Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Legal Remedies for Online Defamation of Physicians +

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01947640903146121

1521-057X

Jeffrey A. Segal, M Sacopulos, D. Rivera,

Dispute Resolution and Class Actions

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes + Editor's Note: Publication of this article does not imply an endorsement of any company or product by the ACLM or JLM or its publisher. ∗ Neurosurgeon and founder of Medical Justice Services, Inc. in Greensboro, N.C. ∗∗ Attorney with Sacopulos Johnson and Sacopulos in Terre Haute, Indiana, and general counsel for Medical Justice Services, Inc. ∗∗∗ Attorney practicing Internet law in Richmond, Virginia. 1 Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, Silencing John Doe: Defamation & Discourse in Cyberspace, 49 D uke L.J. 855, 884-85 (2000). 2 Holtzscheiter v. Thomson Newspapers, Inc., 506 S.E.2d 497, 514 (S.C. 1998) (Toal, J., concurring). 3 Schafer v. Time, Inc., 142 F.3d 1361, 1368 n.4 (11th Cir. 1998) (quoting Schafer v. Time, Inc., 1996 WL 720788, at ∗1 (N.D. Ga. June 5, 1996)). 4 Mittelman v. Witous, 552 N.E.2d 973, 978 (Ill. 1989). 5 Robert M. Ackerman, Bringing Coherence to Defamation Law Through Uniform Legislation: The Search for an Elegant Solution, 72 N.C. L. Rev. 291, 302 (1994). 6 Id. at 293. 7 Badeaux v. Sw. Computer Bureau, Inc., 929 So. 2d 1211, 1218 (La. 2005). 8 Kanaga v. Gannett Co., 687 A.2d 173, 181-82 (Del. 1996). 9 Erickson v. Jones St. Publishers, L.L.C., 629 S.E.2d 653, 664 (S.C. 2006). 10 Kelley v. Tanoos, 865 N.E.2d 593, 596-97 (Ind. 2007). 11 Union of Needletrades v. Jones, 603 S.E.2d 920, 924 (Va. 2004). 12 Saunders v. VanPelt, 497 A.2d 1121, 1124-25 (Me. 1985). 13 Pope v. Motel 6, 114 P.3d 277, 282 (Nev. 2005). 14 Offen v. Brenner, 935 A.2d 719, 723-24 (Md. App. 2007). 15 Taus v. Loftus, 151 P.3d 1185, 1209 (Cal. 2007); 5 Bernard E. Witkin, Summary of California Law: Torts § 529 (10th ed. 2005). 16 Cweklinsky v. Mobil Chem. Co., 837 A.2d 759, 763 (Conn. 2004); see Bakal v. Weare, 583 A.2d 1028, 1029 (Me. 1990). 17 Stringer v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 151 S.W.3d 781, 794 (Ky. 2004). 18 Milum v. Banks, 642 S.E.2d 892, 898 (Ga. 2007). 19 Trainor v. Standard Times, 924 A.2d 766, 770 (R.I. 2007). 20 Kennedy v. Sheriff of E. Baton Rouge, 935 So. 2d 669, 681 (La. 2006); Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 501 U.S. 496, 510 (1991). 21 See Kennedy v. Cannon, 182 A.2d 54, 57 (Md. 1962). 22 Turner v. Halliburton Co., 722 P.2d 1106, 1112 (Kan. 1986). 23 Ravnikar v. Bogojavlensky, 782 N.E.2d 508, 511 (Mass. 2003). 24 Masson, 501 U.S. at 510. 25 Id. (quoting New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80 (1964)). 26 Northport Health Servs., Inc. v. Owens, 158 S.W.3d 164, 172 (Ark. 2004); see also Draghetti v. Chmielewski, 626 N.E.2d 862, 866 (Mass. 1994). 27 See Dendrite Int'l, Inc. v. Doe No. 3, 775 A.2d 756, 772 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2001). 28 Tronfeld v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 636 S.E.2d 447, 450 (Va. 2006). 29 Russin v. Wesson, 949 A.2d 1019, 1021 (Vt. 2008); Penn Warranty Corp. v. DiGiovanni, 810 N.Y.S.2d 807, 813-14 (Sup. Ct. 2005). 30 Farrington v. Bureau of Nat'l Affairs, Inc., 596 A.2d 58, 59 (D.C. 1991); see also Churchey v. Adolph Coors Co., 759 P.2d 1336, 1347 (Colo. 1988). 31 Mann v. Abel, 885 N.E.2d 884, 885-86 (N.Y. 2008). 32 Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 339-40 (1974). 33 Fuchs v. Scripps Howard Broad. Co., 868 N.E.2d 1024, 1037 (Ohio App. 2006); Raytheon Technical Serv. Co. v. Hyland, 641 S.E.2d 84 (Va. 2007); SPX Corp. v. Doe, 253 F. Supp. 2d 974 (N.D. Ohio 2003); Hammer v. Amazon.com, 392 F. Supp. 2d 423 (E.D.N.Y. 2005). 