Recently in Defamation (Libel / Slander) Category

If your photo has been misused online, you're probably very upset.

It might have been an innocent case of you appearing at a party in a compromising position (i.e., you had too much to drink) and now, you don't want your coworkers to see the photo.

Or, it may have been something more serious like catfishing, which is the creation of a fake profile using your likeness in order to "catch" an unsuspecting victim for fraudulent purposes.

If there is one thing that the Immigration and Naturalization Service hates, it's recent immigrants that turn to crime. So, when they hear a tip that a young Russian female immigrant is advertising her "touchy breasts" and "medium frame" on an escort site (for only $200 to $600 per hour), they are sure to investigate. Of course, should they find evidence of illegal activity, there's a good chance that her visa will be revoked and she'll be sent back home.

Ruzilya Khusnutdinova, 24, does not want to go home. She also does not engage in prostitution. According to Khusnutdinova, her ex-boyfriend created the profile as revenge and then tipped off INS. The numerous nude and semi-nude photos were taken during a romantic trip to Lake George in 2010. Their relationship ended in 2011. She's now suing him for $16 million, reports the Daily News. Among her claims for relief are emotional distress, defamation, and constitutional violations.

It's about to be a what? Girlfight! A slap heard 'round the fashion world earlier this week has led to a $1 million injury lawsuit.

The Fashion Week fracas can be traced back to the FDNY. Moments before show time, fire marshals removed about 60 seats, mostly from the front row, of the Zac Posen show at Avery Fisher Hall. Veteran publicist Lynn Tesoro, who has worked for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Giorgio Armani, tried to handle the situation as her vast experience dictated, reports Women's Wear Daily.

Jennifer Eymere, the editor of French fashion mag Jalouse, was upset that her mother didn't have a seat after the fire marshal mix-up. The argument eventually escalated to the point where Eymere reportedly slapped Tesoro after Tesoro allegedly spoke rudely to the French ladies. When asked about the slap, Eymere told Women's Wear Daily that she warned Tesoro not to be rude to her mom. When Tesoro persisted, she let loose with a little physical reinforcement.

The best lawsuits, from a blogger’s perspective, are the ridiculous ones. These are the ones that make you think, “what were they thinking when they filed this waste of a tree?” Despite the widespread belief that the court system is ridden with these frivolous lawsuits, the vast majority of lawsuits have some sort of merit. From some perspective, even a slanted perspective, there might possibly be a case.

We don’t see it here.

New Yorker Aviva Nash, the owner of Drum Cafe, filed a defamation lawsuit against Bill O’Reilly, Greta Van Susteren, Juliet Huddy, and their employer, Fox News two days ago, reports the Courthouse News Service. The defamation claims stem from “news” reports made on Fox News about a government agency’s waste of taxpayer money on Drum Cafe’s “team-building” exercises.

We cover the progression of gay rights pretty regularly on our blogs, from Illinois marriage to New York adoption. At least here in New York, it seems that the attitude towards homosexuality is finally turning to acceptance and equality.

Of course, with changes in attitudes come changes in law. Earlier this week, a New York appeals court ruled that calling someone gay is not per se defamatory. Prior to the decision, existing case law said that if you falsely called someone gay, it was by law, defamation.

In the Adelphi Academy lawsuits, the family of a student claimed their child was beat up by a school administrator. And when the family complained, all three of their sons were expelled. The tony Brooklyn prep school denies this, and countersued the family for defamation.

Eleven-year-old Brandon Kushnerick was allegedly grabbed, punched, and physically manhandled by a school administrator nicknamed the "Enforcer," reports the New York Post. The parents complained and even called police, leading to the arrest of the Enforcer, Jon Barry Kablack.

Edward and Camile Handy hired Glamour Me Studio in Richmond Hill to take pictures for their wedding. For $5,443, the couple got two videographers, a photographer, and a 60-picture photo album.

The Handys say they did not get what they paid for as there were missing images and a blown deadline for the wedding video, reports the New York Post. So the Handys did what any unhappy consumer would do in the digital age -- they went online to complain.

Be careful what you say, even if what you say is on a little-watched cable network. Conservative video blogger and prankster James O'Keefe brought a Keith Olbermann defamation lawsuit alleging that a liberal pundit made untrue remarks about O'Keefe's criminal background on Olbermann's show.

Olbermann, who has a show on Current TV, had a guest on his show last week who said that O'Keefe had been convicted of a felony and accused of rape, reports the New York Post. O'Keefe, who achieved notoriety as the undercover video blogger who posed as a pimp to catch an ACORN staffer and later captured a public radio exec ripping Republicans, says these claims are untrue and that mainstream media will say anything to get ratings.

It started out as a sexual abuse case much like the one leveled against Jerry Sandusky. A former Syracuse assistant basketball coach was accused of sexually assaulting teenage ball boys for several years during the 1990s.

But the case has taken some strange turns and has morphed into a Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim defamation suit with key evidence being Laurie Fine sex allegations, reports the New York Post.

Investigators in the Greg Kelly rape claim say it may be a story they’ve heard before. Girl meets guy. The two hit it off and have a one-night stand. But girl already has a boyfriend. Girl tells boyfriend about sex, but says she was raped. Boyfriend pressures girl to bring a criminal charge against the other guy.

An unidentified 29-year-old paralegal and aspiring model says that Good Day New York host Greg Kelly raped her after a couple of drinks at a Manhattan bar following a chance encounter on the streets, reports the New York Post.