http://www.shoemoney.com/2006/09/01...-in-a-landmark-blog-case-slander-in-comments/ Can you believe this? Up until now, Google was the one getting sued over ridiculous but a BIT reasonable at times.. Now this is just ridiculous
Even if he loses, which I highly doubt, but when you're dealing with lawyers you never know, the press this will get him will surely earn him more than any losses he incurs. Anyways, good luck Shoemoney.
He can not be held responsible for comments left by someone else. I know this is the case for forum owners, so I think his lawyers can swing it to include blogs. I am sure the only thing they can do is to have the comment removed.
Yeah it is a stupid lawsuit, but I bet he's going to get a ton of links from bloggers (like me, I plan to blog it soon )
I hate this type of litigation, and while the site owner is usually immune from any liability, there have been successful arguments when comments are edited. It will depend on the state (libel laws vary), but I know this is why Yahoo doesn't moderate comments (other than for certain guidelines like profanity, etc) on their message board because it could make them liable if they removed some and not others. Yahoo's claim is that they just provide the space and don't act as editors which approve comments. I think shoemoney's blog used to require editor approval - and not knowing anything about this case - some scumbag attorney could argue that shoemoney "approved" the posting (and might have rejected others) and thus assumes some liability. The problem with US law, is that you can spend a large sum of money defending a lawsuit and even if you win, you are not entitled to a penny of your legal fees.
Actually, i don't believe he said he was getting sued himself. He is getting deposed (testifying under oath) about events on his blog. That's not the same as being sued.
Guys, if you really want to get the word out (and get Shoemoney TONS of Digg Traffic) go ahead and Digg this: http://digg.com/tech_news/Technorat...ger_To_Testify_About_Comment_Made_On_His_Blog He got on the frontpage and is now getting a ton of Diggs! I blogged here my views on the idea and I partially believe in freedom of speech and also believe mjewl, who made a valid point I believe!
As part of the preparation for a lawsuit both sides will "Depose" parties which they believe may have knowledge which support their claim(s). That means the party being deposed (Shoemoney in this case) will be placed under oath and required to answer questions from the attorneys in the case. I would presume they would want to extablish proof that comments were actually made by some particular individual and not someone pretending to be him, etc. Both sides use the depositions to establish the strengths/weakness(s) of their clients case. This is why lawsuits get so expensive. There will be a court recorder, and at least three attorneys present (Plaintif, Defendant, Whitness) so it can easily run $1,000 per hour.
Any kind of publicity is good,isnt it ? well now ppl are talking about "this" and the ppl involved in the issue are getting lot's of links and popularity.
Yeah, shoe isn't the one being sued. It's whoever made the allegedly slanderous comment. Shoe is simply being subpoened (called to testify) as an innocent bystander, and is being asked for his comment logs. He's in no trouble at all. If anything, he'll be getting a bunch of free traffic. It's actually how I found out about his blog.