34 Brian v. Richardson, 660 N.E.2d 1126, 1129 (N.Y. 1995); see also SPX Corp., 253 F. Supp. 2d at 980. 35 Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990); WJLA-TV v. Levin, 564 S.E.2d 383, 392 (Va. 2002). 36 SPX Corp., 253 F. Supp. 2d at 980-81. 37 Id. 38 Hammer v. Trendl, No. CV 02-2462(ADS), 2003 WL 21466686, at ∗3 (E.D.N.Y. 2003). 39 Horsley v. Rivera, 292 F.3d 695, 702 (11th Cir. 2002). 40 Hodgins v. Times Herald Co., 425 N.W.2d 522, 527 (Mich. 1988). 41 Kevorkian v. Am. Med. Ass'n, 602 N.W.2d 233, 237 (Mich. 1999). 42 Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1074 (9th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted). 43 Fuchs v. Scripps Howard Broad. Co., 868 N.E.2d 1024, 1037 (Ohio 2006). 44 Id. 45 Fowler v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 2002 WL 31230802, at ∗6 (N.D. Tex. 2002) (unreported). 46 Kanaga v. Gannett Co., 687 A.2d 173, 176 (Del. Super. 1996). 47 Id. at 176. 48 Id. 49 Id. at 181. 50 Gertz, 418 U.S. at 344. 51 Lassonde v. Stanton, 956 A.2d 332, 339 (N.H. 2008). 52 Sparagon v. Native Am. Publishers, Inc., 542 N.W.2d 125, 135 (S.D. 1996); Bongiovi v. Sullivan, 138 P.3d 433, 445-46 (Nev. 2006). 53 Green v. N. Publishing Co., Inc., 655 P.2d 736, 741 (Ala. 1982). 54 Ferguson v. Watkins, 448 So. 2d 271, 277 (Miss. 1984). 55 Moffatt v. Brown, 751 P.2d 939, 941 (Ala. 1988). 56 Gilbert v. Sykes, 53 Cal. Rptr. 3d 752, 762 (Cal. 2007). 57 See, e.g., Martinez v. Soignier, 570 So. 2d 23, 28 (La. App. 1990) (“[I]t cannot be denied that Dr. Martinez sought public patronage and that his venture into breast augmentation was a matter of public interest.”); Farnsworth v. Tribune Co., 253 N.E.2d 408, 411 (Ill. 1969) (“The fact that plaintiff's personal contacts were presumably with only a small portion of the public does not militate against immunity where the publications concern a matter of such vital importance as the qualifications and practices of one who represents herself as qualified to treat human ills.”). 58 We Knew the Web Was Big, available at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/we-knew-web-was-big.html (last visited Feb. 22, 2009). 59 1,463 Million Internet Users!, available at http://www.internetworldstats.com/blog.htm (last visited Feb. 22, 2009). 60 Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844, 870 (1997). 61 In re Subpoena Duces Tecum to Am. Online, Inc., No. 40570, 2000 WL 1210372, at ∗6 (Va. Cir. Mar. 2, 2001). 62 Oja v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 440 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2006). 63 Lidsky, supra note 1, at 884-85. 64 1995 WL 323710 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Dec. 11, 1995) (superceded by statute). 65 Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018, 1029 (9th Cir. 2003). 66 Zeran v. Am. Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, 331 (4th Cir. 1997). 67 Lunney v. Prodigy Servs. Co., 723 N.E.2d 539, 542 (N.Y. 1999). 68 Id. 69 Zeran, 129 F.3d at 331. 70 47 U.S.C. §§ 230, 560, 561 (1998). 71 Zeran, 129 F.3d at 331. 72 Barrett v. Rosenthal, 146 P.3d 510, 523 (Cal. 2006). 73 Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F. Supp. 44, 49 (D.D.C. 1998). 74 Murawski v. Pataki, 514 F. Supp. 2d 577, 591 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (citations omitted); see also Fair Hous. Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, L.L.C., 521 F.3d 1157, 1169 (9th Cir. 2008). 75 Novak v. Overture Servs., 309 F. Supp. 2d 446 (E.D.N.Y. 2004). 76 Barrett, 146 P.3d at 529. 77 47 U.S.C. § 230(f)(2). 