Ky. judge sets criteria that may force disclosure of anonymous commenter in defamation suit

A Kentucky judge has ruled that The Richmond Register "does not have to turn over the name or contact information of an anonymous commenter accused of posting defamatory statements on its Web site," Jason Riley reports for The Courier-Journal of Louisville. But the ruling "may only be a temporary victory for the newspaper and anonymous posters," because the judge "adopted a multi-part test that, if certain criteria are met, would allow for the poster to be identified."

Citing a federal case and cases form other states, Circuit Judge Jean Chenault Logue said the plaintiff has  to make a reasonable effort to locate and notify the anonymous commenter, give appropriate time for the commenter to respond, submit sufficient and specific evidence of defamation, "and prove that the information being sought is necessary for the lawsuit to proceed," Riley writes. "She said notice may be given through a court order requiring the Internet service provider for the newspaper to notify the commenter of the pending lawsuit, if the service has that capability."

The plaintiff's lawyer said the commenter has been notified by newspaper stories and online postings about the lawsuit. The lawyer for the newspaper declined to comment. The case began after the plaintiff was ejected from a local mall on grounds that the dress she had bought there the day before was too short. "The poster, whose comment appeared Aug. 13, 2008, under an online story headlined, “You can buy it at the mall, but you can't wear it there,” claimed to have the true story behind Clem's eviction — that she had exposed herself to a woman and her children who remarked on the dress," Riley reports. That prompted the lawsuit. (Read more)

As luck would have it, the case is in the same county, Madison, where use of the Internet by newspapers will be the subject of a day of programming on June 25 during the annual conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors at Eastern Kentucky University. The presenters will include First Amendment lawyer Jean Maneke of Missouri, who will discuss legal aspects of the Internet. For more details, from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, click here.