Q1. (Max 11 points)

Cynthia, a student at UC Berkeley, visited her hometown of Coalinga and,

thereafter, wrote "An Ode to Coalinga" and posted it in her online journal at MySpace. Her page

included her picture but did not contain her last name. The Ode told of how she despised her

hometown and made a number of extremely negative comments about the town and its inhabitants.

Six days after publishing her Ode on MySpace, Cynthia decided to remove it from her page. The

principal of Coalinga High School, Roger Campbell, saw the Ode and decided to forward Cynthia's Ode to

the local newspaper. The local newspaper decided to publish the Ode in its Letters to the Editor section

and used Cynthia's full name in connection with it. The community reacted violently to the Ode and

Cynthia's family was forced to close its local business and move out of town as a result. Cynthia and her

family sued Mr. Campbell and the newspaper alleging that their public disclosure of the Ode violated

their right-of-privacy.

A. Find the case on the internet, identify the Plaintiff(s) and Defendant(s) in the case and identify the

partie(s) that won the case. (4 points)

B. Identify the particular privacy tort(s) that were considered to be relevant by the court. [

Hint

:

It is not

sufficient to simply state that the case involved "invasion of privacy.

"] (3 points)

C. Explain why the Court determined that Cynthia and her family's rights to privacy were not violated. (4

points)

Q2. (Max 14 points)

A young man named Koffman, in his first year of organized football, was placed on

the defensive team under the defensive coach, Wilson Garnett. To demonstrate proper tackling

technique at practice one day, Coach Garnett, without warning, thrust himself into Koffman, picking him

up and throwing him to the ground, thereby breaking Koffman's arm. Koffman filed a civil action and

sued in tort for compensatory damages alleging that Garnett committed both an assault and a battery

upon him.

A. Set forth the correct elements of the civil action of assault. (3 points)

B. Explain whether Koffman wins his case against Garnett for civil assault and why/why not. (4 points)

C. Set forth the correct elements of the civil action of battery. (3 points)

D. Explain whether Koffman wins his case against Garnett for civil battery and why/why not. (4 points)

Q3. (Max 10 points)

The right of publicity is intended to protect the rights of persons, including

celebrities, to profit from their "brand" and identities. Clearly, a supermarket that publishes an

advertisement with the image of Michael Jordan, along with a red jersey with the number 23

emblazoned upon it can be held to violate Jordan's right of publicity if done without his consent. Does a

person or celebrity, however, have a protectable interest in a song or catch phrase that may publicly be

associated with, even though the image or likeness of the person/celebrity is not used? Read the case

of

Johnny Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc.

, 698 F.2d 831 (6th Cir. 1983) and answer the

following questions:

A. Did the trial court, i.e., the U.S. District Court, dismiss Appellant Carson's tort case based on his

alleged right of publicity or did the trial court allow the right to publicity claim asserted by the

Plaintiff to proceed to a jury? (2 points)

B. Explain why the District Court ruled as it did on Plaintiff's "right of publicity" claim. (3 points)

C. Did the Circuit Court of Appeals agree with the trial court's ruling on Plaintiff's "right of

publicity" claim? (2 points)

D. Explain why the Circuit Court of Appeals agreed/disagreed with the trial court's ruling. (3 points)

Q4. (Max. 15 points)

News outlets are generally protected against civil liability when practicing their

First Amendment rights. The First Amendment recognizes the right to a free press, as well as the right

to free speech. However, neither right has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to provide

absolute protections and national news outlets have been sued successfully in tort for violating

individuals rights.

Beef Products, Inc., George Zimmerman

, and

Nicholas Sandmann

are three such

Plaintiffs who have successfully brought suit against these national media outlets. Choose one of these

Plaintiffs, research their actions and write 2-3 paragraph summary of the claims asserted and the

resolution of the case chosen. Be sure to explain: (a) the reason(s) for their lawsuits, (b) the nature and

elements of the tort or torts that they alleged were committed, (c) any defenses raised by the

Defendant media outlet(s) and (d) how the lawsuit(s) was resolved.

Q5 (Optional - Extra Credit - Max. 5 points)

Read the N.J. Appellate Division case of

Ingraham v.

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical

(on Canvas), set forth the basic elements that must be proven by a

preponderance of the evidence in order for a Plaintiff to succeed on an action for Intentional Infliction of

Emotional Distress. (3 points) Explain why the Appellate Division found the Plaintiff's case lacking and

decided the case in favor of the Defendant employer. (2 points)