FC: New Jersey editor sues anonymous posters for disrupting site

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Fri Sep 07 2001 - 10:48:34 PDT

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: New Jersey editor's brother replies to Politech post re: lawsuit"

    Background, from the archives:
    
    "New Jersey officials sue news website over namecalling, criticism"
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-02355.html
    
    "More on New Jersey officials sue news website over namecalling"
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-02399.html
    
    *********
    
    Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 13:19:04 -0400
    From: "Paul Levy" <PLEVYat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    Subject: Untoward development in the Emerson case
    
    I am providing for your info the URL for an answer and counterclaim that 
    Steven Moldow, the defendant in the Eye on Emerson case, has 
    filed.  http://www.geocities.com/emersoneye/lawsuit/answer.html
    One can debate whether he has a sound claim for violation of his civil 
    rights against the government officials who have sued him - - personally I 
    doubt it - - but the really sad thing is that he has also alleged tort 
    claims against several anonymous posters on his own bulletin board, 
    alleging that they put nasty posts on the bulletin board in order to 
    disrupt the board.
    
    You'd think the defendant in a free speech case would know better than to 
    file such a suit.  Indeed, what's really odd about this is that Moldow 
    could simply have moved to dismiss the case against him under the 
    Communications Decency Act and the First Amendment (remember most of what 
    he has been sued for is the allegedly defamatory comments posted on his 
    bulletin board).  Instead, in the name of being "proactive" and, I suppose, 
    trying to give the plaintiff's another reason to go away, he has asked the 
    Court to issue an order restricting the First Amendment rights of 
    posters.  So, what's the next step, is he going to subpoena their 
    identities himself?  Yech.
    
    Paul Alan Levy
    Public Citizen Litigation Group
    1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20009
    (202) 588-1000
    http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html 
    
    
    
    
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