Hour 1
Maynard, et al. v. Snapchat, Inc.
Supreme Court of Georgia, 2022
While driving over 100 miles per hour, Christal McGee rear-ended a car driven by Wentworth Maynard, causing him to suffer severe injuries. When the collision occurred, McGee was using a “Speed Filter” feature within Snapchat, a mobile phone application, to record her real-life speed on a photo or video that she could then share with other Snapchat users. Wentworth and his wife, Karen Maynard, sued McGee and Snapchat, Inc.
https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/supreme-court/2022/s21g0555.html
Snapchat May Have a Duty Not to Design Dangerous Software–Maynard v. Snap
What the Court Said
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2022/03/snapchat-may-have-a-duty-not-to-design-dangerous-software-maynard-v-snap.htm
A common law negligence claim typically has four elements: duty, breach, causation, damages. This highly technical opinion focuses exclusively on the first element of duty; it doesn’t resolve the other elements. Its literal holding is that the intermediate court improperly applied the wrong standards for evaluating duty, and Maynards’ allegations about duty survive a motion to dismiss. Maynards’ complaint may still be insufficient on the other negligence elements, and it leaves open the possibility that the Maynards won’t be able to prove that Snapchat owed them a duty on summary judgment or at trial. So this opinion only partially answers one of several questions that allow the case to proceed, and doesn’t definitively answer any question about whether Snapchat is ultimately liable. Unfortunately, he narrowness of the opinion’s scope increases the odds of misreadings by plaintiff lawyers who are excited about bringing more lawsuits.
How can Snapchat hide behind § 230?
In the post above, we read:
Snapchat helps its users generate speech and engage in social discourse; garden shears and Slip-n-Slides do not. Imposing negligence duties on “manufacturers” of speech-enhancing materials has much broader secondary implications on free speech than imposing those duties on standard chattel.
Clarence Thomas really wants the Supreme Court to take up Section 230 now
The conservative justice likes to bash tech, and broad interpretations of provision at the foundation of the modern internet.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued once again on Monday that his colleagues should really take up a case that would give them an opportunity to narrow the scope of tech’s favorite legal provision: Section 230.
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/clarence-thomas-230-meta
While agreeing the high court shouldn’t take up a specific case involving Meta, Thomas nonetheless took the time to write: “We should, however, address the proper scope of immunity under §230 in an appropriate case.”
47 U.S. Code § 230 – Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230
Common law or statute, which prevails?
Jay Milbrandt
I received my JD (law degree) and MBA from Pepperdine University. I teach Business Law for Bethel University in Minnesota.
I am the president of Bedford Industries, a global manufacturer, where I was previously general counsel (corporate lawyer). Prior to that and my teaching career, I was the Director of the Global Justice Program at Pepperdine University School of Law.
CFPB reminds servicers to use HAF funds to prevent foreclosure
While participation is voluntary, the Bureau reminded servicers that it remains focused on preventing avoidable foreclosures, and HAF funds can only help “if mortgage servicers work with state housing finance agencies and HUD-approved housing counselors to help borrowers” complete the process.
https://buckleyfirm.com/blog/2022-03-16/cfpb-reminds-servicers-use-haf-funds-prevent-foreclosure#page=1
Copyright Troll Step-By-Step Guide: How to Make Thousands as a Hobbyist Photographer
Once you catch use of your image on a website, now is the time to send a cease and desist letter with a demand for payment. Because you already obtained a copyright registration, you can threaten attorney’s fees as a way of driving up the damages demand. Also, if use of the image somehow doesn’t display your copyright notice, you can include an additional claim that the website operator violated your DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) rights. For damages, you can claim all profits and/or revenue generated by the website or a particular page within the website using the image. From there and the threat of substantial attorney’s fees, you can work downward until you reach a settlement.
https://www.klemchuk.com/ideate/copyright-troll-step-by-step-guide
Can cops give you a ticket for a stop sign in a Walmart lot?
Is there a big sign posted somewhere near the entrances saying Police have been given the power to enforce laws on that Property or something to that effect. * * * Is the sign regulation size, height, permanently attached to a normal metal traffic sign post that we all know look a certain way? Does the sign look “normal” or a bit small or something like this?
https://www.quora.com/Can-cops-give-you-a-ticket-for-a-stop-sign-in-a-Walmart-lot/answer/Benjamin-Bender-1
In Texas, there is a different way to tell. A legal stop sign has a DOT tag on the back with an inspection date. If this sticker is missing, a ticket cannot be enforced. A surprising number of small towns do not have legally enforceable stop signs/speed limit signs.
Lake Serene Property Owners Association, Inc. v. Esplin (Supreme Court of Mississippi, 2022)
This appeal presented a question of first impression in Mississippi as to whether short-term rentals of private homes through online services such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway were residential uses of property for the purposes of a restrictive covenant.
https://law.justia.com/cases/mississippi/supreme-court/2022/2020-ca-00689-sct.html
Explained: Civil Law vs Criminal Law (Video)
Civil or criminal? Liable or guilty? The difference is explained.
https://youtu.be/dMnqtRtd7F4
Hour 2
Code is Law? Blockchain Technology and the Future of Antitrust Law (Audio and text)
This is especially true for blockchain because he believes that too can be used for anti-consumer and anti-competitive practices. But, Thibault also believes that technology also provides a unique opportunity to identify and protect against antitrust behavior.
https://tlpodcast.com/blockchain-antitrust/
In fact, he just put out a book entitled Blockchain + Antitrust The Decentralization Formula that explores the relationship between blockchain and antitrust, providing a unique perspective on how law and technology could cooperate
Blockchain + Antitrust
The Decentralization Formula
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com.
