Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: EL KABONG!!! who wrote (743)	9/5/2000 9:59:47 PM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

If I were one of the defendants, I'd accept service in California because I think there's a very strong case to be made here for a counter suit using California's anti-SLAPP provisions. I'd say the vast majority of the defendants in these suits have very strong cases. In fact, if money were no object and all the cases could be brought to trial, I'd wager that most of these defendants would not only win, but win easily. But money is a major problem, as is time, as is privacy. Who wants to be in litigation for years over something totally ridiculous like most of the suits here? If you are a mid-level executive vying for a promotion, who wants your bosses to know you've been sued for what amounts to a public offense? The anti-SLAPP provision was put in to prevent big bully corporations from silencing critics merely by suing them. When you think about it, by unmasking anonymous posters you are in effect silencing them. So seems to me, although I'm not a lawyer, that someone in a state like California with an anti-SLAPP provision should seek to have it applied to court ordered subpoenas. Seems to me it should be a deep-pockets company like Yahoo that takes the bull by the horns and challenges these subpoenas all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary. After all, weren't these chat boards supposed to be bastions of free speech? Now, how do we get this to happen? - Jeff