$74k Judgment Against Craigslist Prankster

jamie points out an update in the case of Jason Fortuny, the Craigslist prankster who was sued last year for publicly posting responses to a fake personal ad. The Citizen Media Law Project's summary of his case now includes a recently entered default judgment (PDF), fining Fortuny "... in the amount of $35,001.00 in statutory damages for Count I, violation of the Copyright Act; $5,000 in compensatory damages for Count II, Public Disclosure of Private Facts, and Count III, Intrusion Upon Seclusion." He has also been ordered to pay more than $34,000 in attorney and court fees.

Comments

Re:Karma's a bitch.

[Derosian]

You must be new here.

Let me elaborate.

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." This quote while attributed to Obi-Wan talking about Mos Eisley spaceport, in fact he was really talking about the internet. Now let me give you an example you can probably understand, say you're a woman, you go out and find the most seediest group of individuals who are strung out on more drugs then you can poke a stick at and most likely carry some form of firearm, and get so drunk you pass-out in their presence, next you wake up and find your purse missing as well as several articles of clothing. Obviously you should contact the law, but obviously your actions were absurd.

You don't respond to a personal ad on Craigslist with a picture and real information and certainly not from a real E-mail address. It is common sense. Human beings are sensible intelligent creatures and the defective ones who can't learn to be smart with their information need to be corrected or weeded out.

Re:Karma's a bitch.

[Derosian]

Reread my post...

I said it was common sense not to do things that would put yourself in danger. I also said the actions were absurd, I never once said that my hypothetical woman deserved what she got.

Don't worry about my love life, I would never date someone without the common sense to preserve their own life and sanctity. Keep in mind that attacking the person you are debating with is a common sign that you have already lost the debate.

Re:Karma's a bitch.

[Velex]

So you feel that women deserve to be raped and mugged if they make poor decisions?

If I make poor decisions that I know will likely have certain consequences, do I deserve those consequences?