Matteo v. Rubin [1]

Professional photographer Steven Matteo sued Howard Rubin for defamation, copyright infringement, false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage in Illinois federal court after Rubin posted criticism online of Matteo's photographs of the wedding of Rubin's daughter.  Rubin allegedly posted Matteo's photos, which Rubin said exemplified the problems with Matteo's work, and tried to dissuade other couples from hiring Matteo.

Rubin filed a motion to dismiss [2] Matteo's case for failure to state a claim.  Rubin argued that Matteo failed to show copyright infringement because Rubin had permission to republish the photographs from his wife, who commissioned Matteo and had Matteo's permission to republish them.  In addition, Rubin said that Matteo had not shown he suffered financially from the alleged infringement or from the alleged interference.  Rubin argued that the defamation and false light claims were deficient because he had only stated his opinion about his personal dealings with Matteo. The court denied [3] Rubin's motion, finding none of these arguments sufficient to justify dismissal.

The parties settled in April 2008.