Introduction to Podcasts for Lawyers in 2016
The April 2016 Palm Beach Bar Bulletin includes the article, “Introduction to Podcasts for Lawyers in 2016” which you can find here: 2016_podcasts. This article explains how to use the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone/iPad — specifically how to download individual podcasts or subscribe to an entire “season” of episodes. …
Christopher Hopkins “Anatomy of an Internet Defamation Case” at University of Miami Law School
I am pleased to discuss “Anatomy of an Internet Defamation Case” with Professor Jan Jacobowitz‘s Social Media & the Law class at the University of Miami Law School. In this presentation, we briefly discuss Elonis v. United States and we analyze the claims, defenses, and potential strategies of a pending …
Christopher Hopkins Speaks on Data Breach Law at Florida Atlantic University
Thanks to professor and attorney Larry Buck for inviting me to speak today about Data Breach & Cyber Security Law at Florida Atlantic University. We discussed: Standing: how the Clapper case was filed too soon, they lost in the Supreme Court, and then three months later it was revealed, beyond their …
Christopher Hopkins & Shawn Holmgren of Palm Beach Drone at South Florida PRIMA
I am pleased to contribute to Palm Beach Drone’s presentation, Promoting the Safe Use of Aerial Drones in the Workplace, at the South Florida Public Risk Management Association meeting in Hollywood, Florida. Check out Palm Beach Drone at their website, here. For a copy of our presentation, it is 2016 …
Two Florida Nursing Home Arbitration Cases in March 2016
The Second and Fifth District Courts of Appeal simultaneously issued two opinions regarding arbitration enforcement in the nursing home context and, in one case, the Fifth DCA certified an issue to the Florida Supreme Court as one of “great public importance.” The nursing home setting continues to be a battle …
$5,000 Civil Penalty for Soliciting Prostitute in Florida is Constitutional Under 8th Amendment
The Second District Court of Appeal held in State of Florida v. Joseph Lloyd Cotton that a $5,000 civil penalty for soliciting a prostitute (at the time, a second-degree misdemeanor) was constitutional after the trial court had found it unconstitutional. The appellate court acknowledged, in a rare discussion of the Eighth …
Understanding Recent Case re First Amendment & Recording of Police
A recent trial court order from a federal judge in Philadelphia regarding whether a person has a First Amendment right to record or photograph police activity has gotten a fair amount of media attention and has even been labeled, “a bizarre ruling.” Agree with it or not, the analysis is …
Instagram User Sues Groupon for Mis-Use of Social Media Photo
An Instagram user in Illinois filed a February 5, 2016 class action lawsuit alleging that Groupon was wrongfully using Instagram’s API to “scrape” Instagram user photos and place them on Groupon’s Deal pages in order to promote Groupon sales. The lawsuit is Christine Dancel, individually and on behalf of all …
Fourth DCA Issues Two Arbitration Opinions
The Fourth District Court of Appeal rendered two arbitration opinions on February 3, 2016: In Municommerce LLC v Navidor LTD, the court reversed an order compelling arbitration and held that a termination-for-cause exception to the agreement to arbitrate was valid and there was “no basis for the court to find …
This Is What Happens When You Reply To Spam Email
James Veitch is a British writer and comedian. How he ended up on a TED Talk stage with this bit of techo-stand up, I dunno. But he hit it out of the park with “This Is What Happens When You Reply to Spam Email.” I highly recommend. It’s about 9 …
New York Court Horses Around With Facebook Discovery (Forman v. Henkin)
The recent December 17, 2015 opinion in Kelly Forman v. Mark Henkin (NY Appellate Div., First Dept. 2015), provides an otherwise unremarkable discovery opinion except for the dissent, which argues that New York courts are imposing a higher burden on social media discovery. This has led to a fair amount …
4 lessons from dismissal in Michaels and SuperValu cases
When most people think of data breach lawsuits, they think of large class action cases and settlements like Remijas v. Neiman Marcus and Target. But the vast majority of courts are denying class certification in cyber security cases. Within nearly a week of each other, two federal courts in New …
FTC Fines Company $250k for Falsely Claiming Its Software Provided “Encryption”
The FTC recently announced settlement with Henry Schein Practice Solutions for $250,000 in exchange for resolving the FTC’s claims that Schein falsely advertised that its dental office management software provided encryption. You can read the article, “The Database Software says it is ‘encrypted’… but is it?” here at McDonald Hopkins’ …
New JFK Assassination / FOIA Opinion (Morley v. CIA)
A January 2016 opinion from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sheds more light on the “public-benefit factor” regarding entitlement to attorney fees under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) than it does provide information about the subject of the case: the Kennedy Assassination. For more than …
South Florida-based Cryptsy Exchange Closed Down by Hackers (& Lawsuit)
If you log onto the once-popular virtual currency exchange, Cryptsy, you can see the virtual version of tumbleweeds blowing through a western town in the form of “volume – 00.00” across the board. On January 14, 2016, the host “Big” Paul Vernor posted this blog post stating that hackers had …