Liability and BBS

From: Lee Lau <lau[_at_]acs.ucalgary.ca>
Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 17:35:56 -0700 (MST)

Speaking of Liability and BBS, I have not been following the thread but I have been trying to locate statements of claim and/or pleadings about two cases.

• Cuddy Assoc. v. Compuserve was handed down recently at an appellate level and I have news stories describing the decision. However, I have yet to find the actual text of the case either through LEXIS or other sources.
• Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy has not yet been decided but writs have been filed in NY.

Essentially and very simplistically, both service providers were involved in libel and slander suits due to messages posted by their subscribers. Apparently, Compuserve was exonerated because they do not pre-screen ("censor" would be too harsh) subscriber postings. Interestingly, Prodigy does pre-screen postings.

If anyone would like, I can send the rather large file of news stories describing these actions. If anyone has any further information on these cases, could you please e-mail me and I will summarize for the list.

If you'd like these news stories, please e-mail me personally, in the interest of avoiding mail-box clutter.

TIA

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Lee T. Lau (lau[_at_]acs.ucalgary.ca) or (ud722[_at_]freenet.victoria.bc.ca) David Wedge Computer Law
Phone: (604) 739-2110 Fax: (604) 739-2123 Received on Thu Feb 09 1995 - 00:41:42 GMT