Thursday, December 20, 2012
Yes, Virginia, a court can take judicial notice of Santa Claus
A recent Southern District of New York opinion confirmed that a court can take judicial notice of Santa Claus. In a copyright suit over a screenplay written by actress Emma Thompson, the court cited a previous court’s judicial notice that “’Santa Claus is a legendary Christmas figure’ based on ‘Sint Nikolaas.’” The court then took judicial notice of facts about nineteenth-century art critic John Ruskin and held that Thompson could proceed with her film about Ruskin’s involvement in a love triangle. The case, which is not yet officially published, is Effie Film, LLC v. Pomerance.
(jdf)
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legalwriting/2012/12/yes-virginia-a-court-can-take-judicial-notice-of-santa-claus.html