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'Bankrupt' Australian Surgeon Sues Google For Auto-Complete

An anonymous reader writes "Australian surgeon Guy Hingston is suing Google in the U.S. for 'auto-complete' defamation. Typing in his name brings up 'Guy Hingston bankrupt' in the auto-complete. The association seems to have come about because Hingston purchased an aviation group CoastJet which went bankrupt two-and-a-half years later. Hingston himself was also bankrupted. Hingston claims this association has cost him customers and is suing Google for $75k, plus court costs. Google has often found itself the target of litigation over auto-complete searches. Are auto-complete results even useful? Should Google be policing the auto-complete suggestions?"

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  1. Re:Is It Untrue? by CuteSteveJobs · · Score: 5, Informative

    It wasn't overturned, his lawyer said it was annulled: "Separate documents obtained from Insolvency Trustee Services Australia show Dr Hingston was bankrupted on August 4 2009. Dr Hingston's lawyer Philip Beazley said that bankruptcy had been annulled."

    http://www.itsa.gov.au/dir228/itsaweb.nsf/docindex/Bankruptcy-%3EPersonal+Insolvency+Information-%3E5F.+Annulment What is annulment?
    Annulment is the cancellation of a bankruptcy.

    There are three ways a bankruptcy can be annulled:
    * The creditors’ debts including interest and trustee’s fees and expenses are paid in full.
    * Your creditors accept a composition or arrangement which is an offer of something less than payment in full.
    * Application to the court in some limited circumstances.

    Effects of annulment.
    * Your annulment is recorded on the public record, the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII) database, forever.
    * Assets not needed by your trustee to pay your creditors, expenses and fees will be returned to you.

    etc ...