Judge: Campus Cops Wrongly Seized Photog's Camera

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Alameda County (Calif.) Superior Court Judge Yolanda Northridge has ruled that U.C. Berkeley campus police violated state law when they seized Bay Area Independent Media Center ("Indybay") photographer David Morse's camera on Dec. 11, 2009, as Morse was snapping pictures of a protest outside Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's campus home that resulted in vandalism to the home and the arrest of Morse and a handful of protesters.

According to a story in The Contra Costa Times, Judge Northridge ordered campus police to return photos to Morse that were seized after his arrest. Morse purportedly identified himself to police as a journalist a half dozen times during the demonstration, at which windows in Birgeneau's residence were smashed and eight arrests--including Morse--occurred.  Police secured a search warrant to retrieve photos from Morse's camera, but Morse's attorney claimed authorities did not disclose that Morse had identified himself as a journalist when they obtained the warrant.

Article 1, Section 2(b) of the California Constitution articulates a strong shield law that, in part, protects journalists from having to surrender unpublished information obtained during newsgathering, including photographs.

Consortium to Acquire Majority Stake in Le Monde?

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According to a Reuters story, France's newspaper of record, Le Monde, has enlisted financial advisors to assist it in selling a majority ownership share to stanch losses from declining ad revenues and shrinking circulation.

France's Telecom is joining forces with Spain's Prisa (Promotora de Informaciones SA) and Nouvel Observateur weekly magazine owner Claude Perdriel to submit a bid for a majority stake in the daily newspaper. Reportedly, the consortium has its eye on a 34 percent ownership bid for the paper's online version, Le Monde Interactif.

Another triumverate consisting of Pierre Berge, an Yves St. Laurent Group partner; telecommunications mogul Xavier Niel and Matthieu Nagasse, a Lazard banker, reportedly has submitted a pre-offer to Le Monde. The Reuters account suggests the purchase price could reach 100 million euros ($122.8 million).

The French state has a 28 percent ownership interest in France Telecom.

'Found' Amanda Sues Film Director Uncle for Invasion of Privacy

Cover of Finding Amanda

Libel-in-fiction cases are springing up around the nation, according to www.onpointnews.com, with the latest involving the about-to-be released film, Finding Amanda, starring Matthew Broderick.

The film has prompted a lawsuit in Nevada's Clark County District Court by the filmmaker's niece, who alleges the movie's character of a prostitute is drawn from her life. The suit, Alix Daily v. Capacity Pictures, LLC et al. (Case No. A-10-617721-C) includes counts alleging invasion of privacy and intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The movie's writer and director, Peter Tolan, is a defendant in the case, in which Daily, Tolan's niece, alleges the character of Amanda was created without her permission, using personal and confidential information about her that Tolan and his wife learned while helping Daily with a personal crisis. The plot of Finding Amanda involves Broderick's gambling-addicted screenwriter's efforts to save his niece Amanda from prostitution and drug use in Las Vegas.  Tolan purportedly has told interviewers that the film was inspired by personal real-life events.

Previously, California resident Brendan Cody has sued author Alexandra Sokoloff, alleging her novel, The Unseen, features a character with his name whose troubled family background includes alcohol abuse. Cody claims Sokoloff used personal information about him in her book  that he revealed to her as a personal friend. The Unseen is a 2009 thriller involving two psychology professors investigating paranormal events in North Carolina. The fictional Cody purportedly suffers from a mood disorder shared by the real-life Cody, as well as a personal and family history of alcohol abuse.

Additionally, onpointnews.com reports that  Danzy Senna, author of the memoir Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, has been sued by her retired journalist father Carl Senna for allegedly disclosing he was an alcoholic, which he purportedly admitted to her on condition that she keep the information confidential.

Creative Writing professors may think twice before advising students to write about what they know and real-life experiences. It remains to be seen whether the spate of libel in fiction cases has a chilling effect on the creative arts.

Buffalo News Putting End to Hidden Posters

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The Buffalo News, the only newspaper owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, will no longer allow anonymous comments to stories in their online edition.

