Texas Court of Appeals rules blogger's identity protected in defamation case
A hospital allegedly defamed by an anonymous blogger may not force his Internet service provider to disclose his identity under the Cable Communications Policy Act, the Texas Court of Appeals has ruled.
The hospital sued several anonymous bloggers for defamation, claiming they unfairly disparaged the hospital and its employees and disclosed private patient information. A trial judge ordered one of the blogger's Internet service providers to provide his identity to the hospital pursuant to the Act.
The blogger argued the hospital hadn't met the minimal evidentiary threshold in pleading its case, and that disclosing his identity would violate his constitutional rights.
The court agreed, finding the trial court abused its discretion.
"[The Act] is not a procedural vehicle for obtaining such a court order. That must be accomplished through some procedural device, either state or federal, depending on the forum of the case. In Texas state courts, the rules of discovery provide ample methods for obtaining information from third parties," the court said.
"[T]he question [then] becomes the degree of actual proof that must be provided before the balance tips in favor of piercing the constitutional shield and disclosing the identity of the anonymous blogger. [We hold that] before a defamation plaintiff can obtain the identity of an anonymous defendant through the compulsory discovery process he must support his defamation claim with facts sufficient to defeat a summary judgment motion," the court concluded.
In re Does 1 - 10 (Lawyers USA No. 9938921) Texas Court of Appeals No. 06-0700123-CV. Dec. 12, 2007.
Credit: Lawyers USA Staff