78 RateMds.com, available at http://www.RateMds.com/social (last visited Feb. 24, 2009). 79 Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com, L.L.C., 418 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (D. Ariz. 2005). 80 Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com, L.L.C., 521 F.3d 1157, 1175 (9th Cir. 2008). 81 42 U.S.C. § 3601 (2008). 82 Roommates.com, 521 F.3d at 1166. However, the court found that, with respect to the “additional comments” feature, CDA immunity applied. 83 Id. at 1166-67 (citing Carafono v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 207 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (C.D. Cal. 2002)). 84 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (2006). 85 PatentWizard, Inc. v. Kinko's, Inc., 163 F. Supp. 2d 1069, 1071-72 (D.S.D. 2001). 86 Krinsky, 72 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 239. 87 Doe v. 2TheMart.com Inc., 140 F. Supp. 2d 1088, 1092-97 (W.D. Wash. 2001). 88 Doe I v. Individuals, 561 F. Supp. 2d 249 (D. Conn. 2008). 89 In re Subpoena Duces Tecum to Am. Online, Inc., No. 40570, 2000 WL 1210372, at ∗6 (Va. Cir. Ct. Jan. 31, 2000). 90 Immunomedics, Inc. v. Doe, 775 A.2d 773, 777-78 (N.J. 2001). 91 Doe I, 561 F. Supp. 2d at 253. 92 In re Subpoena Duces Tecum, 2000 WL 1210372, at ∗6. 93 Id. at ∗5. 94 775 A.2d 756, 760-61 (N.J. 2001). 95 Columbia Ins. Co. v. seescandy.com., 185 F.R.D. 573, 579-80 (N.D. Cal. 1999). 96 Timo Salmi, Anonymous Usernet Posting, Another View, available at http://lipas.uwasa.fi/~ts/http/anonpost.html (last visited Feb. 21, 2009). 97 Chrupcala v. Chester County Hospital, 2003 WL 21088476 (E.D. Pa. 2003). 98 State v. Noah, 9 P.3d 858 (Wash. 2000). 99 See generally HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 C.F.R. § 164.502 (2009). 100 A Contract's Out on Rating Docs, Modern Healthcare, June 25, 2007, at 84; see also Dmitriy M. Kruglyak, “Medical Justice” Patient Gag Contracts: Not Just Dumb, but Illegal, Trusted.MD Blog, June 9, 2008, available at http://trusted.md/blog/hippocrates/2008/06/09/medical_justice_patient_gag_contracts_not_just_dumb_but_illegal (last visited Feb. 21, 2009). 101 Pamela Lewis Dolan, “Vaccine Against Libel” Could Have Some Side Effects, Am. Med. News, June 9, 2008, available at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/06/09/bica0609.htm (last visited Feb. 21, 2009). 102 Rendell-Baker v. Kohn, 457 U.S. 830, 837-38 (1982). 103 Noah, 9 P.3d at 870. 104 Id. at 871. 105 Bottros v. Park Ridge Hosp., Inc., 482 N.Y.S.2d 629, 629 (N.Y. 1984). 106 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1996). 107 S.P. v. City of Takoma Park, Md., 134 F.3d 260, 265 (4th Cir. 1998); Koulkina v. City of N.Y., 2008 WL 463726, at ∗15 (S.D.N.Y.) (unreported); Vazquez v. Marciano, 169 F. Supp. 2d 248, 253-54 (S.D.N.Y. 2001). 108 Milo v. Cushing Mun. Hosp., 861 F.2d 1194, 1197 (10th Cir. 1988); Clair v. Centre Cmty. Hosp., 463 A.2d 1065, 1067 (Pa. 1983). 109 Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U.S. 991, 1004 (1982). 110 Id. 111 Alexander v. Pathfinder, Inc., 189 F.3d 735, 740 (8th Cir. 1999). 112 Sarin v. Samaritan Health Ctr., 813 F.2d 755, 759 (6th Cir. 1987). 113 Modaber v. Culpeper Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 674 F.2d 1023, 1026-27 (4th Cir. 1982); Mendez v. Belton, 739 F.2d 15 (1st Cir. 1984) (mere receipt of Hill-Burton Act construction funds did not make a private nonprofit hospital's every act “state action” for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment); Hodge v. Paoli Mem'l Hosp., 576 F.2d 563, 563 (3d Cir. 1978) (receipt of Medicare, Medicaid, and Hill-Burton construction funds fails to transform an otherwise private hospital into a “State actor”); Avallone v. Wilmington Med. Ctr. Inc., 553 F. Supp. 931, 933-34 (D. Del. 1982) (receipt of Medicare, Medicaid, and Hill-Burton construction funds, tax exempt status, and licensing by the state does not convert a private nonprofit hospital into a governmental actor). 