GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post

lawpal · 08-21-2002, 09:58 AM

I support free speech 100%, but obvious falsehoods and disparaging remarks make me cringe because of the potential liability they carry with them. Plus, lawsuits by former employees can be very expensive. You could easily spend upwards of $25,000 - $50,000 defending such a lawsuit, and you still might lose and be forced to pay damages. Lawsuits are always a crap shoot, and your odds are generally no better than 50-50.

I firmly believe the message boards serve an important purpose to point out cheaters and rip-off artists, because keeping this business honest is importatn.

At the same time, you have to be careful with the words you choose. It is one thing to say that you had a bad experience working with someone and that you do not think they were a good employee based upon the services rendered in exchange for money paid, or you thought they stole your money because they did not provide you with the services or product you contracted for. On the other hand it is clearly something different to call someone a "Lying, Psycho, Homeless, Drugged Ass Bitch!" Those terms, because they are purportedly factual statements used in the context of a post specifically aimed to cause damage to their potential to work in an specific business might be construed by a jury of your peers as defamation, and if they resulted in her inability to get another job they might be construed as having caused her to suffer damages.

There are a wide variety of factors which a court might also have to take into consideration before you even get to that point, and state and federal laws in this area are very numerous and complicated. It is quite possible that this specific type of issue has been addressed in your state, and if you were concerend about it you should consider retaining a local lawyer to research the specific issue to determine what, if any, precendent exists which would influence the potential case.

So, bottom line, could she sue her former employer for his comments? Of course she could. You can sue just about anyone for almost anything. I was surprised by their initial post. If they paid her money to perform specific services, and she basically stole the money and did not performe they services they might be able to sue her to recover the salary and expenses she was paid. I would also investigate that.

Sorry if this does not answer all the questions surrounding this issue. It is a huge problem, and many lawyers dedicate their lifetime just to work on these types of issues.

Here are a couple articles which might help you to investigate this further on your own.

A recent article on USLaw.com reviewed the current argument that exists as to whether discovery of the identity of message board posters should be allowed

http://www.uslaw.com/library/article...tml?area_id=41

Small Business Definitions - helpful workplace definitions related to this issue

http://businessweek.findlaw.com/empl.../HFCHP5_m.html

Defamation on the Internet

http://www.cyberlibel.com/defnet.html

Is a bad reference defamation?

http://www.references-etc.com/standa...employment.htm

Defamation
http://www.gottrouble.com/legal/busi...efamation.html

08-21-2002, 09:58 AM
lawpal Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Miami Posts: 824	I support free speech 100%, but obvious falsehoods and disparaging remarks make me cringe because of the potential liability they carry with them. Plus, lawsuits by former employees can be very expensive. You could easily spend upwards of $25,000 - $50,000 defending such a lawsuit, and you still might lose and be forced to pay damages. Lawsuits are always a crap shoot, and your odds are generally no better than 50-50. I firmly believe the message boards serve an important purpose to point out cheaters and rip-off artists, because keeping this business honest is importatn. At the same time, you have to be careful with the words you choose. It is one thing to say that you had a bad experience working with someone and that you do not think they were a good employee based upon the services rendered in exchange for money paid, or you thought they stole your money because they did not provide you with the services or product you contracted for. On the other hand it is clearly something different to call someone a "Lying, Psycho, Homeless, Drugged Ass Bitch!" Those terms, because they are purportedly factual statements used in the context of a post specifically aimed to cause damage to their potential to work in an specific business might be construed by a jury of your peers as defamation, and if they resulted in her inability to get another job they might be construed as having caused her to suffer damages. There are a wide variety of factors which a court might also have to take into consideration before you even get to that point, and state and federal laws in this area are very numerous and complicated. It is quite possible that this specific type of issue has been addressed in your state, and if you were concerend about it you should consider retaining a local lawyer to research the specific issue to determine what, if any, precendent exists which would influence the potential case. So, bottom line, could she sue her former employer for his comments? Of course she could. You can sue just about anyone for almost anything. I was surprised by their initial post. If they paid her money to perform specific services, and she basically stole the money and did not performe they services they might be able to sue her to recover the salary and expenses she was paid. I would also investigate that. Sorry if this does not answer all the questions surrounding this issue. It is a huge problem, and many lawyers dedicate their lifetime just to work on these types of issues. Here are a couple articles which might help you to investigate this further on your own. A recent article on USLaw.com reviewed the current argument that exists as to whether discovery of the identity of message board posters should be allowed http://www.uslaw.com/library/article...tml?area_id=41 Small Business Definitions - helpful workplace definitions related to this issue http://businessweek.findlaw.com/empl.../HFCHP5_m.html Defamation on the Internet http://www.cyberlibel.com/defnet.html Is a bad reference defamation? http://www.references-etc.com/standa...employment.htm Defamation http://www.gottrouble.com/legal/busi...efamation.html