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Screenwriter's Craigslist posts rant and rave him into a defamation suit

By Richard Binder

A Woodland Hills attorney is probably wishing for a "missed connection."

Screenwriter Justin Swingle has been posting hundreds of derogatory messages about lawyer Richard Gibson, allegedly because Gibson went out of his way to get some comments Swingle made about immigration and other political issues removed from the site. Gibson denies the accusations.

Gibson was able to win a subpoena ordering Craigslist to reveal Swingle as the source of the anonymous postings.  His subsequent defamation suit was beaten by Swingle's successful First Amendment arguments.  Last week, however, the Court of Appeal ruled that Swingle's online postings did not constitute political speech or "speech on a matter of public interest," and so the defamation suit can continue.

Gibson told the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, "It's weird; [Swingle] admits it, pretty much. His only defense is to say it's true.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).