Legal Information Concerning Posting

[Grins]

Libel Law
It is easy to be sued these days and many are going after groups to enlarge verdicts as we saw recently.
So a few reminders here.

Saying a post is your "opinion" is not a defense in all cases. Please understand that. It depends upon exactly what is said, in what context and the circumstances of each case.
You are liable for what you say no matter what your motives may be.
Accusing someone of a crime of moral turpitude such as murder and perjury is libel per se and no actual damages need be proven to get a verdict against you. Punitive damages may be in the millions and are generally an uninsurable risk.

In some states your wages may be garnished or attached to pay a judgment.

If there is an acquittal or a finding of less than murder in the first degree in this case every poster who stated defendant committed an intentional premeditated murder may be sued. Even if you win, attorney fees are astronomical and you are out that money.

You may sit in that defamation suit deposition chair some day.

Look at the cases please!

[Grins]

Cases:

It is important to be aware of libel awards against posters.
$11,300,000 in this case for calling plaintiff a 'con artist,' a 'crook' and a 'fraud.'

"Carey Bock hired Sue Scheff's company, Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE) which provides referral services for families of teenagers with behavioral problems, to help withdraw her sons from a boarding school in Costa Rica. Scheff put Bock in touch with a consultant, who helped her remove her sons from the school. Unsatisfied with the help she recevieved, Bock posted negative comments about Scheff in a forum for parents with troubled kids called "Fornits.com."

Scheff and PURE sued Bock for defamation in Florida state court on December 31, 2003. According to filings in the case, Bock made statements accusing Scheff of being a "crook," a "con artist," and a "fraud."

According to USA Today, Bock hired a lawyer, but he left the case when she no longer could afford to pay him. After Bock didn't offer a defense, the court entered a default judgment against her and submitted the issue of damages to the jury. On September 19, 2006, the jury awarded Scheff $11,300,000.

On July 25, 2007, the court upheld the verdict on Bock's motion to set the verdict aside. .."
Action is being taken now to collect against defendant's wages.

This is a Florida case~

Court Information & Documents
Location of Filing/Threat: Source of Law:
Florida Florida
Court Name: Court Type:
Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County, Florida State
Case Number:
CACE03022837
also
To say someone committed perjury at a deposition is libel per se.

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/scheff-v-bock[/QUOTE]

[Grins]

Other defamation cases at:

http://www.medialaw.org/bloggerlawsuits

[Pauli]

This is for your protection as well as HFTM's. We will do everything in our power to protect our poster's privacy. Remember, if we are served with a subpoena by LE for information, we have no choice in the matter but to give them what they ask for. So please remember this when posting.

Thank you,
Admin

[Grins]

"Libel by Twitter?
The Suit Against Kim Kardashian over the "Cookie Diet"

By JULIE HILDEN
Monday, January 4, 2010

Twitter's famous 140-character limit for "tweets" – that is, posted comments – has a number of advantages, such as allowing readers to access succinct updates about people and events they are following, in something close to real time.
...
The Lawsuit, and the Statements at Issue...
...
Readers may wonder if it's fair for California resident Kardashian to be forced to go to Florida to litigate. But case law suggests that it does not violate constitutional due process to require a resident of another state to come to Florida for a lawsuit, when the suit's allegation is that she directed a tortious comment toward a plaintiff known to reside in Florida.

The basic idea is that if you target someone in Florida, you can be required to resolve that dispute in Florida. (The problem with this idea, though, is that if the comment turns out not to be libelous, then the defendant still has had to bear the cost and inconvenience of the Florida forum, for no good reason.)..."

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20100104.html

[Pauli]

Thank you Grins for writing this up.. We all need to adhere to the following.

Suggestions for all of us.

To avoid defamation problems, with respect to a person who is presumed innocent and has not been tried in a court of law,
never say,
=X is the murderer, is a killer, lied under oath, lied to police, is a fraud, committed fraud, cannot be trusted, is evil, conspired to commit a crime, stole money, is a child molester, ...
or any other crime or act which fits the

Definition of Defamation.

"The U.S. Restatement (Second) of Torts defines defamation as a communication that “‘tends so to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him.’”[6]

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/...tml#Heading110 (http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss13/docherty.shtml#Heading110)

So, use language such as,
=the evidence appears to support the murder charge, for example...
...or whatever crime is considered.
=the conduct of the defendant in hiding the gun may support prosecution claims of awareness of guilt and negate an insanity defense...

Notice you are pointing to published reports of activity and evidence rather than stating a fact within your own knowledge.

Since MOO, IMO and the like are not adequate statements of Disclaimer, consider using the following as a sig line for all your posts or include it in the body of posts where applicable.
_____________
Disclaimer: The above post is an evaluation based entirely upon materials published by responsible sources and is not a statement of fact or facts by me.