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Student Blogger Loses Defamation Case

Posted by kdawson on from the small-claims-is-a-bear dept.

An anonymous reader writes to tell us about Yaman Salahi, a UC Berkeley student and blogger, who lost a lawsuit brought against him by Lee Kaplan, a journalist for FrontPageMag.com. Kaplan had sued Salahi in California small claims court for tortious business interference and libel, in response to a blog Salahi had set up about him called "Lee Kaplan Watch." Salahi lost in small claims court and then lost an "appeal" — which is essentially a retrial by another small-claims judge. No written opinion was offered with either decision, though all other court filings are available. From Salahi's update on his blog: "...because [Kaplan] sued me in small claims court, I did not have the protections of the anti-SLAPP [Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Policy] statute... I will never know why I lost the initial hearing, or why I lost the appeal, because small claims judges are not obligated to release written opinions with their rulings.... I will never have the opportunity to take this to a real appellate court where my first amendment rights might be protected."

11 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. From his site by Henry+V+.009 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would also like to add that if you or anybody you know is ever sued by Lee Kaplan or his questionable affiliates, you should contact a lawyer immediately to explore any and all available options. The earlier the better. Some ideas you might want to look into: (1) countersuing in an amount that is sufficient enough to move the case out of small claims court (greater than $7,500 in California) and/or (2) removing the case to federal court on the grounds of a first-amendment defense.


    Looks like things would have gone better if he hadn't made some legal mistakes.
    1. Re:From his site by gurps_npc · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You consider that to be a 'legal mistake'?

      It looks to me like instead a complicated legal maneuver designed to get around a clear hole in the fairness of the legal system.

      I would not consider failing to countersue or failing to move the court to be a legal mistake, using the definition of mistake as failure to engage in proper actions.

      --
      excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
    2. Re:From his site by dircha · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Not contacting a lawyer is the most basic legal mistake there is."

      And a system where the legal code is so complex that we have made it a crime for non-certified professionals to attempt to interpret it (in most every state, lobbied for by the same lawyers who want to get paid exhorbitant fees to defend you and to to prosecute you, thank you very much), is a system of INjustice.

    3. Re:From his site by aiken_d · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You know what's worse? People with health issues should contact doctors! How oppressive is that? And they don't let passengers fly commercial jets!

      I'm with you. It's utterly ridiculous that there are aspects of life which can be performed more effectively by the highly trained. INjustice INdeed!!!1

      -b

      --
      If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
  2. Unbelievable! The guy's website is still there by mbstone · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I will never know why I lost the initial hearing, or why I lost the appeal.

    Maybe on the merits? Mr. Salahi's website describes Mr. Kaplan as a "fraudulent journalist," which is another way of alleging he's incompetent to do his job, which the law calls "libel per se."

    Anyway, the offending website is still up, so presumably Mr. Kaplan can sue Mr. Salahi yet again and win a second judgment for another $7,575.

    no dog

  3. Non-story. by jcr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A man was libeled, he sued, he won. The defendant appealed and lost. Happens all the time.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  4. Re:All negative opinions expressed forthrightly... by Torvaun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    He had the ability to appeal. He used it. He lost again. It'd be nice to know why, sure, but that's not what matters here. He was sued in small claims. There's a hard limit to how much he can lose, which is probably less than all the advertising revenue he's going to get off of being Slashdotted. Odds are, that's why he started posting inflammatory stuff about public figures. It looks to me like he was begging for a lawsuit and all the attention and ad revenue it would bring, but small claims just isn't that newsworthy, so he was stuck. Sucks to fail at gaming the system.

    --
    I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
  5. Re:I have a tag suggestion by ASBands · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Agreed. Some guy commits the very definition of libel and is sued for libel. He appeals and the appellate judge still thinks he committed libel. It happens all the time. From what I know, they're not going to let him appeal to a higher court, because the higher courts read the case and say: "This is a clear act of libel and it's only seven and a half grand." Why the hell should we care? You ARE responsible for what you say, even on the internet. Case closed.

    --
    My UID is a prime number. Yeah, I planned that.
  6. You lost, big guy by lorcha · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You lost. Then the case was reviewed by another judge, and you lost again.

    Sounds to me like you're guilty. You might want to leave Lee Kaplan alone from now on.

    --
    "Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent
  7. Re:From the horse's mouth by Courageous · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Supposing I were your attorney, I would suggest to you in the most polite possible language, that you should never ever discuss a case with any third party other than me or perhaps your spouse.

    I'm not your attorney, so instead I'm going to say: YOU ARE A GODDAMN FOOL FOR DUMPING FURTHER MATERIAL REGARDING A CASE ONTO THE GODDAMN INTERNET. Accusing someone in the public press of criminal conduct (read: AS IN THE ABOVE GODDAMN MESSAGE WHERE YOU GODDAMN PRINT A GODDAMN PERJURY CHARGE FOR CHRIST SAKE) is not only very actionable in court, but can put you on the receiving end of a libel case that can result in findings the SIZE OF A GODDAMN HOUSE. No, I'm not GODDAMN KIDDING. How would you like to own a GODDAMN QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS? But you're going to keep running your fingers over your GODDAMN KEYBOARD, aren't you!?!?!?

    C//

  8. Re:Moderated Informative - you've got to be kiddin by JimDaGeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A buyer walked on you and you "gave them another shot". You're an idiot.
    No, I am called a human and I gave a husband and wife another chance. To me it sounds like you are an @sshole and a dick. I personally am financially OK, so I wanted to help this family. They were Asian and recently moved to the states.

    Oh, and I almost forgot - how the hell does someone bail out of buying your house "one week after closing"? How dumb/confused are you? If it was "one week after closing" the house would have already been sold, deed transfered, etc - that's what happens at "closing".
    What I meant to say was it was one week after the official closing date. I gave the family a second chance because I am not a dick like you living in my mommy's basement. I have owned 6 homes in the central FL area. Go look up the average home price there. Yeah, you are out of your league.

    It sounds to me like you should just rent and leave property ownership to the adults.
    No, I am doing very well, owning homes. Much more than you could understand. I own several homes in central FL, the prices of the homes are from $280,000 to $550,000. I guess by "adults" you mean "dicks that don't care about a human family"? Sorry, I am not a dick like you. If I lose $5,000 on the price of a home, but a good family is able to move in, I am happy. However, I am sure a dick like you would rather pocket that extra $5,000. Oh, well, there are dicks in this world and I am sure you are proud to be one.
    --
    General, you are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one.