Arbitration Update
February 28, 2006
Recent cases on the enforcement and requirement of arbitration disputes.
Bit Parts
February 28, 2006
Motion Pictures/DefamationThe U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut found that the 1970 film "A Man Called Horse" didn't defame the plaintiff,…
Calif. Justices Consider Words Of TV Writers
February 28, 2006
The justices of the California Supreme Court recently seemed inclined to keep their fingers out of the creative process that helped breathe life into the characters on the TV sitcom "Friends." The court had been asked to rule whether the show writers' sexually crude comments and simulations while hashing out TV scripts could constitute sexual harassment serious enough to cause a hostile work environment, especially for women and minorities.
Clause & Effect
February 28, 2006
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the owner of an interest in a song failed to show that he reasonably relied on an alleged materially false representation regarding the transfer of his interest in the song ' and thus failed to establish his fraud claim.
Courthouse Steps
February 28, 2006
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Cameo Clips
February 28, 2006
Recent cases in entertainment law.
Counsel Concerns
February 28, 2006
Lawyer's Conduct Leads to Reduction In Services Award <br>
Tennessee Appeals Court Affirms Rights Of Hank Williams' Heirs to Radio Concerts
February 28, 2006
Courts have broadly interpreted in favor of record companies the language in agreements with artists that states the label will be able to reproduce the artist's recordings "by any method now or hereafter known." But the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, at Nashville, decided that neither the record company to which the late country legend Hank Williams had signed, nor a company that obtained rights in the physical masters of Williams' 1950s radio performances had the right to exploit those recordings.
How to Avoid Rule 23 'Commonality' in Class Action Employment Litigation
February 28, 2006
In many class action cases, plaintiffs seek to certify a class encompassing thousands of employees across multiple facilities and job titles. Fortunately for employers, before such a broad class can be certified, Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires plaintiffs to establish, among other things, that there are common questions of law or fact among the proposed class members (the "commonality test"). This article assesses whether and to what extent employers can defeat class certification based upon the existence of a decentralized, subjective decision-making. After surveying the pertinent case-law in the Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits over the past 10 years, we offer practical guidelines that employers may use to avoid the certification of broad classes.
