First Amendment

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Today, Judge Stein dismissed claims by Citizens United challenging New York’s reporting requirements for charities in the state (see our previous coverage here).  Citizens United challenged the New York Attorney General’s requirement that charities file an un-redacted Schedule B, a form listing the names and contribution amounts of the charity’s donors, before receiving a license to solicit contributions in the state.  Judge Stein found that the complaint did not allege that that law failed to advance important government interests :
Continue Reading Judge Stein Dismisses Citizens United’s Challenge to New York’s Charity Reporting Laws

Last week, Judge Seibel dismissed a First Amendment challenge to a Dutchess County law requiring retail supermarkets to clearly post prices on each item using a sticker, tag, or other label.  The plaintiff claimed that changing the price tags on items each time the store held a sale was an improper burden on the store’s First Amendment free speech rights.  Judge Seibel disagreed – and questioned whether price tags on grocery items constituted speech at all.
Continue Reading Judge Seibel Rejects First Amendment Challenge to Local Law Requiring Price Labels on Supermarket Goods

In a decision today, Judge McMahon granted a preliminary injunction allowing subway ads about a humorous documentary called “The Muslims Are Coming!”  The ads included statements such as: “The Ugly Truth About Muslims: Muslims have great frittata recipes,” and “Muslims invented Justin Timberlake.”  One reason the film producer (a company referred to as VQP) chose to advertise in the subway was to respond to certain pro-Israel ads that a group called “ADFI” had also run in the subway system — ads that were subject to their own litigation issues (see our prior post here).

Judge McMahon rejected the MTA’s argument that it neutrally applied its policy against advertising that is “political in nature,” and emphasized that the ads were not “political” merely because the subject matter was Islam:
Continue Reading Judge McMahon Issues Injunction Allowing Subway Ads About Muslim Documentary

The Second Circuit this morning upheld New York State’s ban on credit card “surcharges.” Judge Rakoff had earlier found (see our coverage here) that the law, § 518 of the General Business Law, likely violated the First Amendment because it imposed criminal penalties for calling extra credit card fees “surcharges” but allowed merchants to offer the equivalent price via a “discount.”  The plaintiffs argued that the term “surcharge” was a more effective way to discourage credit card use by conveying the real costs they impose on businesses and customers.

The Second Circuit rejected this argument because it construed the law as applying  to conduct — charging more than the sticker price — not to labels:
Continue Reading Second Circuit Upholds New York’s Credit Card Surcharge Ban

The SDNY Blog is relaunching as a publication of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.  We expect to post several times a week on decisions and other developments in the Southern District of New York.  You can find us right here at www.sdnyblog.com, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s been happening in the Southern District while we were away:

  • Judge Berman vacated the NFL’s four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his alleged role in deflating footballs used during the 2015 AFC Championship Game.  Judge Berman concluded that “Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to deflate footballs, and non-cooperation with the ensuing Investigation.”

Continue Reading SDNY Blog Returns as Steptoe Blog

The producers of American Idol last week moved to dismiss a discrimination suit alleging that African-American contestants with prior arrests or convictions were shamed and disqualified while similarly-situated white contestants were promoted as “second chance” stories. (See our prior post here.) The motion begins by highlighting the success of African-American contestants generally:
Continue Reading American Idol Moves to Dismiss Discrimination Suit on First Amendment Grounds

In an opinion today, Judge Oetken dismissed a defamation suit brought by GOP donor Sheldon Adelson because (among other reasons) the allegedly defamatory language hyperlinked to an AP article about a lawsuit, and thus constituted a privileged “attribution” of the assertion to a judicial proceeding.  The suit related to an online petition entitled “Tell Romney to Reject Adelson’s Dirty Money.” The petition stated that Adelson “personally approved of prostitution in his Macau casinos,” and the words “personally approved” linked to an AP article reporting on a lawsuit that made the accusation. Judge Oetken found that the hyperlink was sufficient for the attribution privilege:
Continue Reading Judge Oetken Rules Hyperlinking Constitutes Attribution to Source, Dismisses Defamation Suit by Sheldon Adelson