AutoAdmit Commenter Asks To Be Dropped From Lawsuit

from the let-me-go... dept

Thu, Sep 4th 2008 1:15am — Mike Masnick

We've covered the bizarre AutoAdmit lawsuit for a while now, but the story just keeps getting more ridiculous. If you don't recall, AutoAdmit was a forum site used by law students to discuss all sorts of things -- some of which were crude and potentially offensive. Two women law students who got upset about how they were portrayed on the site ended up filing a bunch of lawsuits over the site, and some of those who were included in the lawsuit sued back (what do you expect with a bunch of law students?). Honestly, it sounds like the whole thing was blown completely out of proportion. Yes, anonymous idiots on message boards say all sorts of stupid stuff, but it's difficult to see how any of it rose to the level of being legally actionable. In fact, calling attention to it seems much more likely to damage the reputations of the women suing than fleeting immature sophomoric comments from a bunch of idiots. Almost anyone reading those original threads would be hard pressed to take any of the comments seriously. But seeing someone overreact and sue over those comments is something worth noting as a character reference.

Already, one of the defendants sued by the women had the case dropped, and now another one is asking a judge to drop him from the case as well. He admits that he made two crude comments on the site (anonymously, at the time), suggesting that he would like to have sex with one of the women, but that's not against the law. He's also complaining that the womens' lawyers don't seem to want to actually serve the lawsuit on him or explain what's actionable about his comments, noting:

Mariner has been trying to proceed with this litigation for months. However in an attempt to execute a strategy so Byzantine that Kafka himself would be dumbfounded, Plaintiffs' counsel has failed to include any allegations that would support a cause of action, refused Mariner's counsel's offer to accept service and refused to simply dismiss Mariner. It appears Plaintiff's plan is to keep a lawsuit pending for as long as possible without actually prosecuting it.

While I keep hearing lawyers claim that this AutoAdmit case will be important in establishing "boundaries" for what is and what is not acceptable online forum banter, so far, the case can only be described as a huge mess of angry lawyers suing each other.

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Filed Under: autoadmit, law students, lawsuits

14 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 2:27am

Sense
Just because they have higher learning does not mean they have common sense.
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Mike Allen, 4 Sep 2008 @ 3:03am

mike said it
They are lawyers what do you expect?
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Enrico Suarve, 4 Sep 2008 @ 3:48am

Angry lawyers sueing each other?
Mind if I throw in an idea?

Give them all hammers and put them in the Thunderdome...

;0)
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 5:45am

My favorite lawsuit ever
As a former law student myself, I feel I know these people (from the sohpmoric, sexualy immature men, to the "chip on the shoulder", "I have to work twice as hard as you", ladies) and I must say that knowlege makes watching this case even more fun!
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 5:49am

Why on earth would a judge drop a suit just because the plaintiff fails to show "cause for action?" I know that in the past such legal technicalities were required. But it seems the way the courts are working now it is enough for the plaintiff just to want to sue. Sure, they won't win the final decision if the case goes that far. But there is a good chance they will get the defendant to settle before the case ever gets to a jury.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 5:51am

Actually, I'm all for more cases along similar lines. Far better to keep the sharks busy attacking each other rather than immorally suing other people left, right and centre for purely monetary gains. :P
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DS78, 4 Sep 2008 @ 5:55am

How the...
heck is what those guys said against the law? I think someone needs to reintroduce the plaintiffs to the internet. They should include how the anonymity of the net turns certain people into d-bags and that anything said on a forum should be taken as sarcasm first rather than literal.

DS
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Joe, 4 Sep 2008 @ 6:26am

Um...why do we want any of these people being lawyers?
Can't someone write their congressman and get these law students permanently disbarred from practicing? They sound like they are frothing at the mouth to proceed with frivolous and ridiculous lawsuits that in no way better society or their clients.

In this case they are their own clients.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 6:31am

Re: Um...why do we want any of these people being lawyers?
"Can't someone write their congressman and get these law students permanently disbarred from practicing?"

uhh . . . have you been to a law school in last decade or so? Its hardly the "cream of the crop" these days LOL?
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 6:34am

Re:
"Why on earth would a judge drop a suit just because the plaintiff fails to show 'cause for action?'"

You are kidding right . . . if so, good one. If not, I once again say . . . look what 8 years of the Bush administraitons "ideals" have done to Americans.
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Lyrael, 4 Sep 2008 @ 7:23am

Re: Re:
I think he was kidding. But regardless, the fact that you have to *ask* speaks volumes for the current state of America. :(
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2008 @ 8:13am

Due to the inherent risk, I decline to comment at this time.
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anonymous, 4 Sep 2008 @ 8:32am

I wouldn't mind having sexual relations with "Mike Masnick" or
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Joe Smith, 4 Sep 2008 @ 8:59am

Backhanded compliment
That young lady should realize that having a man say that he wanted to have sex with her is hardly the worst thing he could have said.

Would she have preferred if he had said she was an ugly harpy that he would not touch with someone else's privates?

She needs to grow up and realize that all men are pigs - its just hardwired - its a form of disability, universal among men. Oink oink.
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