In the coming weeks, the daily newspaper serving the Buffalo/Niagra Falls market will require its Website readers to complete an online form that requires readers to disclose their name, town, and telephone number. Any posted comment following news stories will include the name and town of the blogger.

 The newspaper's online editor hopes the new policy will elevate discourse and provide a measure of accountability to readers who post comments. In the past, the newspaper has tried several measures to curb vitriolic and incendiary anonymous posts, including not permitting comments after certain stories editors believed might attract hateful commentary.

The News acknowledges its new practice is labor-intensive, but is hopeful it will raise the level of discussion.

U.K. Mirrors U.S. in Declining Newspaper Circulation

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Things aren't going well for the newspaper industry across the pond, according to a story in The Guardian (guardian..co.uk).

"The Evolution of News and the Internet," a report prepared by the Organsation for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD"), revealed that since 2007, the U.K. is second only to the U.S. in declining newspaper circulation. Between 2007-2009, newspaper circulation dropped 25 percent in the U.K., compared to a 30 percent plunge in the U.S. Other nations that experienced a dramatic drop in newspaper readership included Greece at 20 percent; Italy, 18 percent; and Canada at 17 percent. In all, 20 of the 30 OECD nations surveyed experienced a decline in newspaper circulation.

More Layoffs at San Diego Union Tribune

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The bleeding continues at The San Diego Union Tribune, where up to 40 editorial staffers were pink-slipped this week, according to a report by NBC.

Reporters, feature writers, and web editors were among those axed as a cost-savings measure to offset shrinking ad revenues.  Since it acquired the Union Tribune last year, investment firm Platinum Equity has slashed nearly 300 jobs off the newspaper's payroll (see "TUOL" post 8/13/09).

According to the NBC story, management has created junior staff writer positions that pay between $30,000-$35,000 to generate news content. The Union Tribune would not confirm the latest round of staff layoffs.

Michigan Solon: License to Kill (Free Press)?

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The Duluth News Tribune reports that Michigan 7th District Republican State Sen. Bruce Patterson has introduced a bill that would require the licensing of journalists.

Thus far, no other Michigan legislator has joined Patterson as a sponsor of S.B. 1323 Voluntary Registration of Reporters. Patterson is hopeful his measure would promote credibility and ensure "good moral character" among members of the Fourth Estate. Under provisions of the proposed bill, "registered reporters" would have to belong to a "generally recognized media or press association or organization," and meet certain requirements pertaining to college training, professional experience, and published work, as determined by the state department overseeing the ink-stained wretches.

Ah, there's the rub, and the rub has a name--the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That whole: "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." thing. You see, Sen. Patterson, it could have a chilling effect on a reporter covering Michigan's government doings, if within that government is an agency that can decide whether the watchdog should be licensed as a reporter (or at least get a dog license).

Patterson also introduced S.B. 1285, a bill that requires a deposit on newspapers.  "TUOL" believes Sen. Patterson needs to find another way to work out any problems he may be having with his newspaper deliveryperson.

New Mexico Daily Sues Governor for Release of Employee Records

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The Albuquerque Journal has sued Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson under the Inspection of Public Records Act (14-2-4 NMSA 1978) for the release of documents concerning 59 state workers who were laid off, the Associated Press reports.

The Journal filed suit in district court in pursuit of information concerning the identities of the pink-slipped workers, the purported savings to the state budget from the payroll deductions, and the criteria used by the governor's office to determine which positions were expendable. The newspaper claims the governor's office was foot-dragging and had released the names of only a handful of the 59 workers.

Judge Won't Gag Blago

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They could sell tickets when former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich finally testifies in his own defense in the  public corruption trial currently playing out in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division (U.S.A. v. Rod Blagojevich, Case No. 1:08-cr-00888).

In the meantime, the ersatz Chicago tourist attraction is drawing its share of publicity, the latest being an 18-page government motion to limit extrajudicial comments filed by prosecutors seeking a court order to stifle the chatty Blago's remarks about his trial and the testimony of his one-time best friend, chief of staff and star prosecution witness Alonzo Monk.  Prosecutors want Blago and his attorney enjoined from making public comments about the legal proceedings, citing the former governor's Blagojevich on Trial blog comments that Monk lied on the stand.

