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Cali libs and right whales dunk on Maine lobstermen
| Misunderstood heady travel guidebook box office | 10/10/26 |
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Date: October 10th, 2026 1:26 PM Author: Misunderstood heady travel guidebook box office This appeal concerns the so-called "group defamation rule." Under that rule, a defamatory statement about a large group is not actionable unless the statement or its context indicates that it is targeted at specific members of the group. Here, multiple companies and organizations involved in the Maine lobster industry sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation ("the Aquarium") for defamation under Maine law. The plaintiffs challenged the Aquarium's statements recommending that consumers avoid eating American lobster because lobster fishing poses a risk to the endangered North Atlantic right whale, even though those statements did not single them out in particular. The Aquarium moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the group defamation rule barred the plaintiffs' claims. The district court denied its request, concluding that the Aquarium's statements applied equally to each member of the Maine lobster industry. We disagree with the district court's application of the group defamation rule and thus reverse.
https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/opnfiles/25-1206P-01A.pdf |