Reference no: EM133282143
Entrepreneur Elon Musk decides to add "movie producer" to his list of job titles. His first production is based on the real-life story of Anna Sorkin, the con (wo)man who pretended to be a German heiress, fleecing dozens for millions of dollars along the way. The movie is a hit. Anna, though, claims the film falsely portrays her as ??a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person.
Elon, unmoved by Anna's complaints, throws a huge party to celebrate the film's success on his 400 foot yacht. The floating party, two miles out into the Pacific Ocean, is raging past midnight when former basketball player Dennis Rodman, an uninvited party crasher, falls into the ocean when on the bow of the yacht and attempting to recreate the Leonardo DiCapro scene from the movie, Titanic. His friends onboard search for a life vest or life raft, but none can be found. Dennis disappears into the darkness. He is later rescued three miles away by a North Korean fishing crew.
Anna, awaiting trial on the fraud charges, launches a personal finance podcast. Anna learns that Elon is a regular listener to this podcast. She wants to get back at Elon for what she says was a false portrayal of her in the movie. She learns that Elon's best four-legged friend, a pure-bred German Shepard named Pretzel, had recently passed away and was just cremated. Anna announces on her podcast that she is in possession of Pretzal's remains Anna broadcasts live that she has the ashes in her possession and she begins making rude and offensive comments about the remains. Elon is devastated.
After three weeks in the hospital Elon eventually recovers from the trauma he claims was caused by Anna. The experience makes Elon more spiritual. In fact, Elon is inspired to create his own religion called Muskatolgoy, soon accumulating thousands of followers he calls Musketeers. Elon plans on building an 18,000 sq ft house of worship right next to the Austin, Texas, city hall. The mayor, Carmen, is not pleased, so she convinces the city council to pass a law placing a special $1,000,000 annual tax on all Muskatology places of worship.
As expected, a flood of lawsuits follows. The following questions are based on this scenario.
This question is based on Anna, a resident of San Diego, and her lawsuit against Elon, a resident of Texas, concerning how she was portrayed in the movie.
a) Can Anna file her lawsuit against Elon in federal court? Why or why not?
b) Let's say Anna instead decides to file her lawsuit in California state court. Will Elon have to appear in court in California? Why or why not?
c) What happens if Anna decides not to file the lawsuit because she's too busy. Instead, her sister, Ruby, files the lawsuit based on the same facts as plaintiff. What would be Elon's best defense? Explain.