Re Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its Life

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Joe Mornin <joe () mornin org>
Date: Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 2:41 PM
Subject: Re: [IP] Re Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its Life
To: <dave () farber net>


> an expedited and simplified procedure at the start to determine if the
case is meritless and should be dismissed forthwith

This exists:

> A "motion to dismiss" asks the court to decide that a claim, even if true
as stated, is not one for which the law offers a legal remedy. As an
example, a claim that the defendant failed to greet the plaintiff while
passing the latter on the street, insofar as no legal duty to do so may
exist, would be dismissed for failure to state a valid claim: the court
must assume the truth of the factual allegations, but may hold that the
claim states no cause of action under the applicable substantive law. A
claim that has been presented after the statute of limitations has expired
is also subject to dismissal. If granted, the claim is dismissed without
any evidence being presented by the other side. A motion to dismiss has
taken the place of the common law demurrer in most modern civil practice.
When a court dismisses a case, many lay persons state the case was "thrown
out."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_(legal)#To_dismiss)

Techdirt has filed a motion to dismiss:
https://ia601503.us.archive.org/34/items/dkt-no-11/dkt-no-11.pdf,
https://archive.org/download/dkt-no-13/dkt-no-13.pdf.

On 02/19/2017 11:20 AM, Dave Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > *From:* Harvey Silverglate <Harvey () harveysilverglate com
> > <mailto:Harvey () harveysilverglate com>>
> > *Date:* February 19, 2017 at 2:07:44 PM EST
> > *To:* "dave () farber net <mailto:dave () farber net>" <dave () farber net
> > <mailto:dave () farber net>>
> > *Subject:* *RE: [IP] Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its Life*
> >
> > Part of the problem in these kinds of cases is the enormous – and for
> > the most part unnecessary – complexity, and hence expense and delays
> > of the legal system. What we need is a statute or a doctrine that
> > requires that in cases implicating First Amendment rights, and
> > especially in defamation cases (which are so easily brought), there be
> > an expedited and simplified procedure at the start to determine if the
> > case is meritless and should be dismissed forthwith. And if the trial
> > court judge refused to dismiss at that stage, there should be an
> > expedited interlocutory right of appeal with a simplified appellate
> > process.
> >
> >
> >
> > One of the problems is that the legal system is simply too complex,
> > too time-consuming, too expensive. It is one thing for the lumbering
> > elephant of a legal system to deal with corporate disputes over
> > contracts or business issues, but it’s curtains in the
> > media/defamation context.
> >
> >
> >
> > *From:*Dave Farber [mailto:farber () gmail com]
> > *Sent:* Sunday, February 19, 2017 11:15 AM
> > *To:* ip
> > *Subject:* [IP] Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its Life
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> >     *From:* Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com
> >     <mailto:dewayne () warpspeed com>>
> >     *Date:* February 19, 2017 at 9:13:06 AM EST
> >     *To:* Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net
> >     <dewayne-net () warpspeed com <mailto:dewayne-net () warpspeed com>>
> >     *Subject:* *[Dewayne-Net] Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its
> >     Life*
> >     *Reply-To:* dewayne-net () warpspeed com
> >     <mailto:dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> >
> >     [Note:  This item comes from friend Bob Frankston.  Bob’s
> >     comment:'I donated. Can one counter-sue for harassment on such a
> >     bogus claim?’.  DLH]
> >
> >     Techdirt's First Amendment Fight For Its Life
> >     from the the-first-amendment-has-to-mean-something dept
> >     By Mike Masnick
> >     Jan 11 2017
> >     <
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170111/11440836465/techdirts-first-amendment-fight-life.shtml
> >     As you may have heard, last week we were sued for $15 million by
> >     Shiva Ayyadurai, who claims to have invented email. We have
> >     written, at great length, about his claimsand our opinion — backed
> >     up by detailed and thorough evidence — that email existed long
> >     before Ayyadurai created any software. We believe the legal claims
> >     in the lawsuit are meritless, and we intend to fight them and to win.
> >
> >     There is a larger point here. Defamation claims like this can
> >     force independent media companies to capitulate and shut down due
> >     to mounting legal costs. Ayyadurai's attorney, Charles Harder, has
> >     already shown that this model can lead to exactly that result. His
> >     efforts helped put a much larger and much more well-resourced
> >     company than Techdirt completely out of business.
> >
> >     So, in our view, this is not a fight about who invented email.
> >     This is a fight about whether or not our legal system will silence
> >     independent publications for publishing opinions that public
> >     figures do not like.
> >
> >     And here's the thing: this fight could very well be the end of
> >     Techdirt, even if we are completely on the right side of the law.
> >
> >     Whether or not you agree with us on our opinions about various
> >     things, I hope that you can recognize the importance of what's at
> >     stake here. Our First Amendment is designed to enable a free and
> >     open press — a press that can investigate and dig, a press that
> >     can challenge and expose. And if prominent individuals can make
> >     use of a crippling legal process to silence that effort, or even
> >     to create chilling effects among others, we become a weaker nation
> >     and a weaker people because of it.
> >
> >     We are a truly small and independent media company. We do not have
> >     many resources. We intend to fight this baseless lawsuit because
> >     of the principles at stake, but we have no illusions about the
> >     costs. It will take a toll on us, even if we win. It will be a
> >     distraction, no matter what happens. It already has been — which
> >     may well have been part of Ayyadurai's intent.
> >
> >     [snip]
> >
> >     Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>
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