blog defamation awards $11m !!

[peterjhale]

Be careful out there....
A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud."
Legal analysts say the Sept. 19 award by a jury in Broward County, Fla. — first reported Friday by the Daily Business Review — represents the largest such judgment over postings on an Internet blog or message board. Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida law professor who specializes in free-speech issues, calls the award "astonishing."
Lidsky says the case could represent a coming trend in court fights over online messages because the woman who won the damage award, Sue Scheff of Weston, Fla., pursued the case even though she knew the defendant, Carey Bock of Mandeville, La., has no hope of paying such an award. Bock, who had to leave her home for several months because of Hurricane Katrina, couldn't afford an attorney and didn't show up for the trial.
"What's interesting about this case is that (Scheff) was so vested in being vindicated, she was willing to pay court costs," Lidsky says. "They knew before trial that the defendant couldn't pay, so what's the point in going to the jury?"
Scheff says she wanted to make a point to those who unfairly criticize others on the Internet. "I'm sure (Bock) doesn't have $1 million, let alone $11 million, but the message is strong and clear," Scheff says. "People are using the Internet to destroy people they don't like, and you can't do that."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ion-case_x.htm

[Lazzo]

Blimey! Whatever happened to going round someone's house and punching them on the hooter? Far more effective, a heck of a lot cheaper and it maintains that 'freedom of speech' thingy that no-one seems to understand.

[roy]

On the other hand it does show, finally, that you have to ahere to the rules of common decency, that apply to all other walks of life, to internet forums too.

Too many people think that they can say whatever they like whilst hiding behind a login identity, whether it has any substance or not.

I have seen too many forums/blogs sink to the depths through mindless and insulting verbal abuse. Thankfully this forum has avoided it and that's why I'm still here.