Libel Found on Internet Message Board Postings

[Marjorie Simmons <lawyer () USIT NET>]

This case has some interesting implications for site
cracks and defacings . . .

~~~~~

Libel Found on Internet Message Board Postings
American Lawyer Media

Bio-medical firm Biomatrix won a ruling from a New Jersey superior court
that found three people published libelous statements against Biomatrix
on two Web sites. The ruling is believed to be one of the first
judgments nationwide against those who defame others online. The two
sites were a Yahoo message board and the message board of Genzyme
Corporation, which plans to merge with Biomatrix this year.
http://www.law.com/professionals/iplaw.html

~~~~~

 An attorney with Boston-based Bingham Dana led a legal team in what is
 believed to be one of the first judgments nationwide against those who
 defame others online.

 Attorney Charles L. Solomont, representing the bio-medical firm Biomatrix
 Inc. in New Jersey, won a ruling from the Bergen County Superior Court in
 New Jersey that found three individuals published libelous statements
 against Biomatrix on two Web sites.

 The two sites were a Yahoo message board and the message board of Genzyme
 Corporation in Cambridge, Mass., which plans to merge with Biomatrix by the
 end of this year.

 Defendants Richard and Raymond Costanzo of North Carolina and Ephraim Morris
 of Arizona will go to trial now to determine damages in the defamation suit.
 Raymond Costanzo and Morris are former employees of Biomatrix. No court date
 has been set.

 ANONYMOUS CLAIMS

 According to the court decision written by Superior Court Judge Peter F.
 Boggia, the three made anonymous claims online that officers of Biomatrix
 were "Nazi doctors" and that a major product of the firm, Synvisc, had
 killed several people. They claimed, in court papers, that [the plaintiffs]
 "cannot prove damages and no one would take the postings seriously."

 But the court's decision relied largely on a New Jersey Supreme Court
 ruling -- Nappe v. Anschelewitz, Barr, Ansell & Bonello, 97 N.J. 37, 47
 (1984) -- that held "the courts have not adhered to the common-law
 distinction and have sustained actions in the absence of proof of
 compensatory damage. These include libel, slander per se, nuisance and
 malicious prosecution."

 Solomont said the original lawsuit was filed against "John Does," because
 the identities of the perpetrators were not known. With help from Yahoo, he
 said, "We determined who they were around the time the companies announced
 the merger. Their statements could potentially have some serious
 ramifications for the companies, and an impact on shareholders reading
 them."

 He said the decision has far-ranging implications for other cases now
 pending nationwide, in which anonymous, defaming claims are made against
 individuals and other entities.

 "People post these messages using aliases and believe it protects them from
 liability for their actions. But this case shows the perpetrators of [such]
 online claims can be prosecuted."

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