Thursday, October 19, 2006
Weblog Law Exclusive - Update on Chapman Defamation Suit
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Blog Sued for Defamation Because it Distracted Candidate
Steve Chapman has had enough. After threatening Internet bloggers with litigation, the former political candidate took action.
He filed a $200,000 lawsuit against the bloggers for attacking his character on the Web journal, Black Velvet Bruce Lee.
Chapman, 28, is suing for defamation, libel, slander, insulting words and intentional infliction of emotional distress. . . .
Chapman had announced earlier this year that he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the 50th District House of Delegates.
He became disqualified after he missed the deadline to file and blamed the blog controversy for distracting his campaign.
Chapman said he had no choice but to proceed with the lawsuit since "Black Velvet Bruce Lee" accused him of being a high school dropout among a slue of other allegations.
The suit was filled in early June 2006 and is currently pending. More can be found on Black Velvet Bruce Lee. I will continue to follow this story as it develops. This could be very important to bloggers in the
Monday, October 09, 2006
Ex-Foley Page Threatens to Sue Blogger
The House Page, Jordan Edmund, exposed in the Mark Foley scandal is threatening to sue ABC and William “Wild Bill” Kerr, the
Friday, October 06, 2006
Defamed, Just Comment
Last year the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that those offended or defamed by a blog had recourse outside of the court system. It ruled that such a person could post a comment on the blog. This report is according to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. This type of ruling is one that will make most bloggers sleep a little better at night.
Blogging While on a Jury, No Big Deal
The New Hampshire Supreme Court refused to overturn a recent conviction on the grounds that a juror posted to a blog about a trial while on the jury. According to the ABA Journal Report:
Indeed, prospective jurors and active jurors are already blogging about their past experiences, and at least on one occasion, directly from the courthouse during service. At the center of the
The court did, however, leave reason to believe that if it could be shown that the jury saw the blog that it may be considered juror misconduct. This leaves the door open for all sorts of crazy situations. The law is defiantly not clear when it comes to this. The
Blogger sued over Alleged Defamation
The Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN reported in January of a case where a Republican
The suit alleges that Brodkorb, citing an unnamed source, defamed the St. Paul-based public relations firm New School Communications when he posted a claim that
Despite being told that
Brodkorb, a former research director for the Minnesota Republican Party, had been widely suspected of being the author of the often-acerbic website, which describes itself as a blog "dedicated to the truthful discussion on the activities, statements and tactics of Minnesota Democrats."
In the past it has done such things as purchase domain names of [Democratic] candidates so that viewers who log on to an address expecting to see a candidate's website are instead directed to the MDE site.
In a posting called "I AM M.D.E.," Brodkorb, who said his blog work had no connection to the Republican Party, acknowledged he is the author of the blog. He said he wanted to remain anonymous in the past to keep the focus on the subject matter rather than himself.
"It is a testament to my hard work and the work of hundreds of people who have e-mailed me information on Minnesota Democrats that in the end, a lawsuit filed by a prominent Democrat consultant forced my identity to be revealed," he wrote.
Apparently blogging anonymously does not provide protection from law suits being filed. Lawyers for the firm are claiming that bloggers should be treated as any other journalist. This case should be interesting to watch as it unfolds. We will bring you the latest as we find it.
Welcome to Weblog Law
Weblog Law is a blog forum for the purpose of discussion the impact of blogs on the legal system. We will discuss the legal issues that relate to blogging. We will attempt to follow the path of suits and cases dealing with blogging.