Thomas B. Sullivan

Mr. Sullivan worked on legal teams that:

• Secured the appellate reversal of a $1.85 million jury verdict in favor of former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura for unjust enrichment and defamation. In Ventura v. Kyle, the court held that there is no valid claim for unjust enrichment in the context of an alleged defamation and remanded Ventura’s defamation claim for a new trial.
• Obtained dismissal of 25 of 31 copyright infringement claims brought by photographer David Wells against textbook publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The court granted summary judgment for Wiley on the grounds that the claims involved photographs that had been properly licensed for use by Wiley, were covered by a settlement agreement between Wiley and Wells’ licensing agent, or for which Wells did not offer any evidence of infringement. The court also held that Wells could not recover statutory damages or attorneys’ fees regarding four of the remaining claims.
• Defended Albany reporter James Odato against claims brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act in NXIVM Corp. v. Foley. Granting an initial motion to dismiss, the court held that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations.
• Obtained the dismissal of all claims against ESPN, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and the New York Yankees brought by a Yankees fan whose slumber during a game against the Red Sox was captured on camera. The plaintiff in Rector v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media alleged that defendants had defamed him during the broadcast, but the court rejected these arguments, holding that the defendants had made no false statements about the plaintiff and that they owed no duty to protect him from the allegedly defamatory statements of others who saw the broadcast.