Judge James Zagel told both sides to confer over the weekend and work out the parameters of permissible public comments by the defendant. Judge Zagel considers a court order banning public remarks a last option.

"TUOL" considers it only fair that Judge Zagel impose a gag order on Blago, given that Blago's appearances on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice, The View and elsewhere made countless viewers gag.

Journos Grapple Over Best Seat in the (White) House

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White House correspondents seem to take in stride the dearth of presidential press conferences, the administration's recalcitrance in producing White House visitor logs, and their own increasing irrelevance, but now the American public knows what gets the dander up of the creme de la creme of the Fourth Estate--Who gets to sit in former UPI icon Helen Thomas' front row seat?

Since the 89-year-old Thomas' ill-conceived remarks about Israel's Gaza presence prompted her resignation, a battle royale is taking shape between Fox News and Bloomberg News over which organization will occupy the front row, center seat from which Thomas signaled the end of press conferences by bleating: "Thank you, Mr. President," seemingly dating back to the Polk Administration.

Traditionally, the seat has been occupied by a reporter from the wire services, but Bloomberg Executive Editor Al Hunt and Fox News Washington Managing Editor Bill Sammons each has fired off a letter to the White House Press Correspondents Association ("WHPCA") outlining why his organization deserves the coveted chair. A verdict is expected sometime after July 16 when new WHPCA board members assume office.

Some unsolicited observations from   "TUOL"'s editorial team. Initially, we wonder what the commotion is all about, unless, because of Thomas' advanced years, she sat in an ergonomically perfect orthopedic chair that is more comfortable than the rest of the briefing room furniture. Seniority and tradition have fallen by the wayside, as has the influence of ink-stained wretches, because no one is dusting off the seat for any major metropolitan daily newspaper reporter, perhaps out of concern that a print journalist  might rent out the seat to offset sagging ad revenues.

"TUOL" believes Thomas' seat should be filled by a blogger, who would be required to attend all briefings dressed in pajamas. Alternatively, the seat could be occupied by a White House plant (of the two-legged variety) along the lines of the faux journalist/gay escort employed by the Bush Administration to lob softball questions to W. that he still somehow managed to swing at and miss.

Another possible solution--give each of the watchdogs of democracy a "barka-lounger" of his or her very own.

Canada High Court 'Bails' on Free Press Ruling

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By an 8-1 margin, the Supreme Court of Canada last week upheld a statute barring journalists from reporting on evidence at bail hearings.

The majority opinion by Justice Marie Deschamps said the statutory publication ban was a "reasonable compromise" that protects the defendant's right to a fair trial without unduly compromising freedom of expression. The court noted that journalists are permitted to identify a defendant, list the charges against him or her, report the outcome of the bail proceeding, and attend the bail hearing. Additionally, the opinion stated, the publication ban expires either when the trial ends or when the defendant is released after a preliminary inquiry.

The case at issue concerned bail hearings of 18 defendants charged with engaging in terrorist activity.

According to Justice Deschamps: "[I]n the context of the bail process, the deleterious effects of the limits on the publication of information are outweighed by the need to ensure certainty and timeliness, to conserve resources, and to divert the disclosure of untested prejudicial information; in other words, to guarantee as much as possible trial fairness and fair access to bail."

In the U.S. legal system, judges grapple with the inherent conflict between the First Amendment right of freedom of the press and the defendant's Sixth Amendment guarantee of a fair trial. Case law has established a right of access to criminal proceedings, including preliminary hearings. Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980); Press Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 48 U.S. 1 (1986).

AGs Pow-Wow Over Google's Wi-Fi Network Data-Trolling

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Attorneys General from 30 states conferred this week on whether to consolidate their investigations into Calif.-based Internet search engine colossus Google's assembly of private data culled from unsecured wireless networks, according to a story in The New York Times.

Google admitted last month that it collected emails and other personal information from unsecured Wi-Fi networks while its vehicles were providing photographic content for Google's Street View service. Google concedes the data-gathering was improper, but denies it was illegal.

