Johnson v. Arden, 614 F.3d 785 (8th Cir. 2010): LIABILITY FOR HARMFUL SPEECH
Aug 04, 2010OUTCOME: Victory--Created New Law in 8 States
In 2010, I argued before the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (covering seven states) in a case of first impression where I represented an Internet service provider. In that case before the Cou ... rt of Appeals upheld a ruling dismissing a libel lawsuit by cat breeders against my client, which hosted a gripe site that contained allegedly defamatory posts by users. The posts on the gripe site allegedly included statements that the defendants kill cats, “rip off” cat breeders, steal kittens and are con artists. The court held that my client had not done anything to encourage people to create unlawful posts. The Court of Appeals said in its ruling that the federal Communications Decency Act immunizes Internet service providers from defamation liability for material created by third parties. Johnson v. Arden, 614 F.3d 785 (8th Cir. 2010) (http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/10/08/092601P.pdf).
