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Home - Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

Warner’s Media, First Amendment and Defamation Litigation group has you covered on any legal issue related to free expression, invasion of privacy, injury to reputation, and access to governmental records. Our clients have included news companies, journalists, broadcasters, filmmakers, software developers, public entities, and private citizens.

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Warner brings to bear the wisdom of a team of over a dozen experienced professionals—the largest collection of media lawyers in the State—who meet regularly to stay on the forefront of the law. We bring to the practice of media law the same collaborative approach that is at the heart of our firm culture, involving the right attorneys with the right experience for each matter.

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Members of our group are active in national media law organizations, including the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) and the ABA Forum on Communications Law.Our experience extends deep and wide in all areas of media litigation, and has served clients across the country. Some of our attorneys’ representative matters include the following:

Defamation, Slander, Libel and False Light

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Free Speech / Prior Restraint / Vagueness / Viewpoint Discrimination

Common Law Invasion of Privacy / Eavesdropping

Freedom of Information Act / Open Meetings Act

Many media clients also encounter legal issues in related areas serviced by these and other Warner attorneys, including <a href="/practices/intellectual-property">intellectual property</a> (copyright, trademark, right of publicity), <a href="/practices/corporate/advertising-and-marketing">marketing and advertising rules</a>, and more.

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Webinar: Gaining Access to Government Data During COVID-19 with FOIA and OMA

Webinar: Business and Personal Defamation: Steps to Take if You or Your Business Fall Prey to this Rising Trend

Privacy Defamation Media and First Amendment Litigation Sub-Practice Group Image cropped

Warner Partner Brian Wassom Provides Insight into Social Media Case Impacting Students Nationwide

Warner Protects Freedom of Speech in $9 Million Bloomfield Township Lawsuit

Warner Attorneys Defend First Amendment in Bloomfield Township Suit

Brian Wassom Named Vice Chair of AIPLA Copyright Committee

Brian Wassom Named Chair of AIPLA Copyright Law Committee

Free Speech or Misinformation? Bloomfield Township Lawsuit Targets Social Media Posts

Michael Brady Named Executive Partner of Warner’s Detroit and Bloomfield Hills Offices

Brian Wassom Discusses Elon Musk’s Twitter Acquisition with WOOD TV

Partner

Kristina M. Araya

Executive Partner

Michael G. Brady

Associate

Ashley G. Chrysler

Senior Counsel

Conor B. Dugan

Daniel P. “Dan” Ettinger

Gaëtan Gerville-Réache

Madelaine C. Lane

Matthew T. “Matt” Nelson

Katherine L. “Katie” Pullen

Brian D. Wassom

Warner attorneys defeated defamation claims against a local &ldquo;Hall of Shame&rdquo; television news reporter.
Shumake v. Rob Wolchek (Oakland Co. 2018).

Litigation - Media/Defamation

Defamation Claims

Warner attorneys defended a retaliatory defamation claim based on a police report of domestic violence.
Townsend v. Townsend (Macomb Co. 2019).

Ponder v. Staggs (Macomb Co. 2018). Obtained business defamation judgment against Facebook user.

Litigation

Business Defamation Claim against Facebook User

Doe v. Doe (Macomb Co. 2019); Kincaid v. Polony (Macomb Co. 2013). Unmasked anonymous online defamers and harassers.

Litigation Against Online Defamers and Harassers

Warner defended a local newspaper against defamation claims.
Petrou v. Bank of Ann Arbor, et al.&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2018).

Defamation Claims Against Newspapers

Warner attorney Brian Wassom defended a client against eavesdropping claims.
Williams v. DTE Energy, Inc.&nbsp;(Wayne Co. 2015).

Defense Against Eavesdropping Claims

Warner attorney served as second chair in 10-year litigation that successfully defended Dr. Dre and the &ldquo;Up in Smoke&rdquo; Tour against claims of eavesdropping.&nbsp;
Bowens v. ARY, 794 N.W.2d 842 (Mich. 2011).

Litigation - Privacy

Eavesdropping Claim against Dr. Dre and Tour

Warner attorney helped defeat eavesdropping claims against a television news organization.
Williams v. New World Communications of Detroit Inc.&nbsp;(Wayne Co. 2009).

Eavesdropping Claims Against Television News

A Warner attorney helped a student newspaper pursue FOIA claims against a state university.
State News v. MSU, 481 Mich. 692 (2008).

FOIA Claims Against Michigan State University

A Warner attorney helped a magazine publisher defeat defamation and product disparagement claims against it.
Nagler v. Henderson&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2008).

Defamation and Product Disparagement Claims

Warner attorney defended filmmaker Michael Moore from claims of eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and defamation.&nbsp;
Nichols v. Moore, 477 F.3d 396 (6th Cir. 2007).

Eavesdropping, Invasion of Privacy and Defamation Against Filmaker

Warner attorney helped newspapers establish a First Amendment right of access to immigration court removal proceedings.
Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 303 F.3d 681 (6th Cir. 2002).

Litigation - First Amendment

First Amendment Right of Access

Obtained removal of infringing, defamatory, and revenge porn content from social media sites and virtual worlds, including in new circumstances presenting issues of first impression.

Removal of Damaging Content from Social Media

Warner attorney helped client obtain the right to film a murder trial in Lenawee County on behalf of Court TV.

Filming Rights for Murder Trial

Successful lead trial counsel for The Detroit News in major defamation action brought against it by program manager of $1.5 billion Capital Funding Program, dismissed on a no cause

Litigation - Defamation

Trial Counsel for The Detroit News

Warner attorneys filed a ground-breaking First Amendment lawsuit challenging a municipal ordinance in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The ordinance subjected companies publishing augmented reality games to fines and imprisonment unless they first obtained a permit from the county. Our client challenged the ordinance after the launch of their location-based augmented reality game in which players carried their mobile devices to game stops.
Warner attorneys obtained preliminary and permanent injunctions striking down regulation of location-based augmented reality games under the First Amendment. This was the first case to extend free speech rights to the AR medium.
Candy Lab Inc. v. Milwaukee County, 266 F. Supp. 3d 1139 (E.D. Wis. 2017)

Augmented Reality Game Litigation

Warner served as counsel for one of the daily Detroit newspapers in successfully obtaining dismissal of a multimillion-dollar defamation suit.

Defense of a Newspaper Defamation Suit

We helped defend a reporter&rsquo;s privilege under the 1st and 5th Amendments not to name a confidential source.
Convertino v. Ashenfelter&nbsp;(6th Cir. 2015).

Defending Reporter’s Privilege for Confidential Sources

Supreme Court Limits Public Access to Commercial Data Under Federal FOIA

Warner Partner Brian Wassom Addresses Social Media, First Amendment Law on MITECHNEWS

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Privacy, Defamation, Media and First Amendment Litigation

The Warner Norcross + Judd LLP lawyer responsible for the contents of our advertising and this website is managing partner <a href="/people/mark-j-wassink/" aria-label="Mark Wassink">Mark Wassink</a> who can be reached at <a href="mailto:mwassink@wnj.com" aria-label="email Mark Wassink">mwassink@wnj.com</a> or 616.752.2189. Please read our full <a href="/privacy-policy/" aria-label="see privacy policy">privacy policy</a> available on our website.

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