Bow Tie Law

Brewing Issues in Social Networking Litigation: How to Freak Out Co-Workers and Get Fired

A barista was fired from Starbucks for “inappropriate conduct and threatening violence to Starbucks and its employees.” Mai-Trang Thi Nguyen v. Starbucks Coffee Corp., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113461 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 7, 2009).  The Plaintiff in turn sued for sexual harassment, retaliation, religious discrimination, violations of the California Occupational Safety[…]

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Almost Famous…on a Social Networking Site with a Forum Selection Clause

The ease of creating a MySpace profile (or Twitter) that impersonates a celebrity has to be nerve racking for actors, rock stars, and anyone else who is “famous.” Riggs v. Myspace, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37109 (W.D. Pa. May 5, 2009) is the story of a Plaintiff who created[…]

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Producing Social Networking Profiles: What Court has Jurisdiction?

A Facebook user in Massachusetts was facing criminal charges in Massachusetts for criminal harassment and threats to commit a crime from Facebook messages. Skerry, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38804, 1-2 (D. Cal. 2009). The Petitioner sought the emergency deposition of Facebook’s “recorder keeper” because of the concern Facebook periodically purged its information system. Skerry, 2-4.

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When Contract Law Collides with Social Networking & Online Movie Rentals

Every now and then, there comes a case that gives me law school flashbacks.  Professor Rohwer, my old Contracts professor, this one’s for you.  Harris v. Blockbuster, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31531 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 15, 2009) involves Blockbuster allegedly violating the Video Privacy Protection Act.  Blockbuster Online (an online[…]

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