Bruce, It's good to know about the result in the Rettew case... but I think there are a couple of key points in him winning that:
1) The statement made were false and apparently could be proven to be false. 2) Those statements were not made on a public forum, but where sent in private emails to individuals. Again, there's a big difference and a long history of precedence showing what the courts will allow to be said in a public forum on a subject, particularly when the person claiming damages from such statements voluntarily placed the item in question "in the public eye" in the first place and invited commentary. Ebay does, after all, prominently invite people to "ask seller a question" and "leave feedback" -- so there's no way a seller on eBay can claim they expected a "reasonable right to privacy" when they posted their auctions and publicly invited everyone on the planet to take a look at them. But your overall point is well taken: People should exercise common sense when making statements about other people on the internet and anywhere else. It's never really a good idea to use derogatory names like "thief" and "criminal", even if it's true. You're probably safe with terms like bozo, or clown or jerk. But in the end it's better to just state the facts as you know them regarding an issue and let other people draw their own conclusions -- just as you did in your statement about the "minty white" inserts below. It would be nice if some of the big poster sellers on eBay could get together and submit a group "expert opinion" statement to eBay about the universal judgment on these "minty white" inserts and urge eBay to stop being an accomplice in this on-going scam. They do seem to be getting a bit better about listening. Maybe they would do something. -- JR ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Hershenson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 17:05 Subject: [MOPO] Internet libel court case > Joel Rettew Sr, a a respected California dealer of rare coins, won a > libel case today in Santa Ana Superior Court when he sued a buyer who > e-mailed his eBay customers with detrimental statements that affected > his eBay sales in 2003. He won a monetary settlement that may set a > precedent on the Internet. > > Anyone who thinks they can say any kind of false statements they want > (especially if they have no hard facts to back up what they say) > should consider this. The Internet is no longer the "Wild West" it > once was, and people should watch what they post, especially if they > do harm to others, and if they have assets they would hate to lose in > a court judgement. > > That being said, while I know little about the Pulp Fiction suspected > repros (other than what I know from Dan's site and others I respect) > I will gladly testify in any court that I have sold many thousands of > genuine inserts over the years, and that I have never seen even one > insert printed on paper anything like those of the "minty white" > inserts, and that their printing quality is far lower than that of > every non-minty white insert, and that it is my "expert" opinion that > the "minty white" inserts were not printed by NSS and were in fact > printed many years later, and it seems that every other major movie > paper dealer agrees with me (other than those who own batches of the > "minty white" inserts). > > Bruce Hershenson > eMoviePoster.com > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
