My favorite part of any actual or fictional trial is the cross-examination. Who can forget the climax of the cross-examination in the “Caine Mutiny” of Captain Queeg, played by Humphrey Bogart, where the question was whether he had lost control of his ship? Under the heat of the examination, Bogart/Queeg reaches into his pocket, acting palpably shaken, begins to roll marbles in his hand and demonstrates his instability in a long-winded answer. (See “Caine Mutiny Queeg on the Stand.”) Some of my favorite cinematic cross-examinations occur in “My Cousin Vinny,” in which Joe Pesci’s inexperienced Brooklyn lawyer conducts hilarious but effective examinations while defending a family member concerning a murder in a convenience store. read more
Category Archives: Spillane Articles
Business Litigation in Bankruptcy Court
It is hard to read the legal news these days, especially concerning entertainment, without reading about the spectacle of Relativity Media. Relativity was dubbed the “next-generation global media company” by founder Ryan Kavanaugh, a “helicopter-flying, high-living mogul.” Kavanaugh claimed to have reinvented the movie business with algorithms that minimized the risk of film slates, yet Relativity filed for bankruptcy protection on July 30, 2015, disclosing assets of $560 million but liabilities of more than $1.18 billion. (See “Relativity’s Ryan Kavanaugh Breaks Silence, Points Fingers in Emotional Post-Bankruptcy Interview (Exclusive).”) Relativity is pushing to quickly auction most of its assets. (See “Relativity Media Files Bankruptcy; Film and TV Units for Sale.”) read more
Anti-SLAPP Motions: a Powerful Tool for Media Defendants
Actor Frank Sivero sued Fox over his claim that “The Simpsons” character “Louie” was based upon Sivero’s character Frankie Carbone in “Goodfellas.” Sivero’s case was thrown out of court by a California state judge. (See “Fox Gets $250M ‘Simpsons’ Lawsuit From ‘Goodfellas’ Actor Tossed.”) No jury heard his claim. Nor was he defeated by a motion for summary judgment, a traditional pretrial motion to dismiss a claim that should be rejected if there is any triable dispute of fact for a jury to resolve. Instead, Sivero’s claim was dismissed pursuant to an “anti-SLAPP” motion, a powerful procedural device that was originally intended to benefit public interest groups, but has become the courtroom weapon of choice for media companies. read more
Case Evaluation: Critical Factors One Cannot Find in Law Books
My clients are usually entrepreneurs who founded a successful company and then find themselves dealing with their first lawsuit. In the initial intake meeting, clients are focused on explaining the facts of the case, asking what law would apply and evaluating likely results. These are fine and necessary subjects. However, I find it necessary to steer the conversation toward factors that cannot be found in law books, but which I have learned in nearly thirty years trying cases.
Clients conditioned to an “L.A. Law” view of the trial process – the popular 1980’s lawyer show in which new cases were discussed in one episode and tried in the next – want to drive right down to the courthouse be found right or wrong. read more
Clinton Emailgate: Full Disclosure Beats Suppression of Information
The controversy over the emails Hillary Clinton maintained on a personal server while Secretary of State recently obtained new legs with disclosure that fifteen emails produced by Sidney Blumenthal, a former Clinton aide, emails which included Clinton, were not produced by her. (See “State Department Says Hillary Clinton’s Email Disclosure Was Incomplete.”)
The controversy started when documents produced in connection with ongoing investigations concerning the attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, reflected an absence of emails from any state department account for Hillary Clinton, but instead emails to and from her personal email account. After discussions between the State Department and Mrs. read more
2 Chainz Likely to Beat Defamation Rap: Defamation Actions can be Problematic
Rapper 2 Chainz was sued in North Carolina court by Christine Chisholm, a woman who claimed she was referred to as a “THOT” (“that ho’ over there”) in a video, posted on YouTube, in which she appeared backstage after a 2 Chainz concert. (See “2 Chainz Sued for Five Million Over ‘THOT’ Video.”) In the video, 2 Chainz asks his rap colleague “Cap 1” “Is this your THOT?” while Ms. Chisholm is waiting in another room, apparently having been invited backstage. She is then invited to approach 2 Chainz, speaks with him for about a minute, at one moment directly speaks into the video camera, and is then asked to leave. read more
Bradley Cooper Snipes at French Tabloid Over Right to Private Life: Scope of Legal Rights to Privacy
Bradley Cooper, star of the hit film “American Sniper,” has filed suit in France against the French tabloid “Oops!” concerning a story about his relationship with supermodel Irina Shayk. The lawsuit alleges that the story, which says that Cooper’s relationship with Shayk is now out in the open, violates his right under French law to a “private life.” Oops! retorted that the story was based upon photos that ran in a Spanish magazine and were available in the U.S. (See “Bradley Cooper — Sacre Bleu, I Must Sue Zee French Magazine … Over Irina Shayk.”)
The French Civil Code provides that “everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life.” read more
Law, Politics and Business Trials – the Myth of the McDonald’s Coffee Spill Case
I attend a numbering of professional networking and bar events. At one recent event a speaker representing foreign clients discussed his clients’ desire to negotiate arbitration clauses to avoid the U.S. court system, which they view as exemplified by the “McDonald’s coffee spill” case.
I encourage clients to negotiate arbitration clauses where they wish to assure a private and more nimble resolution to business disputes. (See “Jay Spillane Delivers Update on Business Arbitration to ProVisors’ Valley LLP Group.”) But, the idea that a case over spilt coffee teaches negative lessons about the U.S. court system has me diving head first into the fraught intersection of law and politics. read more
Lessons from Little League: Keep Your Feet in the Batter’s Box and Swing
Last season my youngest son, at age six, played Farm Division in Little League. In Farm Division the coach lobs a few soft pitches to the batter. If the batter does not hit safely, the ball is put on a tee and the batter swings until hitting a fair ball. Every batter reaches base safely, even in the (unlikely) event that the first baseman catches the fielder’s throw and steps on first base before the batter.
Apparently Little League felt that boys who were reaching the World Series in their final year were getting too large and mature. So they changed the age cutoff for determining division placement. read more
That’s My Name and You Can’t Use It: Trademarks Battles Over Personal Name Marks
There was snickering recently in the blogosphere about efforts by Kylie and Kendall Jenner to register their names as trademarks in relation to various goods and services, including “entertainment in the nature of providing information by means of a global computer network in the fields of entertainment, fashion and pop culture,” trademark-speak for a gossip website. Apparently these sister/models were guests on the Kardashian reality show and have garnered their own spinoff series. The dig was that spoiled teenagers want their names to belong to them and them alone. https://www.tmz.com/2015/05/04/kylie-and-kendall/.
There may be excellent philosophical reasons to bemoan the unearned fame of people who garner attention and riches for no reason other than that they are young, attractive and were birthed by famous and wealthy parents. read more