The seven media organization plaintiffs that oppose Indiana's Feb. 21 motion to stay their "buffer law" case pending the outcome of a YouTuber’s 7th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court appeal (see 2402260032) “fail to meaningfully dispute” Attorney General Todd Rokita (R)'s arguments for a stay, said the AG's reply Friday (docket 1:23-cv-01805) in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana in Indianapolis. The organizations are seeking to block Rokita from enforcing HB-1186, the state’s buffer law, which makes it a misdemeanor for reporters to come within 25 feet of police officers on active duty. The organizations propose that the standard set forth in the 1936 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Landis v. North American Co. applies to the stay sought here, said Rokita’s reply. But that standard applies only where there’s a fair possibility that the stay will damage the opposing party, it said. Because this case involves “very little possibility of damage” to the media organizations, that standard doesn’t apply here, it said. The requested stay should be granted, it said. The media organizations recognize Landis’ high bar for a stay, it said. Despite this recognition, "they do little to establish that a stay would harm them in the first place, and even less to argue against the points Indiana has raised showing that they would not be harmed," it said.
Some 21% of data breach victims don’t realize their identity has been compromised until more than two years after it has happened, said a class action (docket 8:24-cv-00433) brought by three plaintiffs vs. loanDepot Friday in U.S. District Court for Central California in Santa Ana.
OpenAI, under its new board put in place during a tumultuous period in November amid Sam Altman’s ouster and return as CEO, is "refining" its artificial general intelligence (AGI) to maximize profits for Microsoft, "rather than for the benefit of humanity,” said Elon Musk’s fraud complaint Thursday (24-612746) in San Francisco County Superior Court.
A Liberty, Missouri, hospital “disregarded” Dan Cook's rights by “intentionally, willfully, recklessly, or negligently failing to take and implement adequate and reasonable measures” to protect his personal health (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII), alleged Cook's class action Wednesday (docket 4:24-cv-00134) in U.S. District Court for Western Missouri in Kansas City.
A law firm settling a federal class action in state court “to increase attorneys’ fees at the expense of the class’s recovery improperly ‘subordinates the interests of the class to its own interests,'" said intervenors’ memorandum in support of intervention Friday (docket 3:21-cv-08592) in a 2021 fraud class action over hidden Verizon fees.
If the U.S. Supreme Court blocks social media laws in Florida and Texas, it could have a chilling effect on states trying to regulate online content, a panel of experts said Tuesday. Speaking at a Federalist Society webinar event, panelists said a ruling bolstering the tech industry’s First Amendment rights could jeopardize the constitutionality of laws aimed at regulating kids’ online safety. The Supreme Court held oral argument Monday in NetChoice v. Paxton (22-555) and Moody v. NetChoice (22-277) (see 2402260051).
The seven media organization plaintiffs seeking to block Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) from enforcing HB-1186, the state’s “buffer law,” oppose his Feb. 21 motion to stay their case pending the outcome of a YouTuber’s appeal in a separate case before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2402220005), said their opposition Friday (docket 1:23-cv-01805) in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana in Indianapolis. The buffer law, which took effect July 1, makes it a misdemeanor for the news media to come within 25 feet of police officers on active duty. Rokita's motion for a stay cites “no hardship of any kind” in a case in which he faces “no pending obligations,” said the opposition. He seeks an “indefinite delay” of the court’s “imminent decision on a fully briefed motion for a preliminary injunction,” it said. His request is “meritless,” it said. There’s no dispute that the YouTuber’s appeal “raises only an issue that is not necessary to the disposition” of the case that Rokita wants to have stayed, said the opposition. Even setting that “threshold problem aside,” the AG hasn’t attempted to demonstrate “any hardship” he would suffer absent a stay, it said. Rokita’s motion doesn’t even mention the “governing standard” in seeking a stay because it’s clear he can’t meet that standard, said the opposition. The plaintiffs, which include Nexstar, Scripps, Tegna and the Indianapolis Star, would be “badly prejudiced” by a delay “that would amount in substance to a denial of their motion for preliminary relief,” it said. The motion should be “promptly denied,” it said.
Walmart “sympathizes” with Risa Potters and other fraud victims, but her claims that the retailer should have done more to protect her from a third-party fraudster “are meritless and should be dismissed,” said its memorandum of points and authorities Friday (docket 1:22-cv-0337) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Los Angeles in support of its motion to dismiss Potters' December fraud class action (see 2312110039).
The FCC faces three petitions for review, all filed Friday, in separate circuits, challenging the lawfulness of the commission’s Dec. 26 quadrennial review order for allegedly violating Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act. Nexstar Media Group filed its petition (docket 24-60088) in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Beasley Media Group and Tri-State Communications filed their joint petition (docket 24-10535) in the 11th Circuit, and Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri filed its petition (docket 24-1380) in the 8th Circuit.
Since an April data breach at Emmanuel College in Boston, Sopiya Shrestha has experienced an uptick in spam calls concerning fraudulent communications, said her negligence class action Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-10434) against the school's trustees in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts in Boston.