114 405 U.S. 174, 185 (1972). 115 129 F.2d 173, 176 (7th Cir. 1942). 116 Noah, 9 P.3d at 871 (holding that a defamation settlement agreement between patient and physician was enforceable against the patient, as the patient had validly waived her free speech rights with regard to the defamatory comments). 117 Comm. for a Better Twin Rivers v. Twin Rivers Homeowners' Ass'n, 929 A.2d 1060, 1063 (N.J. 2007). 118 Paulson v. Paulson, 694 N.W.2d 681, 685 (2005). 119 Morgan v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 222 So. 2d 820, 829 (Miss. 1969). 120 Brown v. State, 37 N.E.2d 73, 77 (Ind. 1941). 121 Hittson v. Chi., R. I. & P. Ry. Co., 86 P.2d 1037, 1039 (N.M. 1939). 122 Zeitz v. Foley, 264 S.W.2d 267, 268 (Ky. 1954). 123 A.Z. v. B.Z., 725 N.E.2d 1051, 1058 (Mass. 2000). 124 City of Santa Barbara v. Super. Ct., 161 P.3d 1095, 1115 n.53 (Cal. 2007). 125 Noah, 9 P.3d at 858. 126 Id. at 871. 127 Id. 128 Buraczynski v. Eyring, 919 S.W.2d 314, 320 (Tenn. 1996) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 40 (6th ed. 1990)). 129 Broemmer v. Abortion Servs. of Phoenix, Ltd., 840 P.2d 1013, 1016 (Ariz. 1992) (quoting Stanley Henderson, Problems in the Enforcement of Agreements to Arbitrate Medical Malpractice, 58 Va. L. Rev. 947, 988 (1972)). 130 Hughes Training, Inc. v. Cook, 254 F.3d 588, 593 (5th Cir. 2001); Kosmicki v. State, 652 N.W.2d 883, 893 (Neb. 2002); Yakima County (W. Valley) Fire Prot. Dist. No. 12 v. City of Yakima, 858 P.2d 245, 257 (Wash. 1993). 131 Graham v. Scissor-Tail, Inc., 623 P.2d 165, 172 (Cal. 1981). 132 Wis. Auto Title Loans, Inc. v. Jones, 714 N.W.2d 155, 164 (Wis. 2006); Armendariz v. Found. Health Psychcare Servs., Inc., 6 P.3d 669, 690 (Cal. 2000). 133 Hughes, 254 F.3d at 593-94; Razor v. Hyundai Motor Am., 854 N.E.2d 607, 622 (Ill. 2006). 134 Wis. Auto Title, 714 N.W.2d at 166. 135 Iwen v. U.S. West Direct, 977 P.2d 989, 996 (Mont. 1999). 136 Trinity Mission Health & Rehab. of Clinton v. Estate of Scott ex rel. Johnson, 2006-CA-01053-COA, 2008 WL 73682 (Miss. App. July 17, 2008). 137 Sosa v. Paulos, 924 P.2d 357, 362 (Utah 1996). 138 Iwen, 977 P.2d at 989. 139 Broemmer, 840 P.2d at 1017. 140 Razor, 854 N.E.2d at 622; Kinkel v. Cingular Wireless LLC, 857 N.E.2d 250, 264 (Ill. 2006); Deminsky v. Arlington Plastics Mach., 657 N.W.2d 411, 422 (Wis. 2003). 141 Russell, 826 So. 2d at 725; E. Ford, Inc. v. Taylor, 826 So. 2d 709, 714 (Miss. 2000); D.R. Horton, 96 P.3d at 1162-63. 142 Lovey v. Regence BlueShield of Idaho, 72 P.3d 877, 882 (Id. 2003). 143 Zuver v. Airtouch Comm'ns, Inc., 103 P.3d 753, 757 (Wash. 2004). 144 Id. at 761. 145 Clark v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 706 N.W.2d 471, 475 (Mich. 2005); Wis. Auto Title, 714 N.W.2d at 165-66. 146 Bruni v. Didion, 73 Cal. Rptr. 3d 395, 412 (Cal. App. 2008). 147 Buraczynski, 919 S.W.2d at 320. 148 Id. at 321 (emphasis added). 149 Wilkerson ex rel. Estate of Wilkerson v. Nelson, 395 F. Supp. 2d 281, 289 (M.D.N.C. 2005). 150 Tracy v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 569 N.E.2d 875, 879 (Ohio 1991). 151 Black v. Littlejohn, 325 S.E.2d 469, 482 (N.C. 1985); State ex rel. Dean v. Cunningham, 182 S.W.3d 561, 566 (Mo. 2006). 152 Tex. State Bd. of Med. Examiners v. Birenbaum, 891 S.W.2d 333, 336 (Tex. App. 1995); Mozingo ex rel. Thomas v. Pitt County Mem. Hosp., Inc., 415 S.E.2d 341, 346 (N.C. 1992). 153 McNamara v. Emmons, 97 P.2d 503, 507 (Cal. 1939).