Attorneys general  are probing whether Google may have violated any state laws. The Times credits Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal as being the prime mover behind the conference call regarding whether to join forces to investigate Google. That's the same Blumenthal running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Christopher Dodd who the Times took to task for allegedly inflating his military record. In a series of stump speeches, Blumenthal "mis-remembered," as pitching great Roger Clemens used to say, that his stint as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve  included a tour of duty in Vietnam during the war.

CNN Taking 'Turner' for Worse with Scandalous Talking Heads?

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The New York Post reported today that Prime Time ratings-starved CNN ("Ceding Nielsen's Nightly") may be girding for battle over viewers with cable rivals MSNBC and Fox  by adding the scandal-ridden Elliot Spitzer and Piers Morgan to its nightly talk show line-up.

Spitzer, the former Democratic governor of New York a/k/a "Client 9" in the Emperors Club prostitution scandal, reportedly will co-host a "Crossfire"-like talkfest at 8 p.m., replacing the failed Campbell Brown experiment (see "TUOL" post 5/19/10). The Post story says CNN, which cancelled "Crossfire" in 2005, is waiting to find a conservative counterpart to the liberal Spitzer before introducing the show.  Wonder where Post advice columnist Ashley Dupre falls on the political spectrum? She and Spitzer have worked well together in the past, after all.

Meanwhile, according to the Post, Morgan is being groomed to replace Larry King, whose nightly gabfest barely has a pulse, much the same as its host. Morgan is the one-time editor of  The Daily Mirror, who resigned in 2004 after publishing phony photos of British soldiers allegedly abusing Iraqi  prisoners. In 2000, he attracted negative attention when he bought stock in a company shortly before a Mirror article touted the company.

CNN denies it is searching for a successor to King, but is searching for a replacement for Brown. Apparently the cable station founded by Ted Turner didn't have Bill Moyers' phone number.

Russia Eyes Media Law Reform

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According to a Radio Free Europe story reported in The Epoch Times, media law reform is on the Russian Parliament's radar.

Vying for parliamentary support are two bills. The first measure, backed by Ludmila Narusova, head of the Information Policy Parliamentary Commission, would clarify the legal status of content on the Internet, soliciting input from Web communities and providers. The other bill under consideration has the blessings of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's Unite Russia Party ("URP"), and, Narusova claims, would amend 60 percent of current media law, imposing harsh restrictions.

The URP bill, which the Russian Parliament passed in its first reading last week, empowers Federal Security Agency (FSB) officers to question journalists and censor "extremist" information. The state controls most mass media in Russia. Reporters Without Borders has ranked Russia 153rd in the world regarding press freedom, slightly higher than China and Pakistan.

Guess it's too soon to retire the old joke about Russian journalists breaking into the Kremlin to report on the results of next year's election.

Forecast: Newspapers to See Ad Revenues Disappear 'Virtually'

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Over the next four years, the Internet will leave newspapers in a trail of dust in pursuit of advertising revenues, and will supplant the print media as second only to television as the nation's largest advertising medium.

So says the annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report released today by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report, covering 2010-2014, predicts online advertising (excluding mobile ads) will climb from $24.2 billion in 2009 to $34.4 billion by 2014, according to a story in today's Wall St. Journal.  The report is less confident about newspapers, forecasting ad revenues to shrink in 2014 to $22.3 billion. According to  the Newspaper Assn. of America,  print advertising revenue was $24.82 billion in 2009.

Advertising in interactive media, email and video will increase dramatically, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, to $6.6 billion in 2014 from its $4.7 billion level in 2009. The report cites the Internet's inventory potential and greater broadband saturation as factors underlying the report's estimates. Roughly 64 percent of U.S. households currently have broadband access, up from 34 percent broadband penetration in 2005.

Posting Mortem

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The Unruly of Law is going on a brief hiatus. 

The tireless "TUOL" staff will resume blogging on Tuesday, June 15.

Until then, accept no substitutes.

