Sex Tape

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.22.16

* WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN THIS JURY'S PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD RUNS WILD ON YOU?!? Gawker was hit with an additional $25M in punitive damages yesterday in Hulk Hogan's sex-tape lawsuit, on top of the $115M award the jury had already slapped the media company with last week. That loud typing sound you hear is the appeals being furiously written. [Reuters] * They were gonna grant you leave to file, but then they got high? The Supreme Court has puff, puff, passed on the opportunity to hear a challenge posed by Nebraska and Oklahoma to Colorado's legalization of marijuana. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented, contending that the case fell within the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction. [NPR] * This took longer than the iOS 9 download: Hot on the heels of the announcement of new Apple products, we got the news that the tech giant and its rival, Samsung, will face off next term before SCOTUS in a patent case that's been going on since the iPhone 4 was still considered the latest and greatest in smartphone technology. [WSJ Law Blog] * "Once you start seeing leading law firms offering this, it's going to become more prevalent and pretty rapidly, because it's going to be required to compete." Lawyers with law school debt will probably jump at the chance for their firms to pitch in to repay their loans, but don't forget, all of that assistance will be taxable as income. [U.S. News] * "My job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it." In a settlement reached with New York AG Eric Schneiderman, the sports betting daily fantasy sites will cease operations in the state, and in exchange, the AG will hold off on additional litigation that could force them to pay restitution to their losers. [ESPN]

By Staci Zaretsky
3rd Circuit

Morning Docket: 04.18.12

* Since you’re so funny, crack some jokes about this one, Obama. Senate Republicans will be filing an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the constitutionality of the President’s recess appointments. [New York Times] * Thanks to this Third Circuit ruling, you can rest easy knowing that you can rely on the First Amendment to protect your homemade sex tapes from all of those strict porn record-keeping and labeling requirements… for now. [Reuters] * Due to Kelley Drye’s EEOC settlement, the New York State Bar Association is asking firms to end mandatory retirement policies. Because old folks need to make bank till they croak. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * The ABA’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 has decided to ditch its proposal to allow limited nonlawyer ownership of law firms. Cue tears and temper tantrums from the likes of Jacoby & Meyers. [Am Law Daily] * “If I believe that Chris Armstrong is a radical homosexual activist, I have a constitutional right to express that opinion.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell that to the judge who dismissed your suit, Shirvell. [Detroit Free Press] * Presenting “her royal hotness”: apparently Pippa Middleton has been seen cavorting around France with gun-toting lawyer Romain Rabillard, of Shearman & Sterling. [Daily Mail]

By Staci Zaretsky
9th Circuit

Morning Docket: 03.02.12

* John Edwards’s heart condition has improved, so his campaign finance trial will begin in April. Your heart condition would be more manageable, too, if you knew your sex tapes were going to be destroyed. [Bloomberg] * Despite his love of all things fabulous (like peep-toe shoes), Proposition 8 plaintiffs don’t want Chief Judge Alex Kozinski to hear their arguments on an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly] * Instead of filing a motion to dismiss like Cooley and NYLS, Florida Coastal School of Law has removed its law school lawsuit to federal court. Will this be the start of a new trend? [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * A witness claims that Dharun Ravi “appeared uncomfortable” because his roommate was gay — so uncomfortable that he allegedly set up a webcam to watch his intimate encounters. That makes sense. [CNN] * Objection! Lindsay Lohan is hosting Saturday Night Live, but her lawyer had to approve all of her skits. What a shame. Bobby Moynihan would’ve been great as Judge Sautner. [Daily Dish / San Francisco Chronicle]

By Staci Zaretsky
Celebrities

Morning Docket: 08.10.11

* With a $10 million donation, it looks like UCLA School of Law can afford to stop playing it fast and loose with its employment statistics. [New York Times] * In light of Facebook’s “smoking gun” evidence of fraud, Paul Ceglia didn’t skip town. He skipped the entire country. [Los Angeles Times] * You can […]

By Staci Zaretsky