Overlawyered » publishers

Judge dismisses “Three Cups of Tea” book fraud case

Walter Olson — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:41:19 +0000

A Montana federal court dismisses a class action against author Greg Mortenson demanding reader refunds over alleged fabrications in his memoir Three Cups of Tea. [Volokh, earlier here, here, etc.] More: Trask.

Tags: class actions, publishers

Judge dismisses “Three Cups of Tea” book fraud case is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Class action lawyers vs. “Three Cups of Tea”

Walter Olson — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:35:36 +0000

Defendants in federal court in Montana are now seeking dismissal of a purported class action on behalf of readers disappointed by author Greg Mortenson’s exaggerations and embroiderings. As in the earlier (and successful) James Frey episode, lawyers are arguing that consumers should be awarded refunds for their purchases of the flawed memoir. [AP/Washington Post] Earlier here, etc.

Tags: class actions, publishers

Class action lawyers vs. “Three Cups of Tea” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

March 20 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:05:14 +0000

“Lawyer Who Spotted Broker Fraud Rewarded With SEC Ordeal” [Business Week via Bader]
Reactions to the feds’ antitrust case against e-book publishers and Apple [Yglesias, Wright, Stoll, more]
NYT retrospectively backs Nixon efforts to deny tax exemption to lefty groups, or maybe ire at tea party adversaries just makes the paper less than consistent [Caron, background, more]
House Judiciary testimony on the evils of consent decrees binding the government to pursue regulation in certain ways [Andrew Grossman]
“Law Firm Claims It Had No Control Over $464 Mln Fee Request” [WSJ Law Blog]
“California’s ethnic identity police” [Mickey Kaus]
Role, economic incentives of special masters in litigation overdue for reformist attention [Ted/PoL]

Tags: antitrust, Apple, consent decrees, publishers, Securities and Exchange Commission

March 20 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 3 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:10:50 +0000

Judge blocks California budget cuts re: in-home services for disabled [Mercury News]
Media exploited her daughter for titillation, claims suit by mother of “Toddlers & Tiaras” star [Above the Law]
Narrower definition of autism ahead? [Althouse]
“Police Charge Canadian Blogger With Criminal Libel for Criticizing the Police” [Sullum, Popehat]
Prince George’s County, Maryland, wants to ban liquor deliveries; no harm linked to them, but you can’t be too sure [Ben Giles, Washington Examiner] Centers for Disease Control’s curious definition of “binge” drinking [Sullum]
The law of authors’ liability for inaccurate memoirs [Mark Fowler, Rights Of Writers; earlier here, etc.]
“Diagnosing Liability: The Legal History of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” [Deirdre M. Smith, SSRN via TortsProf]

Tags: alcohol, autism, Canada, Maryland, publishers

February 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Village Voice To Stop Suing Over ‘Best Of’ Lists”

Walter Olson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:53:54 +0000

“The Village Voice is giving up on a scheme to force rivals to pay for permission to use the phrase ‘best of.’” [Paid Content]

Tags: publishers, trademarks

“Village Voice To Stop Suing Over ‘Best Of’ Lists” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“The nastiest copyright notice ever written”

Walter Olson — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:16:42 +0000

Terry Teachout thus nominates the verbal barbed wire that surrounds the work of the late poet Louis Zukofsky (see also).

Tags: copyright, publishers

“The nastiest copyright notice ever written” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Welcome Boston Globe, New Yorker readers

Walter Olson — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:44:21 +0000

Alex Beam at the Boston Globe and Ian Crouch at the New Yorker write about the rise of lawsuits over unsatisfactory book contents, as with class actions filed over Greg Mortenson’s challenged memoirs and, before that, those of James Frey. Beam also brings up the outrageous lawsuit against former President Jimmy Carter and his publisher by someone who disagrees with the views Carter expressed in a book on the Mideast conflict. I’m quoted in both pieces (and at especially generous length in Beam’s). [Boston Globe, New Yorker; earlier here, here, etc.] (& WSJ Law Blog)

Tags: class actions, publishers

Welcome Boston Globe, New Yorker readers is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Update: “Judge Bars Woman From Suing Over Faulty Google Map”

Walter Olson — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:56:56 +0000

“Finding that Google has no duty to provide accurate content on its website, a Utah judge has thrown out the novel case of a woman who claimed that faulty walking directions on Google Maps caused her to be hit by a car.” [OnPoint News, earlier here, etc.] The same post, updating another story we’ve noted, reports that a bill to make guidebook publishers liable for some injuries to tourists has died in the Hawaii legislature.

Tags: Google, Hawaii, publishers, roads and streets

Update: “Judge Bars Woman From Suing Over Faulty Google Map” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“There is money to be had when the right kind of book scandal comes along.”

Walter Olson — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:37:46 +0000

Welcome Daily Beast readers: Newsweek reporter Mike Giglio quotes me on the class action lawsuits filed over Greg Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea. Earlier coverage here.

Tags: class actions, publishers

“There is money to be had when the right kind of book scandal comes along.” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Media industry awash in cease-and-desist letters”

Walter Olson — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:19:10 +0000

“Spin magazine slapped Eric Rice, a Portland, Oregon Twitter user, with a cease-and-desist over his ‘@Spin‘ Twitter handle…. Spin, however, may just be following the precedent set by other magazines. Entrepreneur, for one, is notorious for bullying small businesses that use the word ‘entrepreneur,’ a term that the magazine claims to own.” [Dylan Stableford, Yahoo Cutline]

Tags: bullying businesses, publishers, Twitter

“Media industry awash in cease-and-desist letters” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system