Firm News & Insights
Notable Results
Edward Fenno helped a client defend against a wrongful claim of defamation and harassment by an airlines worker, and counterclaimed resulting in a payment to the client by the airlines.
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Edward Fenno prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss a defamation lawsuit against client WCSC-TV on numerous grounds, including the statute of limitations and the “libel-proof plaintiff” doctrine.
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Attorneys Edward Fenno and Rob Darby helped a music artist client settle a dispute with the James Brown Estate, resulting in payment of overdue royalties to the client.
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Edward Fenno and Rob Darby prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss an invasion of privacy case filed on behalf of an alleged murderer who sought to block publication of his mental health records before trial. The firm assisted Charleston’s The Post and Courier newspaper in a lawsuit that alleged harm to the accused murderer’s 6th Amendment right to fair trial and sought an injunction blocking publication and further dissemination of the health records. South Carolina has a previous Supreme Court decision in which a prior restraint on news media speech was granted in the face of a 6th Amendment claim. ___________
Edward Fenno and other attorneys at Fenno Law Firm helped clients Bravo Media Productions (Bravo TV network) and Haymaker Media (producer of the “Southern Charm” TV show) secure the dismissal of an invasion of privacy and defamation suit filed by former “Southern Charm” cast-member, Thomas Ravenel. The suit sought to block the broadcast of certain topics on the “Southern Charm” show. Fenno Law also secured a payment of attorneys’ fees.
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PRESENTATIONS
Eric Robinson gave a presentation and moderated a discussion at the 2025 Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute Programme, sponsored by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford University, Oxford, U.K. The program selects media and media law professionals from around the world for a two-week program to discuss trends and issues of mutual interest. Eric’s presentation focused on current issues in media law in the U.S., while the discussion was with U.K. media and human rights lawyer Mark Stephens.
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Edward Fenno presented “Newsgathering 101” to a national audience of media lawyers two years in a row. A copy of one of his presentations can be found here.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Edward Fenno and Eric Robinson assisted the South Carolina General Assembly, through the South Carolina Law Initiative, with legal review of a proposed privacy law that would create a civil claim for unauthorized disclosure of intimate images. The bill passed the House but not the Senate in 2025 and is likely to be reconsidered in 2026.
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Eric Robinson published a chapter on legal issues involving disabled access to scholarly library materials in the book Legislative Advocacy and Public Policy Work for Academic and Research Library Workers: Perspectives and Strategies.
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Eric Robinson authored two chapters of the seventh edition of a leading media law textbook, Media Law and Ethics.
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PRESS
Charleston’s The Post & Courier published an article about Fenno Law Firm’s successful defense of the newspaper against a lawsuit from the Charleston Public Defender’s Office.
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Eric Robinson was quoted twice in one day by CNN about the libel case brought by Smartmatic against Newsmax over coverage of the 2020 election defamation case: once the morning that the case was scheduled to go to trial, and once again later that day when the parties settled.
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Attorney Eric Robinson was interviewed by The Post & Courier regarding the legality of shielding civil court documents in high-profile cases. The article can be found here.
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Attorney Edward Fenno was interviewed about defending journalist Vicky Ward’s First Amendment reporting rights against a lawsuit by the family of Murdaugh boat crash victim Mallory Beach in an article by The Post & Courier, and in an additional article by The Wall Street Journal.
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