FC: New Jersey editor sues anonymous posters for disrupting site

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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

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Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 13:19:04 -0400
From: "Paul Levy" <PLEVY () citizen org>
To: <declan () well com>
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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