Ill. Appellate Court Orders Paper to Identify Anonymous Blogger

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The Ottawa, Illinois-based Third District Appellate Court ruled 2-1 this week to order The Times to produce information disclosing the identity of an anonymous commenter on its Website so that a couple could pursue a defamation claim against the pseudonymous blogger.

The Third District Appellate Court, whose jurisdiction includes 21 counties in central and northern Illinois, held that bed & breakfast proprietors Donald & Janet Maxon showed sufficient grounds for defamation to peel away any constitutional protections accorded the unnamed blogger to make anonymous comments on the daily newspaper's Website.  That libelous speech is not shielded by the First Amendment is well-established by case law.  The appellate court further noted that the anonymous blogger's comments were couched as fact, not opinion, the latter of the two being a valid defense to defamation.

In 2008, FabFive from Ottawa twice posted comments alleging that the Maxons bribed members of the Ottawa Plan Commission as part of the couple's efforts to change the municipality's bed & breakfast ordinances so that they could expand the number of rooms in their establishment. The Times publisher John Newby declined to identify the screen name account holder without a court order, and the Maxons appealed a circuit court judge's dismissal of their action to the Third District Appellate Court.

A dissenting justice wrote that no reasonable person would construe the anonymous remarks as factual.  Those filing friends of the court brief supporting the preservation of the blogger's anonymity included The Gannett Co., the Hearst Corp., and The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

The Times is owned by the Small Newspaper Group, Inc., and is the product of a 2005 merger of  The (Ottawa) Daily Times and The (Streator) Times-Press.

UPDATE: Prosecutor & Student Paper Settle Suit Over College Paper Raid

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The Commonwealth of Virginia will pick up the $10,000 legal fees tab of The Breeze, the college paper of Harrisonburg-based James Madison University, that was raided two months ago (see "TUOL" post 4/20/10).

Breeze Editor Katie Thisdell turned over 900 photos to police during the raid, 600 of which were taken during Springfest, where violence erupted and more than 30 arrests resulted.  Prosecutor Marsha Garst said henceforth, authorities will rely on subpoenas to news organizations, instead of search warrants, absent an imminent threat of bodily harm to an individual.Subpoenas enable a court to weigh the merits of the government's need for information against journalist's privilege.

The resolution is seen as reinforcing The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 [42 U.S.C. sec. 2000aa], which protects newsrooms from unconstitutional seizures by law enforcement.

Rapist Sues Irish Media for Lower Profile

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According to an article in The Irish Times, a convicted serial rapist is seeking a permanent injunction against a handful of newspapers to prevent their continued reporting of his address and publication of his photo.

Michael Murray served 13 years of an 18-year sentence for raping four women and sexually asssaulting two others during a six-day reign of terror in 1995 before his release last July. Since Murray's return to society,  according to his attorney, stories have appeared in The Star and The Star on Sunday, including: "Serial Sex Beast Is Free to Roam the Streets" and  "Monster in Our Midst.," as well as The Evening Herald, which ran a photo under the headline "A Danger to Women," and other stories in News of the World and The Sun that refer to Murray as "this beast." Murray's attorney alleges the onslaught of publicity hinders Murray in his efforts to retain employment and causes him to move frequently.

The high court in Dublin must consider Murray's privacy rights, the news media's freedom of speech, and the public's interest in knowing the whereabouts and identity of dangerous individuals. Case law in the U.S. tends to side with the news media in such privacy cases, provided news stories about crimes and convicted felons are reported accurately. If Murray is camera shy and averse to the limelight, it probably would have behooved him not to rape women and terrorize the community, because such conduct tends to generate media attention.

Another GOP Candidate Bested by Rock Star in Copyright Suit

Don Henley via last.fm

The Hollywood Reporter (http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com) reports that a 32-page tentative decision by U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge James Selna holds that Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Charles DeVore infringed on the copyright of two songs by Don Henley, former front man of  '70s rock band, The Eagles, in political video ads that appeared on YouTube.

