Author Archives: Aaron Morris

Court Finds that Statement about Cause of Suicide is an Opinion

An interesting defamation case out of New York, involving the world of music and illustrating the burden of proof. As explained here on various occasions,  truth is a defense (a point sadly lost on many defense attorneys). Thus, the burden of … Continue reading

Appeal Victory: Treble Damages for Theft Affirmed Against Defendant

Bell v. Igal Feibush: Treble Damages Awarded for Theft by False Pretext As we reported in October of 2011, we persuaded an Orange County Superior Court Judge to apply Penal Code section 496(c) – making it illegal to receive stolen … Continue reading

Parents Claim Yoga Classes Violate First Amendment

“Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun. It shines everywhere.” — William Shakespeare Parents in San Diego are objecting to yoga classes offered at a grade school, claiming they violate the First Amendment. As reported by the … Continue reading

Hacienda Heights Doctor, Pankaj Karan, Hit with $1.5 Million Judgment for Internet Defamation

In this case, we represented a business and the individual who owns that business. The defendant, a medical doctor named Pankaj Karan, was starting his own business, MDTelexchange, and traveled to an overseas company also owned by our client (we’ll … Continue reading

Judge Orders Man to Apologize to Ex-Wife on Facebook

Clients sometimes ask me to seek a letter of apology as part of a defamation settlement. I have managed to do so on a number of occasions, but I usually recommend a letter of retraction as opposed to a letter … Continue reading

Some Judges Just Don’t “Get” Defamation

I run into this attitude from judges occasionally. Thankfully, I’ve always been able to turn them around, but when I read about it, it still raises my hackles a little. The attitude of which I speak was most recently illustrated … Continue reading

Australian Defamation Case Illustrates Life Without the CDA

I have frequently written here on the pros and cons of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”). Without it, no website could permit comments, but by the same token it allows unscrupulous website operators to encourage defamatory postings, and then use … Continue reading

Gloating Over $5,000 Settlement Costs Parents $234,011.87

Some callers to my office, wanting to sue for defamation because someone said terrible, false and hurtful things about them, are disappointed to learn that they cannot seek legal action because the speech falls under a privilege. By definition, “privileged” … Continue reading

How to Fight Back Against Online Defamation

Always striving not to reinvent the wheel, I keep my eyes open for articles that do a good job of explaining basic legal concepts.  In that regard, I receive many calls from prospective clients who don’t yet know the fundamentals of … Continue reading

Top Ten Ways to Blow a Job Interview

Interviewing prospective employees is an amazing process.  How long does an interview last?  Ten minutes? Thirty minutes? Maybe an hour and a half if the interview is over lunch?  And yet, even over such a short amount of time, it … Continue reading