Story to be told!
- Thread starter Lateral Line
- Start date
The plot thickens......................This is a defamation suit.
It appears tht Plaintiff Benn (a lawyer) claimed that Defendant Novak defamed him online in the course of his business activities. Sued him for $70.000. Was awarded $50.000.
http
/www.petsforum.com/psw/Docket3/Docket17.pdf
This is about as much as I could find on the subject, but I'd be interested in learning more if anyone can find anything else.
It appears tht Plaintiff Benn (a lawyer) claimed that Defendant Novak defamed him online in the course of his business activities. Sued him for $70.000. Was awarded $50.000.
http
/www.petsforum.com/psw/Docket3/Docket17.pdfThis is about as much as I could find on the subject, but I'd be interested in learning more if anyone can find anything else.
EddieW
Fish Addict
It all goes back to a forum about aquarium plants where a few people posted disparaging comments about an on-line retailer. In May 2001 the owner of the retailers started off by suing them for $15,000,000, there are now seven separate court actions from the owner.
You can see the web site set up by one of the defendants here.
Some of the individual court documents and transcripts make very interesting reading.....
Now you know why William and the other mods on here have to be very careful what they allow to be said about individual companies on the forum.
Cheers, Eddie
You can see the web site set up by one of the defendants here.
Some of the individual court documents and transcripts make very interesting reading.....
Now you know why William and the other mods on here have to be very careful what they allow to be said about individual companies on the forum.
Cheers, Eddie
OP
OP
That is quite interesting isn't it. I've not read all of it, (of course!), however, one point raised was that there are dozens, if not hundreds of anti MicroSoft sites and messages posted everyday, yet MS have never shut them down. Toshiba tried to silence a critical web site and lost.
Defendant Novak has an interesting hobby--sueing other people. 
http/www.libn.com/Column_details.cfm?ID=1249
http
/www.libn.com/Column_details.cfm?ID=1249
OP
OP
I'd love to think...
>>>
"Being naive, we figured we'd get justice from the courts. But the man with the deepest pockets wins."
<<<
... wouldn't be the case in Europe, but I'm not certain. I would have thought here, there would be some organised action group who would sponsor the defence of such a case in order to protect case precedent being set as anti-freedom.
Makes you wonder about the anti Tetra statements, but at the same time, I see anti MicroSoft statements, (whole web sites), and MS doesn't pursue them.
>>>
"Being naive, we figured we'd get justice from the courts. But the man with the deepest pockets wins."
<<<
... wouldn't be the case in Europe, but I'm not certain. I would have thought here, there would be some organised action group who would sponsor the defence of such a case in order to protect case precedent being set as anti-freedom.
Makes you wonder about the anti Tetra statements, but at the same time, I see anti MicroSoft statements, (whole web sites), and MS doesn't pursue them.
It's too bad this lawsuit didn't make it into court. It would have been interesting to see how it would have turned out.
But, it is expensive to participate in a case that is not being tried in your local area; it means legal expenses, hotels, meals, and travel expenses, etc. If the trial had been delayed, for some reason, the defendant in the case would have had to do it all over again, adding to the expense. The settlement probably cost him less than it would have cost him had he won in court. Often the plaintiff in such a case will depend on that happening.
In this country, it is not considered libel or slander if you can prove that what you said is true. If you can't provide proof, then you have a problem if it goes to court.
I can't think or any organized group here that would have helped him to defend himself to avoid precedent being set. We do have a very excellent organization, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who would, (had he defended and lost), then challenge the law on constitutional grounds if it seemed appropriate.
As for Microsoft, I guess they are so big and arrogant that they probably figure you can say what you want, but in the end you will still buy their product. Most people do.
But, it is expensive to participate in a case that is not being tried in your local area; it means legal expenses, hotels, meals, and travel expenses, etc. If the trial had been delayed, for some reason, the defendant in the case would have had to do it all over again, adding to the expense. The settlement probably cost him less than it would have cost him had he won in court. Often the plaintiff in such a case will depend on that happening.
In this country, it is not considered libel or slander if you can prove that what you said is true. If you can't provide proof, then you have a problem if it goes to court.
I can't think or any organized group here that would have helped him to defend himself to avoid precedent being set. We do have a very excellent organization, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who would, (had he defended and lost), then challenge the law on constitutional grounds if it seemed appropriate.
As for Microsoft, I guess they are so big and arrogant that they probably figure you can say what you want, but in the end you will still buy their product. Most people do.
OP
OP
>>> The settlement probably cost him less than it would have cost him had he won in court.
If he'd have won, surely he would have received his costs from the plaintiff? That's the way it works here, you take someone to court and loose - that's your problem, you pay their out of pocket expenses which can be very big. Discourages stupid cases wasting court time and administrative money. I sit different in the US?
I guess from what we hear about the crazy US legal system, Resler will now be looking to sue someone for "mental anguish" over the whole thing to get her $4,150 back.
If he'd have won, surely he would have received his costs from the plaintiff? That's the way it works here, you take someone to court and loose - that's your problem, you pay their out of pocket expenses which can be very big. Discourages stupid cases wasting court time and administrative money. I sit different in the US?
I guess from what we hear about the crazy US legal system, Resler will now be looking to sue someone for "mental anguish" over the whole thing to get her $4,150 back.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
434 -
278 -
205 -
184 -
165 -
164 -
157 -
147 -
118 -
115 -
110 -
F
108
-
100 -
98 -
95