$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 …
First and Fourth DCA: Conflict on Strict Construction of Proposal for Settlement
The First District Court of Appeal, for the second time, has called out a conflict with the Fourth DCA regarding how strictly the rule must be construed. In Colvin v. North Florida Women’s Care, a plaintiff served on the defendant a proposal for settlement for $20,000. She proceeded to trial …
Register Your Drone with FAA — Businesses, Hobbyists, and Parent Who Bought One Over The Holidays
You likely have heard that the FAA has required every drone to be registered. And, especially with the holidays, that particular task may have fallen down your list of things to do. Change that. Drone registration is mandatory. Even the large amateur drone association(s) finally concluded that everyone should go …
Injunction for Cyberstalking in Florida Reversed
During the May 2014 Billboard Music Award show, a hologram of Michael Jackson wowed the crowd as he/it performed the song, “Slave to the Rhythm.” You can see the performance here. Lawsuits regarding the hologram arose between two companies involving patent and business tort disputes. According to the allegations, Alkiviades David, …
Fourth DCA: Internet Review of Lawyer Is Libel Per Se
Posting an online review of a lawyer’s services which include false claims that the lawyer lied about attorney fees and falsified a contract is libel per se, ruled the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal on January 6, 2016. Even though the parties had settled their case and at least …
LinkedIn Profiles – What Should New York and Florida Lawyers Do?
According to a recent study, 42% of Florida lawyers used LinkedIn for professional purposes. An ABA study suggests 90% of firms of all size have a LinkedIn profile. Two helpful but conflicting ethics opinions regarding lawyers’ use of LinkedIn have come from the New York City Bar (“NYC Bar”) and …