Bit Parts

The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut found that the 1970 film “A Man Called Horse” didn't defame the plaintiff, a Native American who claimed the movie depicted his people as “savages.” Dontigney v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 3:04cv2171 (JBA). The district court noted that the plaintiff “alleged no facts from which a reasonable person could infer that any statements or characterizations in 'A Man Called Horse' mentioned or were 'of and concerning' plaintiff himself. … Nor can it be said that the group or class of Native Americans is so small that a reasonable viewer necessarily would believe the film was directed toward [the plaintiff].”

Video Games/Content Regulation

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, refused to dismiss a due-process challenge to a state video-game content law by groups involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of video games. Entertainment Software Association v. Granholm, 05-CV-73634. The court had previously preliminarily enjoined enforcement of Part II of Michigan 2005 Public Act 108, which mandated fines for “knowingly disseminat[ing] to a minor an ultra-violent explicit video game. The plaintiffs claimed Part II improperly delegated “the power to determine what video games are subject to the law's restrictions to a private organization, and without any accompanying legislative standards.” (The statute provided an affirmative defense for complying with the voluntary rating system of the Entertainment Software Rating Board.) But the district court noted in its latest ruling that there is no reason for this court to abstain from considering the delegation issue.”