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▲ 8 r/ItEndsWithCourt

Jones v. Abel: Wayfarer files Motion to Dismiss Jones’ 8th Cause of Action - Defamation against Doe Defendants 1-10

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u/hopeful_tatertot — 2 days ago
▲ 79 r/ItEndsWithCourt+1 crossposts

Alexa Nikolas v. Bryan Freedman, Melissa Nathan, and Jed Wallace - Freedman's anti-SLAPP motion denied, judge rules she has probability of prevailing

Alexa Nikolas's LA Superior Court lawsuit against Bryan Freedman, Melissa Nathan, and Jed Wallace has survived Freedman's special motion to strike (anti-SLAPP motion), which was denied in full. You can read the judge's ruling here: https://nikolasvfreedman812antislapp.tiiny.site/ .

(Most interesting part starts under "DISCUSSION" on p. 8, after judge rules on requests for judicial notice/evidentiary objections and recites the anti-SLAPP standard in general terms.)

Additional background on the Nikolas case and how it grew out of discovery from Lively v. Wayfarer and Jones v. Abel here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ItEndsWithCourt/comments/1ua7464/alexa_nikolas_v_bryan_freedman_melissa_nathan_and/

Next steps in the case:

  • Nathan and Wallace (+ his firm Street Relations) still have yet to be served. The reason for the delay is unclear at this point
  • Case management conference scheduled for September 28. Both sides are technically at risk of sanctions during that hearing -- Nikolas for not having served all defendants (presumably risk of sanctions will be lower if she has served Nathan + Wallace by then), Freedman for having included "spurious and erroneous citations" in his anti-SLAPP motion, i.e. case cites that did not say what he claimed they said.
  • Once Nathan and Wallace are served, they will have to Answer separately and should be able to file their own anti-SLAPP motions or motions to dismiss, though their chances might not be great given the judge's reasoning in denying Freedman's motion.
  • Discovery should be able to proceed at this point, though if Freedman appeals, it would likely be stayed pending appeal.
u/Aggressive_Today_492 — 3 days ago
▲ 84 r/ItEndsWithCourt+2 crossposts

BL Opposition to JW motion for Discovery (District Court, W.D. Texas Docket Number: 1:25-cv-00163, #62)

Very interesting and relatively short read. BL makes many of the arguments raised here in the thread on JW’s filing, concluding:

“For weeks the Wallace Parties took the position behind closed doors that Ms. Lively was bound by a piece of paper that they now concede has never had any legal basis whatsoever. Their suggestion, now, that by ignoring that “Notice” Ms. Lively somehow “failed to appear” for a deposition is absurd. Tellingly, the Wallace Parties do not have the temerity to ask for fees or sanctions in connection with that purported “failure,” nor could they, given their concession in the same brief that such a notice could only have been valid with leave of court. It is indefensible even to suggest that Rule 37 sanctions could apply to Ms. Lively’s refusal to put up with a lawless deposition notice—and can only be understood as a further attempt to attack Ms. Lively’s reputation with unsupported
accusations of wrongdoing that Mr. Wallace can then propagate into the social media universe.
The only alternative is worse: namely, that the Wallace Parties served the sham deposition
notice not because they thought they had a basis to do so absent leave of court, but as a leverage
play to pressure Ms. Lively to drop her fee claims. The circumstances of the Wallace Parties’ initial
email to Ms. Lively’s counsel speak for themselves, as does the Wallace Parties’ later concession
that there was no lawful basis to serve a deposition notice at that time.”

storage.courtlistener.com
u/Complex_Visit5585 — 8 days ago
▲ 48 r/ItEndsWithCourt+1 crossposts

James Vituscka Sues Daily Mail: Claims Coercion, Whistleblower Retaliation in Lively v. Wayfarer Fallout

(Originally posted by u/Jumpy-Contest7860 in withblakelively)

Vituscka alleges that *Daily Mail* executives and legal counsel improperly pressured and coerced him into executing an incomplete, misleading sworn declaration regarding his text messages about publicist Leslie Sloane. He further claims that after he raised internal ethical objections to the statement and submitted a whistleblower report, the outlet terminated his employment in unlawful retaliation.

**Causes of Action:**

**Statutory violation of state whistleblower protection laws (e.g., NY Labor Law § 740).**

Vituscka asserts that he engaged in protected whistleblower activity when he formally reported and objected to internal misconduct regarding the draft subpoena declaration. He claims his sudden termination was direct, unlawful retaliation for reporting that the outlet was pressuring a employee-witness to submit a misleading statement under penalty of perjury.

**Fraudulent inducement / Breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.**

The filing claims *Daily Mail* management and corporate counsel coerced him into signing his initial June 2025 declaration. Vituscka alleges he was induced to sign an incomplete statement drafted primarily to shield the outlet and third-party PR contacts (such as Leslie Sloane) from broader discovery and depositions, despite his explicit warnings that the draft omitted critical context.

**Breach of contract and failure to provide independent legal counsel.**

Vituscka contends that when he was dragged into the *Lively v. Wayfarer* litigation as a third-party witness purely due to his reporting duties, the *Daily Mail* had a legal and contractual duty to protect his interests. Instead, he claims the company prioritised its corporate relationships over his defense, creating an irreconcilable conflict of interest by steering his testimony without offering him unconflicted, independent representation.

**Intentional interference with prospective economic advantage / Injurious falsehood.**

The complaint alleges that the *Daily Mail*’s public positioning and subsequent termination of Vituscka framed him as a rogue reporter acting outside journalistic norms. Vituscka claims this publicly destroyed his journalistic credibility, torpedoed his career, and caused severe financial, emotional, and reputational damages.

1st declaration: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.286.1.pdf

2nd declaration: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.684.0.pdf

**Court filing**: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=S\_PLUS\_X/dAjbdeJOY0K45ADgQQ==

iapps.courts.state.ny.us
u/Complex_Visit5585 — 10 days ago
▲ 24 r/ItEndsWithCourt

NYT files notice of supplemental authority in anti-SLAPP case against January 6-affiliated group that also sued them for defamation and lost, notifying court of ruling in NYT v. Wayfarer anti-SLAPP case

The New York Times has filed a notice of supplemental authority in another anti-SLAPP case where they have a motion for summary judgment pending, New York Times v. 1st Amendment Praetorian. The filing notifies the judge in that case (which was also filed in NY state court) of the fee award in NYT v. Wayfarer, arguing that ruling "supports the arguments in The Times’s Motion for Summary Judgment here" since the facts of both cases are parallel. (1st Amendment Praetorian also sued the NYT over an article they believed was unfair and also got their case dismissed for failure to state a claim.)

Notice of supplemental authority: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=kWcougXEhi3S/sciMmnjjA==

Full docket in New York Times v. 1st Amendment Praetorian: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=omHE4pawTwXHE2WKpXXA7g==&display=all&courtType=New%20York%20County%20Supreme%20Court&resultsPageNum=1

Motion for Summary Judgment in that case, for anyone curious about the background there: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=SnZIA/d7yWgD8YCWpjih5g==

Main article over which 1AP sued, also for anyone curious about the background: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/us/politics/first-amendment-praetorian-trump-jan-6.html?unlocked_article_code=1.41A.yQie.2jmNgRuRnlfD&smid=url-share

reddit.com
u/Unusual_Original2761 — 9 days ago