Website user comments libel?

[testaroo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
TX
I am a moderator in a very small community website. It's catered to custom robot toys. Site is usually visited by hobbysts and fans of old robot toys. Now some custom toy makers also come on board and promote their businesses as well but they sometimes get into fight amongst themselves over who is a better toy maker and things do get out of control once in a while.

We had a big trouble maker making all sorts of slanderous postings so we banned her outright. However, she continues to post anonymous messages and all sorts of personal insults against me.

in an effort to drive this person away, we made newsletter available to everyone to avoid doing any business with this person and we edited her anonymous posts to point back to her.

Now she is threatening to sue for libel. I have all the emails and original (unedited) messages of this person's personal insults againt me. All I've done is just retaliate at her own game. Does she have any legal grounds to sue me. If she does, how much can she sue me for and can I take on the suit by myself or must I hire an attorney?
Thanks so much in advance.

 

[seniorjudge]

Anyone may sue anybody for anything any time, anywhere.

Have your lawyer standing by.

 

[quincy]

Retaliation is not wise. Editing posts to present them in a different light is also not wise. And connecting an "anonymous" poster to an identified poster who may or may not be this anonymous poster is also not wise.

Based on what you have written here, it is very possible that this toy maker can sue you for defamation.

Defamation actions are extremely expensive, both to bring and to defend against, and you will need an attorney to handle any suit.

The expense involved in a defamation action may make this toy maker reluctant to sue, but she could, and she could also contact an attorney and try to settle this matter with you out-of-court for a substantial sum. It really depends on how badly her reputation and business reputation have been damaged by your "retaliatory" newsletter and how litigious she is.

Reputational injury is often worth multi-thousands of dollars to a Plaintiff in a winning defamation action.

You potentially have the ability to countersue, if you can definitely link this toy maker to the anonymous posts and all of the libelous emails previously posted on your website. "Personal insults" are generally not defamatory, by the way.

You should go over all of the postings and all of the facts of the situation with your attorney, to see exactly where you stand should this toy maker decide to sue.

So, yes, as seniorjudge said, this toymaker can sue. And you will need an attorney.

 

[Peligroso27]

As libel suits tend to be very expensive I would not worry. A good action on your part would be to respond with baseless threats of a lawsuit as well.

 

[quincy]

It is exactly because libel suits are expensive, Peligroso, that testaroo should worry.

For one thing, the toy maker may not have a baseless action here. It is entirely possible, certainly from what testaroo has posted here, that the newsletter is defamatory and that the editing of the anonymous posts is a privacy tort violation (placing a person in a false light).

The toy maker's decision to sue will center on what exactly was said by testaroo in the newsletter and the edited posts, and how much reputational injury was suffered by the toy maker as a result.

If testaroo were to threaten the toy maker with a lawsuit that is baseless, that could make her decide to go ahead with a suit she was merely contemplating before.

Testaroo is already in trouble for retaliating against this toy maker once. Don't encourage him to make another mistake by retaliating with a threat of a lawsuit he has little chance of supporting in court.

 

[testaroo]

Thanks for your inputs. I'm going on vacation soon and have shut the site down for now.

 

[quincy]

Enjoy your vacation, testaroo, and good luck.

I will hope, for your sake, that the toy maker is all bluster, and that no lawsuit results from the postings on your website.