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/blockchain-antitrust-9781800885523.html
This innovative and original book explores the relationship between blockchain and antitrust, highlighting the mutual benefits that stem from cooperation between the two and providing a unique perspective on how law and technology could cooperate.
After noise complaints, Tennessee judge rules that a bitcoin mine violates zoning laws
Red Dog technologies leased facilities from power company BrightRidge, also named in the lawsuit filed by Washington County, Tennessee, in November of last year.
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/137908/after-noise-complaints-tennessee-judge-rules-that-a-bitcoin-mine-violates-zoning-laws
In February 2020, BrightRidge was granted a rezoning permit to move from “General Agriculture District” to “Agriculture Business District.” The petition called for “expanding Bright Ridge’s use on the property” and said “the immediate request is to allow for a blockchain data center,” according to minutes from the meeting.
Pharmaceutical Company Sues Pfizer for Patent Infringement Relating to Covid Vaccine
The plaintiff alleges that the LNP utilized by Pfizer and Pharmacia in the development and production of the Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine relies heavily upon and violates the patents that the plaintiff holds for LNP. The plaintiff specifically quotes the defendant’s website: “Without these lipid nanoparticles, in fact, there could be no Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine.”
https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/health/pharmaceuticals/pharmaceutical-company-sues-pfizer-for-patent-infringement-relating-to-covid-vaccine/
. . . specifically states that it is not suing for injunction, noting the extreme importance of the COVID-19 Vaccine, but rather it is suing for damages and for institution of a licensing agreement for the affected patents.
Section 230 Survives Yet Another Constitutional Challenge–Huber v. Biden
Holding that mere acquiescence by private entities to the government’s encouragement of broad policy is sufficient to establish state action would thereby effectively conscript private actors into service as governmental agents subject to the constraints and obligations of the Constitution. It would substantially obfuscate the line between public and private action under the Constitution….
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2022/03/section-230-survives-yet-another-constitutional-challenge-huber-v-biden.htm
A broad reading of state action in this context would raise potential First Amendment concerns…Constraining Twitter to First Amendment standards in the exercise of its editorial rights thus itself raises countervailing First Amendment concerns. Accordingly, finding a private entity is a state actor through a claim of conspiracy must require more than a broad brush claim of shared interests
Minnesota public defenders may strike over workloads and pay
“I’ve been a public defender for seven years. I make less than a first-year attorney at the county attorney’s office,” Gilbert said. Public defenders don’t expect to reach parity with prosecutors in the next contract, she added, but they do want progress.
https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-minnesota-strikes-23385df4b3fb46df405dc9bd73b03edd
A strike by the 470 public defenders and 200 support staff could bring much of Minnesota’s state court system to a standstill if it persists.
By the way, the strike was averted near the deadline.
Burton v. Hawkins, et al. (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2022)
The students began working on the field exercise approximately 12 to 15 feet from the edge of the highway. Jennifer was driving southbound on Highway 431 in an impaired state and under the influence of several prescription medications. Fulkerson’s driver’s side tires ran off the highway into the median, causing Fulkerson to react and overcorrect, ultimately striking Cole and Nicholas. Cole suffered severe injuries, and Nicholas died approximately one month after the accident from the injuries he had sustained. Caitlin Hood, as the personal representative of Nicholas’s estate, and Cole individually sued Fulkerson, among others, asserting various claims arising out of the accident. At issue in this appeal was whether the University faculty were entitled to State-agent immunity from suit.
https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/supreme-court/2022/1200825.html
Riley’s American Heritage Farms v. Elsasser, No. 20-55999 (9th Cir. 2022)
Riley’s Farm provides historical reenactments and hosts apple picking. In 2001-2017, schools within the District took field trips to Riley’s. In 2018, Riley used his personal Twitter account to comment on controversial topics. Parents complained; a local newspaper published an article about Riley and his postings. The District severed the business relationship. In a 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit alleging retaliation for protected speech, the district court granted the District defendants summary judgment.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/20-55999/20-55999-2022-03-17.html
Who’s to blame for wrongful convictions? Accountability demands more than finger-pointing.
The National Registry of Exonerations has recorded the 3,000th exoneration of a wrongly convicted defendant since 1989: the case of Reynaldo Munoz, framed for a Chicago murder.A wrongful conviction is never the work of a lone bad apple.
Like a plane crash, a wrongful conviction is a system failure, an “organizational accident.” Small errors, none of them sufficient to cause the conviction independently, combine with each other and with latent system weaknesses, then the catastrophe comes.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/03/19/wrongful-convictions-criminal-justice-accountability/7062303001/
Another $14 million settlement tied to Burge torture era
Corey Batchelor and Kevin Bailey were teenagers when they were beaten into confessing to a murder they did not commit after being tortured by detectives trained by disgraced Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2022/1/20/22893760/burge-torture-era-settlements-corey-batchelor-kevin-bailey-14-million-lula-mae-woods-murder-case
Music Credits
Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought The Law (1966)
https://youtu.be/OgtQj8O92eI
Jace Everett – Bad Things (Official Video)
https://youtu.be/sMPNjPpdjKU
15 second snips
https://sectorradio.ru/space/
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