The AmazonSmile Foundation, a tax-exempt corporation affiliated with Amazon.com, declined an application by Coral Ridge Ministries Media, a Christian ministry and media corporation, to participate in the AmazonSmile program, because the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) listed Coral Ridge as a “hate group” on its website, due to Coral Ridge’s expressed views about homosexuality. Under the Amazon Smile program, Amazon customers designate charities from a list approved by the Foundation to receive a donation from … <Read More>
defamation
N.Y. Appellate Division 2nd Department Overrules Precedent, Holding False Imputation of Homosexuality is not Defamatory Per Se
In Laguerre v. Maurice, 2020 WL 7636435, 2020 N.Y. App. LEXIS 8011, 2020 NY Slip Op 07887 (2nd Dept., Dec. 23, 2020), a panel of the N.Y. Appellate Division, 2nd Department, abandoned a departmental precedent dating from 1984, Matherson v. Marchello, 100 App. Div. 2d 233, finding that today a false statement that the plaintiff was a homosexual who watched gay porn on his employer’s computer is not defamatory per se… <Read More>
Court Orders New York State to Pay Brooklyn Woman $125,000 for Using Her Photo in HIV Discrimination Ad Campaign
New York Court of Claims Judge Thomas H. Scuccimarra has decided that the State of New York should pay Avril Nolan $125,000 for using her photo in an HIV Discrimination Advertising Campaign without a disclaimer that the person in the picture was a “model.” The November 8 ruling came after the Appellate Division court in Brooklyn ruled last January that the use of the photo in print and on-line advertisements, in which the statement “I … <Read More>
Sigh of Relief for Law Prof Sued for Defamation and Invasion of Privacy Due to Law Review Article and Lecture
Law professors publish law review articles in which they may discuss cases pending in the courts. Such discussions may relate what the plaintiffs are alleging and then theorize about how the courts might treat such claims. When a professor includes the names of the parties in the lawsuit, and one of them feels that the professor’s discussion could be harmful to the party’s reputation and lead people to take an unfavorable view of them, should … <Read More>
Federal Court Affirms $4.5 Million Damage Award Against Andrew Shirvell
United States District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow has affirmed a jury verdict of $4.5 million against Andrew Shirvell on September 11. Shirvell is the homophobic former Michigan assistant attorney general who the jury found committed various wrongful acts against Christopher Armstrong, a gay man who was at the time the newly-elected student body president at the University of Michigan. Judge Tarnow denied Shirvell’s motions for judgment as a matter of law, for a new trial, … <Read More>
Appellate Division Unanimously Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claim in HIV/AIDS Controversy
New York Appellate Division, First Department, has affirmed dismissal of Celia Farber’s lawsuit contending that she was defamed by an email that Richard Jefferys sent to Walter Fauntroy in 2008. Fauntroy was coordinating testimony for “Whistleblower Week,” an event organized by the Semmelweis Society International, during which a “Clean Hands Award” was to be presented to Farber and Dr. Peter Duesberg “for their stance as HIV dissenters, which put them at odds with the medical … <Read More>