DeVore, who is running against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, ran a campaign ad featuring a song "All She Wants to Do Is Tax," based on Henley's All She Wants to Do Is Dance, and a second video boasting the song "After the Hope of November Is Gone," drawn from Henley's The Boys of Summer. Henley, 62, a rocker and political activist behind the Walden Woods Project (1990), filed suit--Don Henley & Mike Campbell v. Charles S. DeVore & Justin Hart (Case No. SACV-09-0481)--alleging infringement under the Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq], as well as  asserting claims under the Lanham Act [15 U.S.C. sec. 1051 et seq] and unfair business practices under the California Business & Professions Code [sec. 17200 et seq.].

Reportedly, the tentative decision rejects DeVore's First Amendment fair use argument as a basis for using Henley's tunes.  Critical to the decision is whether DeVore's YouTube efforts of rewriting lyrics to Henley's copyrighted songs fall into the category of parody or satire.  Satire (which the late Broadway comic playwright George S. Kaufman once defined as "what closes on Saturday night") makes fun of something else, whereas parody takes jibes at the original work and generally has a higher success rate as a defense in copyright cases.

Judge Selna's order allegedly characterizes both campaign ad songs as satire and finds DeVore willfully infringed on Henley's work. Reportedly, Judge Selna rejected Henley's Lanham Act count alleging that the DeVore ads falsely implied the rocker's endorsement of the candidate.

For GOP candidates, who have witnessed Sen. John McCain get tweaked by Jackson Browne (see "TUOL" post 7/21/09) and Gov. Charlie Crist run afoul of David Byrne (see "TUOL" post 5/26/10), it may be time to, borrowing from Henley's discography, Take It Easy, lest they find themselves copyright Desperado(s) One of These Nights.

Suitors Line Up to Buy Fading Newsweek

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Bloomberg News and The New York Times today provided the scorecard of potential buyers who submitted bids before the deadline imposed by The Washington Post, which is desperate to unload financially troubled Newsweek magazine.

Among the purported bidders is the Los-Angeles based private equity fund OpenGate Capital LLC, which purchased TV Guide for $1 in 2008, and hedge fund manager Thane Ritchie of Richie Capital Management LLC, who stumbled in his bid to acquire the Sun Times Media Group in 2009. Also in the running is Newsmax Media, which fronts a conservative publication and Website. The New York Times reports that 91-year-old Harmon Kardor founder Sidney Harmon also was readying a bid. Newsweek managing editor Jon Meachem, who scoured the countryside for investors to help him submit a bid, was quiet as the Post deadline lapsed yesterday.

Newsweek has bled $44 million since 2007 (see "TUOL" post 5/7/10). Last year, advertising revenue for the newsweekly sank 39 percent to $70.3 million from $115.5 million in 2008.

'Enemies Check' Delays City's Public Records Disclosure

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Kudos to Atty. Bob Ambrogi's Media Law blog (http://medialaw.legaline.com) for highlighting the interesting approach the city of Lawrence takes to complying with Massachusetts' Public Records Law[M.G.L. c. 66, sec. 10(a)].

Pursuant to the statute, municipalities must reply to a records request within 10 days of receiving it and can't refuse to produce records based on the identity of the person seeking the records. Why, then, did Lawrence's city attorney take two months to respond to a request for city payroll records from The Boston Herald?

Because the city has numerous "enemies," and time was needed to investigate whether any nefarious ne'er-do-well was behind the request to learn the salaries of public employees funded by taxpayers.

Note to the city attorney interpreting the Commonwealth's Public Records Law:  unlike  '40s Hollywood gangster movies, when a reporter wearing a fedora inquires about the Mayor's salary, it's unacceptable to reply: "Who wants to know?"

Hulkster in Trademark Smackdown with Post Foods

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In Terry Bollea v. Post Foods LLC et al (Case No. 8:10-cv-01161-VMC-TGW) filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 56-year-old former World Federation Wrestling champion Hulk Hogan is grappling with Post Foods, maker of  Cocoa Pebbles cereal, concerning a tv commercial over which Hogan (nee Bollea) alleges trademark infringement.

