Category Archives: Internet Defamation

The Girl in the Red Bikini — A Facebook Tale

I present now a fascinating case that serves to illustrate a couple of points about Internet defamation. We’ll call this one the Girl in the Red Bikini. Enter the Fayette County School District in Georgia. School District administrators decided it … Continue reading

Defamation is Bad, but it Doesn’t Justify Chilling Free Speech

Our neighbors to the North are very American-like, until you get to issues of free speech. Most view Canada as the “least protective of free speech in the English-speaking world.” Reasonable minds can differ on some of Canada’s laws, such … Continue reading

It’s Not Defamation if No One Knows it’s You

As the old saying goes, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?* In the context of defamation law, the saying could be, “if no one knows it’s … Continue reading

Court Finds that Statement about Cause of Suicide is an Opinion

An interesting defamation case out of New York, involving the world of music and illustrating the burden of proof. As explained here on various occasions,  truth is a defense (a point sadly lost on many defense attorneys). Thus, the burden of … Continue reading

Hacienda Heights Doctor, Pankaj Karan, Hit with $1.5 Million Judgment for Internet Defamation

In this case, we represented a business and the individual who owns that business. The defendant, a medical doctor named Pankaj Karan, was starting his own business, MDTelexchange, and traveled to an overseas company also owned by our client (we’ll … Continue reading

Judge Orders Man to Apologize to Ex-Wife on Facebook

Clients sometimes ask me to seek a letter of apology as part of a defamation settlement. I have managed to do so on a number of occasions, but I usually recommend a letter of retraction as opposed to a letter … Continue reading

Some Judges Just Don’t “Get” Defamation

I run into this attitude from judges occasionally. Thankfully, I’ve always been able to turn them around, but when I read about it, it still raises my hackles a little. The attitude of which I speak was most recently illustrated … Continue reading

Australian Defamation Case Illustrates Life Without the CDA

I have frequently written here on the pros and cons of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”). Without it, no website could permit comments, but by the same token it allows unscrupulous website operators to encourage defamatory postings, and then use … Continue reading

How to Fight Back Against Online Defamation

Always striving not to reinvent the wheel, I keep my eyes open for articles that do a good job of explaining basic legal concepts.  In that regard, I receive many calls from prospective clients who don’t yet know the fundamentals of … Continue reading