Monday, October 19, 2009

word of the week #7

Estoppel

estoppel (noun) – the principle that precludes a person from asserting something contrary to what is implied by a previous action or statement of that person or by a previous pertinent judicial determination.

"The question before us is whether the First Amendment prohibits a plaintiff from recovering damages, under state promissory estoppel law, for a newspaper's breach of a promise of confidentiality given to the plaintiff in exchange for information."

found in: Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. 501 U.S. 663 (in Cases of Communication Law by Zelezny) pg. 170.

Under the state promissory estoppel law, if a newspaper promises anonymity to a source and they go back on their word, the newspaper is at fault.

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