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Decisions of Interest
April 27, 2006
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Intrafamily Wiretapping in Custody Disputes
April 27, 2006
<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article.</i></b> The sensational, celebrity-filled Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case in California has been grabbing headlines for weeks now. Pellicano, a private detective, is accused, along with several others, of illegally listening in on the private conversations of some of Hollywood's elite in order to gain an advantage for his clients in legal and other matters. Wiretapping issues have also found their way into family law matters.
The Court-Appointed Expert
April 27, 2006
In last month's article, we explored the many issues that involve the court-appointed valuation/financial expert. Many of the problems such experts encounter are the result of a lack of clarity and specificity in the order appointing them, and a general lack of guidelines for the expert to follow. The Matrimonial Commission, appointed by the Chief Justice Judith Kaye and chaired by Justice Sondra Miller, undertook a detailed review of this area in an attempt to remedy the problem. This author served on the Commission as its only financial evaluation expert. After review, the Committee drafted a model order for the appointment of the valuation/financial expert, and published it in Appendix K of its report. Let us now look at the problems and issues related to the appointment of a valuation/financial expert, and focus on the resolutions recommended by the Commission.
Net News
April 27, 2006
European Music Industry Files 2000 Lawsuits in 10 Countries<br>Online Ad Revenue Grows For Third Year in a Row<br>Arkansas Judge Approves Google Settlement<br>NY Attorney General Sues Major 'Spyware' Internet Company
Same-Sex Marriage
April 27, 2006
Will New York residents who travel to Massachusetts lawfully be able to marry their same-sex partners there under Massachusetts law? For now, the question remains unanswered.
Netflix Screens Patent Controversy
April 27, 2006
The patent dispute between online DVD rental rivals Netflix Inc. and Blockbuster Inc. not only pits two big-name competitors against each other, but it also highlights the ongoing debate over Internet business-method patents.
College and Child Support
April 27, 2006
Special Referee James A. Montagnino (Supreme Court, Westchester County) wrote an insightful Outside Counsel article for <i>The New York Law Journal</i> (a sister publication of this newsletter) in March 2002 concerning the crediting of college expenses against child support. (Montagnino, JA.: Crediting College Expenses Against Child Support. <i>NYLJ</i>, March 18, 2002.) As he explained in that article, under New York's Child Support Standards Act (CSSA), a noncustodial parent may be required to contribute to the costs of his or her child's college education, including room and board, above and beyond the basic child support obligation mandated by the CSSA. See Domestic Relations Law ' 240 [1-b] [b] [2]; Family Court Act ' 413 [1] [c] [7]. However, such contributions may lead to a double payment by the noncustodial parent for room and board, since the basic child support obligation as calculated under the CSSA guidelines includes the cost of food and shelter for a child.
Speak No Evil
April 27, 2006
An age-old question of Internet law has heated up the intrastate rivalry between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but this time it's not sports teams or gubernatorial candidates; it's judges. Yes, judges.<br>The question: When can an anonymous Internet speaker accused of defamation be unmasked? The combatants: Judge Albert Sheppard of Phila-delphia and Judge R. Stanton Wettick of Pittsburgh ' two of Pennsylvania's most respected jurists. If Pennsylvania can be split on the issue, so can other states. Which argument is correct?
Justices Appear Torn in eBay Patent Case
April 27, 2006
Two veterans of the U.S. Supreme Court bar argued forcefully ' and inconclusively ' last month in a high-stakes dispute over how easy it should be for a patent holder to win an injunction against an infringer.<br>From the tenor of the questioning in <i>eBay v. MercExchange</i>, justices seemed closely divided over the issue.
Wikipedia Creates Concerns Aplenty About the Web's Reliability
April 27, 2006
Although the online encyclopedia Wikipedia recently added its 1 millionth English-language article, controversy over the value of its content continues. Concerns arise because Wikipedia has no single editor, and anyone (or virtually anyone) can add a new entry or edit an existing one. <br>Reliability concerns are in no way limited to Wikipedia, but pervade legal research done on the Internet.

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