Calif. lawyer sues Yahoo over message-board posts

[insein]

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/new...0030002585361&dt=20040805200300&w=RTR&coview=

Calif. lawyer sues Yahoo over message-board posts



LOS ANGELES, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A California lawyer who has waged an ongoing battle with Yahoo Inc. over personal attacks made against him on Yahoo message boards has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the company.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday by associates of corporate attorney Stephen Galton, claims Yahoo has unfairly protected people who post negative messages on its bulletin boards and falsely advertised that it prevents such abusive messages.

"It wouldn't be prudent for us to comment on this pending lawsuit," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said in a statement.

Galton is a partner in the firm of Galton & Helm, which specializes in insurance law. He registered to use Yahoo message boards in early 2004 in order to respond to a negative late-2003 post about one of his clients, which he did not identify in the suit.


After Galton posted his response, under the screen name "stephengalton," he was subjected to name-calling by various other users of the message boards.


One user, a person using the screen name "mumioler" who had posted the original messages about Galton's client that started the dispute, wrote a series of new messages calling Galton a "shyster" and an "overly robust geezer that makes a living walking behind the elephant with a shovel."


Other users also took personal shots at Galton, and he filed suit in April of this year against them. At the same time, he sought their personal information via a subpoena from Yahoo. The company, the suit said, responded with incomplete or inaccurate information.


The suit proposes as a class any California resident who has been targeted by abusive messages on a Yahoo board, who tried to get such messages stopped or learn the identity of the message poster, and who had such requests denied within the last four years. It seeks restitution, a permanent injunction and other forms of relief.





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08/05/2004 20:03

 

[Hobbit]

So he's suing a board for being flamed? That's even more immature than the flaming itself.

 

[Mr. P]

Am I hearing the typical "liberal" whine here cuz they hurt my FEELINGS, or the "Cha-Ching" at the bank
that so many Lawyers these days are guilty of?

BTW: My wife is an Attorney and a Judge...But FAR from LIBERAL.

 

[musicman]

Here it comes - the assault on free speech, and the open exchange of ideas. Insidious, creeping tyranny cannot stand the light of day.

It figures, it would come in the form of a lawsuit. How else?

 

[5stringJeff]

This has got to be even stupider than the woman who spilled hot coffee on herself and sued. What the hell do you expect on a Yahoo board? The majority of them are immature flamers.

 

[tim_duncan2000]

Give me a break. People have said much worse things on there, and I don't see why Yahoo should have to pay them anything.

 

[janeeng]

HAHA! that's too funny! maybe it's jtfielding, an old member, I abuse that idiot on a dialy basis on Yahoo!!!!!!

 

[musicman]

Well hopefully this guy does not come across the USMB or we are in trouble!

And just who are you to say what "trouble" is, or who "we" are?

You can expect to be hearing from my attorney.

 

[Yurt]

This has got to be even stupider than the woman who spilled hot coffee on herself and sued. What the hell do you expect on a Yahoo board? The majority of them are immature flamers.

Actually, the woman who had 190 degree coffee spilled on her sued because Mickey Ds would not pay her hospital bills. She actually had to have a skin graft in order to heal the burns. Also, she sued because other people had also burned themselves as a result of the overly hot coffee. So McDonald's was on notice that their coffee was too hot. Had Mcd's paid her hospital bills, least they could do, since it was their employee who negligently handed her the coffee which caused it to spill, she would never had sued.



As to the Yahoo thing, that is absurd. I don't know the whole story, but if the flaming had to do with a public incident, in that he put himself into the limelight, then some flaming is allowed. He will have a very hard time with this suit and has really made himself look like an ass and since this story is now very public, anything said now will most likely be safe.

Further, Yahoo should not have to give him any personal info on posters, what, invasion of privacy, what???? This guy gives lawyers a bad name.

 

[William Joyce]

Making lawyers look bad is hard to do these days. What a crybaby. This shows what's wrong with the legal system. Like those fat chicks who sued McDonald's over being too fat, the case was dismissed, but they still had to spend tons of time and money getting rid of the suit. A lawyer needs nothing to make huge amounts of trouble --- just his whiny-ass self and his whiny-ass clients, and their financial greed.

I support a system that would have judges decide if the lawsuit could even go forward.

 

[Moi]

Actually, the woman who had 190 degree coffee spilled on her sued because Mickey Ds would not pay her hospital bills. She actually had to have a skin graft in order to heal the burns. Also, she sued because other people had also burned themselves as a result of the overly hot coffee. So McDonald's was on notice that their coffee was too hot. Had Mcd's paid her hospital bills, least they could do, since it was their employee who negligently handed her the coffee which caused it to spill, she would never had sued.

That's not the case I was thinking he was referring to...in the infamous one the employee didn't spill the coffee on her nor cause her to spill it on herself. She put it between her legs and her son drove off. The motion of the car and the torsion of her legs on the cup caused the coffee to spill over.

Anyone stupid enough to put hot coffee between their legs doesn't deserve millions of dollars in damages. She didn't even deserve hospital fees. She deserved nothing.

 

[Shazbot]

After Galton posted his response, under the screen name "stephengalton," he was subjected to name-calling by various other users of the message boards.

I can't believe that more people don't understand our inalienable right as a people to not be offended!!! Those jerks...oops!

-Douglas

 

[musicman]

I'm glad you backed off saying, "jerks". I believe the now acceptable term is "personality challenged". Kind of like the guy who walked into the psychiatrists office and said, "I can't seem to make any friends. Can you help me out, you fat f**k?"

 

[Big D]

Shit, if people can sue for name calling, I will be making a fortune off you guys.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Lets all sing together now.."It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..."