The commercial stars characters from the Flintsones fighting a blond,  muscular, mustachioed wrestler named "Hulk Boulder."  The wrestler dispatches Fred Flintsone and his neighbor pal Barney Rubble, but gets a whuppin' from Bam-Bam, Barney's steroidal child (though "TUOL" always suspected from Bam-Bam's features that he was the product of Fred and Betty Rubble making the "bed rock," so to speak). According to Bollea's suit, the Hulkster knockoff is depicted post-fracas as "humiliated and cracked into pieces with broken teeth with the closing banner, 'Little Pieces...Big Taste!'"

According to the lawsuit filed in Tampa, Post never sought or received permission from the plaintiff to use his likeness in the commercial. Bollea alleges he initially wrestled professionally under the name "Hulk Boulder" before WWF impresario Vince McMahon suggested the Irish moniker Hogan. The plaintiff further claims Post ignored his complaints last August and continued to air the commercial.

Hogan promotes his own line of food products, including Hogan Energy Drink and Hulkster Burgers, microwaveable chicken sandwiches and hamburgers sold at Walmart (Whole Foods for the overalls set). Hogan's seeks damages for the "unauthorized and degrading depictions in the Cocoa Smashdown advertisements."

"TUOL" doubts the animated depiction of the Hulkster in the Cocoa Pebbles ad could be more degrading than Hogan's own non-nutritious celluloid efforts, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny.

Court Again to Decide if Carly Simon Has 'Grounds' for Suit Against Starbucks

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There's Anticipation by 64-year-old singer Carly Simon that her amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of the Western Division of California against coffee colossus Starbucks will have a more favorable outcome than her first go-around.

Simon originally sued Starbucks for failing to promote her 2008 album, This Kind of Love, when the java giant decided to quit the music business five days before the album's scheduled release. Simon had contracted with Hear Music, a Starbucks subsidiary that provided Starbucks with CDs to distribute in its stores. A judge granted summary judgment to Starbucks in April, holding that the songstress, whose career shone most brightly in the '70s, had failed to prove the defendant made fraudulent representations or withheld information to mislead her into signing the dotted line with Hear Music.  However, the judge allowed Simon the chance to amend her complaint, and the Mockingbird warbler showed she was still spoiling for a fight.

The amended complaint filed in late April (Carly E. Simon v. Starbucks Corporation, Case No.cv09-09074GW) seeks $5 million to $10 million in damages, alleging tortious interference with contract, concealment of material facts, and unlawful, unfair & fraudulent business practices. Simon claims a Starbucks veep promised his company would aggressively promote and distribute her album.

Starbucks filed its answer last month, arguing among other things, that Simon's contract specifically holds Starbucks harmless for any actions taken by Hear Music, that Simon failed to show any representations made to her at the time the contract was signed were false or intended to deceive, and that the facts of the case don't warrant "piercing the corporate veil" to allow the singer to get at parent company Starbucks.

To champion her cause, Simon has enlisted 69-year-old litigator David Boies, whose past clients have included George Steinbrenner, Napster, William Westmoreland, and Al Gore in the post-2000 election Gore v. Bush dust-up.  As Simon sang on more than one occasion, Nobody Does It Better.

The odds are still against Simon, but even if her second skirmish with Starbucks comes up short, she might consider penning a single about her Starbucks litigation experience.  "TUOL" suggests calling the song You're So Vente.

UPDATE: Twitter Subpoena Won't Be Pursued by Pa. AG

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Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett has abandoned Grand Jury subpoenas of microblogger Twitter to learn the identities of tweeters @CasablancaPA and @bfbarbie, according to www.Wired.com.

Corbett's office went after the pseudonymous tweeters who criticized the AG's handling of the on-going "Bonusgate" public official corruption cases (see "TUOL" post 5/20/10).  A Corbett spokesperson claimed the AG sought to link the anonymous posts to "Bonusgate" defendant Brett Cott, before Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis sentenced Cott for his role in the scandal in hopes that it would lead to a harsher jail term.  Cott received a maximum five-year  jail term last Friday that Judge Lewis said was in no way influenced by any purported online criticism of the "Bonusgate" prosecution.

Public Citizen and the ACLU of Pa. were defending the anonymous tweeters against the subpoenas. Critics accused the AG of engaging in a "fishing expedition," the effects of which would stifle political speech rights.