Stan The Man writes
In article ,
wrote:

Stan The Man writes
In article , June Hughes
wrote:

It is certainly possible to sue for e-mail libel (Norwich Union were
famously fined £450,000 a few years ago because an employee libelled a
competitor in an e-mail) -- but your adviser should be ditched if
he/she is telling you to go ahead and sue. The cost of bringing a libel
case would be huge and you have no guarantee of success, or that the
defendant can afford to pay your costs, let alone the damages (small as
they would be unless you are Norwich Union).

I thought emails were private correspondence? And that libel applied
only to published things, not for example, to comments you make in a
private letter, unless you or the recipient then publishes the letter?

Why not Google the Norwich Union case? That was a commercial matter of
course with high stakes. The notion that personal and private e-mail
could warrant a libel action is patently ludicrous, I agree.

Phew - that's a relief!

"out of court settlement in the sum of $450,000, as a result of
defamatory rumours present on the internet which were traced back to
Norwich Union employees using work emails"

http://tinyurl.co.uk/y764

This differs from private emails in two respects:

a) it was work email, and IIRC the principle of screening work emails is
established, therefore they are not private in the same way as private
emails are

b) the content had found its way on to the internet, ie it had been
published.
--
Kay