After originally being dismissed by the lower court, a state Court of Appeal has recently reinstated a California Attorney’s suit against screenwriter Justin Swingle.
Attorney Richard Gibson’s suit alleges that Swingle’s comments accused the attorney of breaking the law, violating attorney ethics rules, being mentally ill, and bigotry.
Originally Swingle’s comments on the attorney’s Craigslist add were posted anonymously. However, Gibson was granted a subpoena which required Craigslist to identify the author of the posts and from there was able to name Swingle as defendant in his complaint.
The Los Angeles Daily Times reports that the Court of Appeals held that Swingle’s posts on Gibson’s Craigslist add “were not part of political speech nor speech on a matter of public interest.”
If you are faced with a potential defamation suit or if you are trying to get content that may classify as defamation removed from an online source, you should contact an internet attorney today.
For related information on internet defamation in the media;
False Facebook Profile Spawns Defamation Lawsuit,
Lawyer Can Sue Critic Over Craigslist War of Words, Says Appeal Court,
ABAJournal.com: “More and More Lawsuits Over Rants on the Web that Blast Businesses”
