...carefull what you say..err...write...err post...

[Sharpy]

California lawyer sues Yahoo over message-board posts

Quote:
LOS ANGELES, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A California lawyer who has waged an ongoing battle with Yahoo Inc. over personal attacks made against him on Yahoo message boards has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the company.

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news...&w=RTR&coview=

[Anthony Ng]

http://www.kirikos.com/Legal/legal.html

[jberryhill]

I can't imagine anyone making personal attacks against a lawyer on an internet message board.

[Jonathan]

Wow.. what a loser. Nothing better to do then sue people because he takes the internet too seriously.

Oh, and just so he doesn't sue me or Dnforum.com:

I hereby retract unequivocally any statement that might suggest to others that Mr. Kirikos has engaged in any form of inappropriate behaviour. Although I do not know Mr. Kirikos personally, I have no reason to doubt that Mr. Kirikos is a person of high personal and moral integrity.

I regret the statements that were made and apologize to Mr. Kirikos for any embarrassment or distress that my statements or my publication of statements, (as the case may be) may have caused.

[domnet]

Jonthan:

I believe you are getting the two cases mixed up. The one with the lawyer seems silly to me, but I do not believe you can judge George's case, as the facts are not included. In my very limited contact with GK, he has always been a class act.

Phillip

Wow.. what a loser. Nothing better to do then sue people because he takes the internet too seriously.

Oh, and just so he doesn't sue me or Dnforum.com:

I hereby retract unequivocally any statement that might suggest to others that Mr. Kirikos has engaged in any form of inappropriate behaviour. Although I do not know Mr. Kirikos personally, I have no reason to doubt that Mr. Kirikos is a person of high personal and moral integrity.

I regret the statements that were made and apologize to Mr. Kirikos for any embarrassment or distress that my statements or my publication of statements, (as the case may be) may have caused.

[GeorgeK]

The concept of defamation might be alien to some, but it's a valid part of the law, to protect people's reputation from false claims.

Google has many examples of defamation settlements:

http://www.google.com/search?num=30&...nt&btnG=Search

Laws exist in most civilized countries on the topic. Indeed, it's a principle enshrined even in the United Nations "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", article 12:

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Free speech is also an important principle, and defamation law is perfectly consistent with the right to speak the truth. Rights to free speech are not absolute. Someone who yells "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, or says "I have a bomb in my suitcase, buddy" at an airport, will quickly learn that their rights to free speech are not absolute.

A few folks also think the internet is somehow "different", and "not real". My online banking transactions certainly seem real. My online DVD rentals certainly seem real, as they come to my door. The cheques and wire transfers I get from internet commerce certainly feel real. In the infancy of tv or radio, perhaps folks though those media were "different", but the underlying principles of the law came to these new media, and the internet too.

Thus, if one falsely claims that "John Smith" is a thief, or a rapist, or worse, and publish it on the web, and cause that person to lose business contacts due to the false allegations, should that person just suffer damage? The law doesn't protect liars.

That doesn't mean every little insult or flamewar is worth a lawsuit. I've only ever had to initiate one lawsuit in my life, and am hardly litigious. Hopefully no one would ever have to go through any lawsuits in their life. But, just as if someone robbed my house, or conducted a bad business transaction, I'd protect my reputation. Indeed, the reputation of people is probably more precious than their physical assets. As Shakespeare wrote:

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls;
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.

[Sharpy]

I can't imagine anyone making personal attacks against a lawyer on an internet message board.

Oh I can, you should see this one thread, umm on another forum...umm it has lots of attacks on this one lawyer...umm from fhila...somthinorother ... and um,,,, they say the meanest.... oh....hey that's y.. oh.... nevermind