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Craigslist Sues South Carolina Attorney General McMaster; Asks For Restraining Order

20 points by vaksel 17y ago

ErrantX 17y ago
2 things strike me. The first is good one Craigslist: pre-emptive action is always the best move and I bet this crushes the guy! :D The other is McMaster should sue TechCrunch for an image calling him a jerk - that's defamation :P
- vaksel 17y ago
  Won't fly...the jerk arrow is clearly aimed at one of the photos in the background
- raganwald 17y ago
  Scary: "Defamation exists once a statement has been published lowering the plaintiff’s reputation whether it is true or not." http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/D/Defamation.aspx http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/D/Defamation.aspx
  - vaksel 17y ago
    So you can't say anything bad about another person? wtf
    - amr 17y ago
      Yes, you can, if the the other person is a public figure: "Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 Case, New York Times v Sullivan, where a public figure attempts to bring an action for defamation, the public figure must prove an additional element: That the statement was made with "actual malice". In translation, that means that the person making the statement knew the statement to be false, or issued the statement with reckless disregard as to its truth." http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation....
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
    - noonespecial 17y ago
      Unfortunately, defamation has become one of the more often dredged up pretexts for lawsuits in the you can sue anyone, for any reason, at any time American legal system.
    - raganwald 17y ago
      To be specific, that one judge that one time made that one statement in that one jurisdiction. In practice, it isn't quite so clear-cut. Anecdotally, I recall a high school law course where we discussed libel and slander. The gist of what we were taught is that discussing someone's behaviour is fair game, but discussing their character is not. For example, you can say that there have been a series of lawsuits against so-and-so for fraud and you are relatively safe. But if you then say that so-and-so is dishonest, you may have crossed the line into slander/libel, because now you are expressing an opinion or drawing a personal conclusion that defames them. Again, this is my recollection from a very simple introductory course many years ago.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      there is a distinction about drawing a valid conclusion and "abuse". If you can back up the claim of jerk then fair enough but if not, it's defamation - and the writer doesnt do so. Also as it is a prominent picture obviously deliberately doctored for this purpose Im sure it wouldnt go well for TC :P EDIT: personally dont care either way, I suspect they are right ;) but it struck me as amusing in the context of the article.
  - jamiequint 17y ago
    If this was litigable (pictures with accompanying text "defaming" people) Perez Hilton would probably get sued long before Techcrunch.
- gojomo 17y ago
  'Jerk' is clearly an opinion that isn't evaluable as true or untrue. (Well, it's a true account of TC's opinion, but that's all.) Thus it can't really count as defamation/libel under US law. Also, as a public figure, McMaster has even less opportunity to make such claims. (Again, under US law.) If McMaster were an official in the UK or Singapore, TC might have to be more careful -- they each have far more expansive opportunities for public figures to sue based on speech.
absconditus 17y ago
Compare this piece of writing with the same coverage by a NY Times blog: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/pushed-against-wall-craigslist-sues-south-carolina-attorney-general/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/pushed-against-wall... "After all, our own poll shows that given the choice between keeping Craigslist or South Carolina, most of you would choose Craigslist." Ridiculous.

20 points by vaksel 17y ago

2 things strike me. The first is good one Craigslist: pre-emptive action is always the best move and I bet this crushes the guy! :D The other is McMaster should sue TechCrunch for an image calling him a jerk - that's defamation :P

vaksel 17y ago
Won't fly...the jerk arrow is clearly aimed at one of the photos in the background
raganwald 17y ago
Scary: "Defamation exists once a statement has been published lowering the plaintiff’s reputation whether it is true or not." http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/D/Defamation.aspx http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/D/Defamation.aspx
- vaksel 17y ago
  So you can't say anything bad about another person? wtf
  - amr 17y ago
    Yes, you can, if the the other person is a public figure: "Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 Case, New York Times v Sullivan, where a public figure attempts to bring an action for defamation, the public figure must prove an additional element: That the statement was made with "actual malice". In translation, that means that the person making the statement knew the statement to be false, or issued the statement with reckless disregard as to its truth." http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation....
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - noonespecial 17y ago
    Unfortunately, defamation has become one of the more often dredged up pretexts for lawsuits in the you can sue anyone, for any reason, at any time American legal system.
  - raganwald 17y ago
    To be specific, that one judge that one time made that one statement in that one jurisdiction. In practice, it isn't quite so clear-cut. Anecdotally, I recall a high school law course where we discussed libel and slander. The gist of what we were taught is that discussing someone's behaviour is fair game, but discussing their character is not. For example, you can say that there have been a series of lawsuits against so-and-so for fraud and you are relatively safe. But if you then say that so-and-so is dishonest, you may have crossed the line into slander/libel, because now you are expressing an opinion or drawing a personal conclusion that defames them. Again, this is my recollection from a very simple introductory course many years ago.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    there is a distinction about drawing a valid conclusion and "abuse". If you can back up the claim of jerk then fair enough but if not, it's defamation - and the writer doesnt do so. Also as it is a prominent picture obviously deliberately doctored for this purpose Im sure it wouldnt go well for TC :P EDIT: personally dont care either way, I suspect they are right ;) but it struck me as amusing in the context of the article.
- jamiequint 17y ago
  If this was litigable (pictures with accompanying text "defaming" people) Perez Hilton would probably get sued long before Techcrunch.
gojomo 17y ago
'Jerk' is clearly an opinion that isn't evaluable as true or untrue. (Well, it's a true account of TC's opinion, but that's all.) Thus it can't really count as defamation/libel under US law. Also, as a public figure, McMaster has even less opportunity to make such claims. (Again, under US law.) If McMaster were an official in the UK or Singapore, TC might have to be more careful -- they each have far more expansive opportunities for public figures to sue based on speech.

absconditus 17y ago

Compare this piece of writing with the same coverage by a NY Times blog: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/pushed-against-wall-craigslist-sues-south-carolina-attorney-general/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/pushed-against-wall... "After all, our own poll shows that given the choice between keeping Craigslist or South Carolina, most of you would choose Craigslist." Ridiculous.