Bill Oliver wrote:
In article ,
Bill wrote:

Bill Oliver wrote:


In article ,
Mike LaMana fake@MikeatHeartwoodConsultingdotnet wrote:

I would be very careful posting this sort of thing..actually I wouldn't
post this sort of thing. Looks almost libelous.


Truth is an absolute defense against the charge of libel.

billo


IANAL but you might want to look that up. I had occaision to research the
matter at some depth a few years back and I don't think it's that cut and
dried.



I have. In fact, it is the *only* complete defense I know of. It's
pretty cut and dried in the US, though from what I have heard it's not
so cut and dried in places like Canada. Truth is not an affirmative
defense against libel in Australia or the UK, I believe. Since this was
a FL company, I was referring only to the US.

What isn't clear is to what degree "actual malice" or a willfull
disregard for the truth is required. For public figures, actual malice
is required, and for private figures it is often not. Further, there
are statements that are libelous per se, even for public figures, and
do not require malice. Statements about performance of trade or
business fall into this category. These are considered so derogatory
that the plaintiff may not have to prove that the writer knew the
statements were false. The claims still, however, have to be false.

Thus, it is not necessary that the poster *knew* the statements were
false in order to prove libel, but is is necessary that they be false.

It is also sometimes not clear where truth ends. It is one thing to
say that a person has been demonstrated to be intoxicated with alcohol
every night for the past year (if such could be proven); it is another
to say she is an alcoholic even with that knowledge. It is one thing
to say that a vendor took your money, ran off to Rio, and did not give
you your product; it is another to call him a thief.

Further, in the US, it is also usually necessary to show some actual
harm -- which is the only thing that protects a lot of the stuff on
these newsgroups.

billo


Some people don't have have deep enough pockets to defend themselves
even if what they originally said was true. It can take years and
thousands of dollars for a libel suit to even get to court:
http://petsforum.com/psw/

Bob