Court Dismisses Defamation And Invasion Of Privacy Suit At Pleading Stage

July 1, 2003

James S. Williams  of the firm's Los Angeles office defended Hits Magazine, Inc., an online publisher of music industry magazine in a defamation and invasion of privacy suit. Plaintiff, a recording company executive, sued the online publisher because of a satiric item that was posted in the "Rumor Mill" column of the magazine. Plaintiff claimed that the article invaded his privacy and was defamatory because it revealed that he stayed at a fancy Hollywood hotel and suggested the he failed to pay his debts.

The defense moved for dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that the content of the online article was within the bounds of constitutionally-protected literary license and that the facts revealed upon by plaintiff were insufficient to state causes of action for either invasion of privacy or defamation. The trial court granted the motion and plaintiff has appealed. Stay tuned.