[VAR & VSEA] "When's Enough Enough?
What started out as an offbeat Internet libel suit over inflammatory message-board postings has escalated to a full-scale Web war involving death threats.
After Michelangelo Delfino was dismissed in 1998 from Varian Associates, Palo Alto, Calif., semiconductor and medical-equipment maker, he and his girlfriend, another former Varian employee, started posting anti-Varian messages on the company message board and the couple's own Web site.
Varian sued and in December, a Santa Clara jury found the two had libeled their former employer by posting some 17,000 messages. A Santa Clara Superior Court judge ordered them to pay $775,000 in damages and stop the postings.
But the two appealed to the Sixth District Court of Appeals, arguing the ruling violated the First Amendment. The appellate court took it on. That is when the death threats started. In May, Mr. Delfino noticed a posting about himself on Varian's message board: "I heard Mikey will have a hard time appealing his case after he's DEAD. Count the days, loser ... you're going to suffer ..." The FBI tracked down the perpetrator.
Mr. Delfino sees the irony in arguing for the right to post what he wants but draws a line. It is one thing, he says, "to go onto a message board and say Mike Delfino is a horse's ass. In that case, I respect your opinion. But saying you're going to kill me ... that's different."
A Varian spokeswoman said she is confident the company will win on appeal."
Allyce Bess, Wall Street Journal Digits
Thursday, August 8, 2002
wsj.com |
