Legal Responsibility for Posts

[Ray Ford]

I just was listening to Fox News.  They had a segment about two women, students in law at Yale, who had filed a law suit against a group of persons who had smeared them on the internet and then sent letters to prospective employers of the women advising them to check the thread.  The discussion revolved around whether the women had a case.  But it seemed that everyone in the discussion agreed that the suit had precedent-setting potential; that is, it could establish a precedent for holding a person making a post legally responsible for what he or she says.  We might ought to watch how that suit resolves itself.

[pattymac]

That seems reasonable to me that we each should be accountable for our actions. Judging by some of the things that I have read. Some folks could be in deep doooo...

[#59]

Anyone can file a lawsuit...there must be a basis (merit) otherwise a summary judgement is usually rendered.

According to my legal counsel for slander/libel to become an actionable cause there must first be words/print that are factually innacurate and second, actual damage(s) such as loss of income be proven.  Also, the antagonists' personal history of complaints from others, Protective Orders, previous litigation, etc. are usually a factor in how far the case progresses as well.  Reason being is that in his experience, jurors usually take a dim view of someone engaging in litigation that has a history of being a problem in the community.

[#59]

BTW...it's my understanding the burden of proof is the plaintiff's responsibility.

[Bill]

The REAL problem faced in a case based on an internet post is PROVING that the person you are suing actually is the person who made the post. It's quite simple to prove it came from the same ISP and maybe even from that person's computer but did they post it or did someone else?

How do you proof they actually made the post? I'd say next to impossible to prove to the standards courts use.