Florida Supreme Court Allows Judges to be Facebook Friends With Lawyers But Four Justices Disagree With the Practice (“I write to strongly urge judges not to participate in Facebook”)
The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict between two intermediate appellate courts when it determined that a judge-lawyer “Facebook friend” relationship, alone, was not enough to warrant recusal of the judge. The Court deemed its position was the majority position around the country. However, four justices noted that caution, if …
Florida Court Approves Forum Selection Clause As Mandatory and Enforceable
It’s not often that banking cases are “fascinating,” but the facts underlying Pablo Antoniazzi v. Hamed Wardak certainly are interesting. More importantly, the Third District provides some guidance to lawyers writing and seeking to enforce (or avoid) a mandatory forum selection clause. First let’s discuss the points of law in the …
Christopher Hopkins Discusses Social Media Discovery in 2018 at Palm Beach Bar Association
Special thanks to the Palm Beach Bar Association for inviting me to speak at the CLE, “How to Get Your Claim Move-In Ready for Trial.” Space is still available and you can sign up here. My small portion of the event was to discuss Florida social media discovery as well …
Florida Court Finds Data Breach Not Covered by Travelers / St. Paul CGL Insurance Policy
A federal court in Florida has ruled that the “personal injury” provisions of a Travelers / St. Paul commercial general liability (CGL) policy does not cover a data breach caused by third party hackers. The court left unresolved the question whether the “property damage” or the costs of compliance with …
Lessons from Google AdWords Arbitration Clause: Novation, Retroactive Application, Scope
Google’s arbitration and class action waiver provisions in their AdWords agreement provides some lessons for lawyers who draft contracts, particularly ones accepted online and updated via notice, as well as lawyers who litigate over enforcement of arbitration. The recent case of Mark Trudeau and Troy Martial Arts, Inc. v. Google …
Christopher Hopkins Speaks to ASIS International (Broward / Fort Lauderdale) Regarding Anatomy of a Data Breach Lawsuit
Special thanks to ASIS International (Broward County, Florida chapter) for inviting me to speak to them about data breach and cyber security litigation. You can review my powerpoint, here, which explains data breaches in general and then discusses how claims / litigation arises. Most importantly, we discussed how companies can …
Want to Try Anonymity on the Internet or the Dark Web? New Tor Browser 8 is here… and free
The Tor browser, which helps anonymize your internetting, has been updated to version 8. It’s free and worth having on your desktop. First, these steps simple install a secondary browser on your computer. No spyware. It’s not illegal. It’s just a simple browser. Download it here. It will ask you …
Can You Sue the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach?
According to a recent appellate court opinion, a person can sue the South Florida Fair for personal injuries, but only up to the sovereign immunity limit. In South Florida Fair and Palm Beach County Expositions, Inc. v. Widley Joseph, the appellant (Joseph) was seriously injured at the fair and sued …
NBI CLE: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, and Smartphone Evidence (Florida)
Special thanks to National Business Institute (NBI) for hosting this 2-day CLE seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. You can find the seminar information (and download the audio) here. My topics included: Apps and Emerging Technology You Must Know Preserving Electronic Evidence and Avoiding Spoliation Social Media Cases Metadata Made Simple …
Florida Dispute Resolution Conference 2018: Christopher Hopkins Discusses ESI/E-Discovery for Mediators AND Cyber Security and Data Breach for Mediators
Thanks to the Florida Dispute Resolution Conference for inviting me to speak at the 2018 conference. Topics covered: 25 ESI and E-Discovery Terms for Mediators in 75 minutes and Cybersecurity and Data Breach for Mediators. You can download the presentations here and here. If you would like CME points, you …
3D Gun Printing: Bad Idea the First Amendment Likely Will Permit
I read with interest Thomas Julin‘s article, “Weaponized First Amendment Does Not Protect Blueprints for Weapons” in the Daily Business Review. The link is here. Tom sets out the current status of the debate, cites an authority, and concludes that the First Amendment “will not protect publication of information for …
Reddit Automatically Opts You In to Ads & Tracking — Here’s the Privacy Setting Changes to Make Now
While Reddit users tend to be savvy internetters, few of you have likely bothered to check Reddit’s privacy / personalization settings. You need to. Log into Reddit on your PC/Mac, click your user name in the upper right, and select user settings. Note: you cannot make these changes from the …
Protect the Privacy of Your iOS Devices – Palm Beach Bar Association July 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court recently noted, in Carpenter v. US, that Americans “compulsively carry cell phones with them at all times.” For those with iPhones and iPads, have you spent time in Settings protecting your private information? This article from the Palm Beach Bar Association Bulletin, explains ten different ways …
Can Bloggers Use Any Image on the Internet?
The question about bloggers-using-images-from-the-internet is by no means a new debate but the latest log on this fire is Russell Brammer v. Violent Hues Productions, LLC (E.D. Va. June 11, 2018). This case, which is now on appeal, certainly comes to the aid of bloggers, website owners, and social media …
South Dakota v Wayfair – A Dormant Commerce Clause Case Will Likely Hit Intenet Etsy and Ebay Sellers with State Sales Tax
If you sell enough on Etsy and eBay, you may find yourself having to report sales tax in your buyers’ states. A recent opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. et al., is likely going to lead to new hassles for internet merchants, including possibly individual …