Red Buttons died yesterday. He was an Oscar-winner and famous comedian, but we at Overlawyered will remember him for suing Conan O’Brien for mentioning him in a 1993 sketch. Portions of the opinion in Buttons v. National Broadcasting Co. Inc. (No. CV94-0354 (C.D. Cal.)) (via my brother) are after the jump:
Posts Tagged ‘broadcasters’
Update: court to dismiss Leno defamation suit
According to The Recorder/Law.com, a San Francisco judge has said he would grant an anti-SLAPP motion and dismiss a defamation suit filed against late-night host Jay Leno by a woman who was the butt of one of his comedy routines (see Apr. 18) (Pam Smith, “Calif. Court to Toss Defamation Suit Against Jay Leno”, The Recorder, Jun. 19).
Jay Leno sued over comic routine
This isn’t the first time the Tonight Show’s “Headlines” feature, in which Leno uses real-life news photos as the basis for wisecracks and ridicule, has landed the network and comedian in court. However, a defense lawyer predicts the suit will go nowhere because the audience understood the material to be comedy. (Pam Smith, “Comedian Leno Sued for ‘Sperm Donor’ Joke”, The Recorder, Apr. 12). More “Tonight Show” litigation: Dec. 7, 1999 (flying t-shirt). (Update Jul. 9: court says it will dismiss suit).
Scientology and South Park
The incident we reported on Feb. 28 has developed into quite a news story — see, for example, Andrew Sullivan, Mar. 16 and many other recent posts.
A South Park episode, deep-sixed?
From a Rolling Stone investigative report on L. Ron Hubbard’s Church of Scientology (Janet Reitman, “Inside Scientology”, Feb. 23):
The church has a storied reputation for squelching its critics through litigation, and according to some reports, intimidation (a trait that may explain why the creators of South Park jokingly attributed every credit on its November 2005 sendup of Scientology to the fictional John and Jane Smith; Paramount, reportedly under pressure, has agreed not to rerun the episode here or to air it in England).
More on Scientology and litigation: Oct. 25, 2005, Apr. 16, 2004; Mar. 25-26, 2002; Mar. 19-20, 2001; May 3, 2000.
The “Fairness Doctrine”
Product placement
The practice was common and unremarkable during the Golden Age of Radio, yet somehow the Republic survived (John Hood, “Warning: Coke, Though Refreshing, Is A Sponsor of This Program “, Reason, Nov. 22).
“Borat” welcomes Kazakh suit
Kazakhstan threatens to sue HBO comedian
On his popular HBO show, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen portrays various outrageous characters among them “Borat”, supposedly a TV personality from the (real) former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan. Now “Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry is threatening to sue him for portraying the central Asian state in a ‘derogatory way.'” (Buck Wolf, “Kazakhstan Not Laughing at ‘Ali G'”, ABCNews, Nov. 15).
“Five orphaned siblings suing home makeover show”
Five orphaned siblings who received gifts and a new dream home on the hit ABC television show “Extreme Makeover, Home Edition” are suing the network, the company that built the house and the couple who took them in after their parents died.
The lawsuit is rooted in a falling out between the children -– who range in age from 15 to 22 -– and the couple, Phil and Loki Leomiti. The children ultimately moved out of the Leomitis’ home in Santa Fe Springs, a small city southeast of Los Angeles, and are living separately with friends, said Charles Higgins II, the eldest sibling….
Their lawsuit alleges that the Leomitis engaged in “an orchestrated campaign” to drive them away by insulting them and treating them poorly.
“We were promised a home,” said Charles Higgins II. “They broke that promise.”
[Patrick] Mesisca, the attorney [for the children], acknowledged Wednesday that the siblings were never promised a house in writing. But the network’s statements and actions could legally be considered a promise, he said.
(AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 11). Jeff at Southern California Law Blog comments (Aug. 10): “Seems to me that ABC has no responsibility to manage the relationship between the kids and their adoptive family. But hey, that’s just me.”