photographers Association explaining why a photograph should share the same protections as novels or songs, fighting a split Ninth Circuit ruling upholding a decision that found Nike was permitted to copy an image for…

On January 3, 2019, the office of L.A. City Attorney Michael Feuer filed a lawsuit alleging a weather channel app has been secretly collecting, sharing and monetizing its users’ private information claiming their information is only being used for “personalized local weather data, alerts and forecasts.” The lawsuit against TWC Product and Technology LLC, the…

On January 3, 2019, New York District Judge Louis D. Stanton refused to grant a motion for summary judgment on the issue of whether Ed Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud” infringed upon Marvin Gaye’s song “Let’s Get It On.” The case will be heard by a jury. Judge Stanton denied Sheeran’s motion for summary judgment…

Katherine Zellner, the Illinois attorney who became famous through the documentary series “Making a Murderer,” is now facing legal troubles of her own after she allegedly abandoned a man’s civil rights case after she promised to “zealously fight for him.” On December 27, 2018, Lathierial Boyd filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against Zellner based upon…

On December 31, 2018, a hedge fund performance coach filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York alleging that CBS and Showtime appropriated a substantial portion of a book she wrote to create their TV series “Billions.” Denise Shull claims that a key character in the show uses techniques in trading psychology that…

In May of 2018, the Ninth Circuit agreed to review Facebook’s challenge to an Illinois district court that certified a class of Facebook users that asserted claims based upon the social media giant’s use of stored facial recognition algorithms. These algorithms allegedly allowed Facebook to “tag” users- as in being able to automatically add Facebook…

On December 19, 2018, U.S. District Florida Judge Ursula Ungaro ended Russian tech executive Aleksej Gubarev’s defamation suit against BuzzFeed, ruling the website’s publication of a dossier alleging ties between Russia and President Trump is protected by the fair reporting privilege. Judge Ungaro granted BuzzFeed’s motion for summary judgment after determining that the publication had…