Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale [1]

Too Much Media, LLC [2] ("TMM"), a software company that services the online adult entertainment business, sued Washington-based blogger Shellee Hale in New Jersey state court in June 2008, after she posted comments about a security breach in TMM's software product on Oprano.com [3], an online forum for those in the online adult entertainment industry.  The complaint includes claims for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and trade libel. 

In March 2009, Hale moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, arguing that counsel for TMM had withdrawn all claims but "slander per se" in a January hearing, and that slander only applies to oral statements.  TMM opposed the motion, arguing that it had not limited its claim to slander in the January hearing, and that it can recover for libel without showing proof of pecuniary loss. 

Also in March 2009, Hale filed a separate motion asking the court to rule that New Jersey's journalist shield law [4] protected her from having to testify about the identity of her confidential sources in her upcoming deposition. In a certification accompanying the motion, Hale testified that she reports on Internet security issues through several blogs (www.camandago.com; www.shelleehale.net/blog; and www.shelleeland.com), as well as on electronic bulletin boards and websites, and that she has developed relationships with confidential sources as part of her reporting and investigative processes.  TMM opposed the motion, arguing that Hale is not a "newsperson" within the meaning of the shield law.

The court held hearings on these motions on April 17 and April 24, 2009 and reserved decision for a later date.

UPDATE:

7/02/2009- The court ruled that Hale's conduct was not protected by shield laws and that the defamation suit against her may continue. 

07/22/2009 - Hale filed a motion for reconsideration [5]. 

09/2009 - Hale appealed the trial court's ruling.

04/22/10 - The appeals court ruled that Hale was not entitled to protection under New Jersey's shield law because she was not working as a journalist or a reporter when she posted comments about Too Much Media LLC, according to NJ.com [6].

06/7/2011 - The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed and remanded for further proceedings.  It held that New Jersey's shield law requires a party attempting to invoke the law to establish (1) a connection to news media; (2) a purpose to gather, procure, transmit, compile, edit, or disseminate news; and (3), that the materials sought were obtained in the course of pursuing professional newsgathering activities.  The Court noted that "news media" were defined to include both “newspapers, magazines, press associations, news agencies, wire services, radio, [and] television” and “other similar . . . means of disseminating news to the general public."  While the Court recognized that electronic communication could, in certain circumstances, be "similar" to the traditional media listed in the statute, it held that the online message board used by Hale was more a forum for conversation than a medium for dissemination of news and therefore did not satisfy the statute.