Phil Mickelson Lawsuit

Would be nice if someone talk crap about lets say Tom Brady right about now instead of a nice guy like Phil !!!!! hehe
 
Good for him I hope they catch the guy. I hate when people pull stuff like that just for attention.
 
Certainly, and this is why I am conflicted. Eventually, my desire for retribution would win out over my desire for anonymity, I am sure, but the way I have been introduced to the internet holds that anonymity is of the utmost importance, so there will always be a mental conflict for me in such matters.

And what is wrong with sheep? This IS Alabama. :alien:
I have no issue with anonymity myself at all. I dont think that should be the issue here really, but unfortunately due to the measures he must go through, it will be. I look at it like this. If this were not the internet lets say and it was a school. And one kid writes on a wall that JR kills people. Then the next day writes JR killed my brother. Then the next day writes JR sleeps with sheep. And JR has his school life ruined and people truly hating him. Turns out they have a video camera that shows exactly who did this. Would you not want the tapes from that camera turned over to the authorities since they were defaming you personally?
 
I have no issue with anonymity myself at all. I dont think that should be the issue here really, but unfortunately due to the measures he must go through, it will be. I look at it like this. If this were not the internet lets say and it was a school. And one kid writes on a wall that JR kills people. Then the next day writes JR killed my brother. Then the next day writes JR sleeps with sheep. And JR has his school life ruined and people truly hating him. Turns out they have a video camera that shows exactly who did this. Would you not want the tapes from that camera turned over to the authorities since they were defaming you personally?

One difference is JR is accused of crimes and Mickelson is not. Another is Mickelson is a public figure and I will assume JR is not.

I don't think anything will come of this; it will never get near court. But if it does, PM will have to prove that the poster knew the claim was false and posted it anyway. I would think he would have to prove actual damages, as well.

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One difference is JR is accused of crimes and Mickelson is not. Another is Mickelson is a public figure and I will assume JR is not.

I don't think anything will come of this; it will never get near court. But if it does, PM will have to prove that the poster knew the claim was false and posted it anyway. I would think he would have to prove actual damages, as well.

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It was a brief analogy about privacy. Being a public figure really does not change defamation in my opinion. If someone is slandering, they are slandering.
 
Would be nice if someone talk crap about lets say Tom Brady right about now instead of a nice guy like Phil !!!!! hehe

Haha. Brady rules

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One difference is JR is accused of crimes and Mickelson is not. Another is Mickelson is a public figure and I will assume JR is not.

I don't think anything will come of this; it will never get near court. But if it does, PM will have to prove that the poster knew the claim was false and posted it anyway. I would think he would have to prove actual damages, as well.

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IMO the "public figure" defense is ludicrous.

And I think Phil is just trying to make the next person think twice about being a douche just because he is anonymous

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Ludicrous or not, libel laws are different depending on whether you are a public or private figure.

I would say the school would have to reveal the identity of JR's accuser because he committed a crime with his accusations. I don't think they would have to reveal his identity if he had written "JR has cooties" or "JR's gf is a ho," which is closer to what we have here.


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Ludicrous or not, libel laws are different depending on whether you are a public or private figure.

I would say the school would have to reveal the identity of JR's accuser because he committed a crime with his accusations. I don't think they would have to reveal his identity if he had written "JR has cooties" or "JR's gf is a ho," which is closer to what we have here.


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While Public Figure is a legal term, technically all that must be proven is "knowledge of falsity" OR "reckless disregard for the truth". It CAN be proven, has been proven and could be in this case as well.

The ideal situation for PM is that people stop the nonsense and hiding behind a fake name. Which is the ultimate goal here and will absolutely work. Since what has been posted is nothing more than someone showing actual malice, it is certainly justifiable for someone to want to fight it.
 
the yahoo blogs have been overrun with negative comments about phil for no reason even if the article had nothing to do with him
due to the commenter being in Canada I think he might have a tougher time getting anything done in this and even if he gets him to court the chances of him winning would be pretty slim and it's not like he'd be sticking the guy with any legal costs due to the Canadian court system
 
While Public Figure is a legal term, technically all that must be proven is "knowledge of falsity" OR "reckless disregard for the truth". It CAN be proven, has been proven and could be in this case as well.

The ideal situation for PM is that people stop the nonsense and hiding behind a fake name. Which is the ultimate goal here and will absolutely work. Since what has been posted is nothing more than someone showing actual malice, it is certainly justifiable for someone to want to fight it.
In Canada for libel they also have to prove that the statements lowers the reputation of the plaintiff in right thinking minds of others.

That's why I think he's going to lose. After all who pays attention to a poster like that on the yahoo sports blogs?
 
In Canada for libel they also have to prove that the statements lowers the reputation of the plaintiff in right thinking minds of others.

That's why I think he's going to lose. After all who pays attention to a poster like that on the yahoo sports blogs?

No question. However while the end result might be wished to be victorious, I think most feel the goals are get this nonsense to stop.
 
Phil would not only have to prove the rumors were false, he'd have to prove the poster 100% knew they were false. I don't see how he could do that.

The rumors have been all over the internet for at least a decade, maybe longer. I would think the guy could say "I'm not sure if it's true or not, I'm just repeating what I've always heard" and be ok.

Sucks for Phil, but that's how the law is set up.



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When I saw this thread, I did a professor uhwhaaa? (Futurama) Then I realized Phil is the sue-er, not the sue-ee

Tappin!
 
Phil would most likely get more satisfaction if he just locates the blogger amd hits nim in the crotch with a 5 iron.
 
He should use his 64*...more backspin.

TapAhoy!
 
Too bad that it happened but happy to see that he is pursuing legal action.
 
Lefty Sues an ISP to Find Source of 'Defamation'

Lefty Sues an ISP to Find Source of 'Defamation'

I've read this a few times now and I'm not sure what to think of it.....if he wins it sets a dangerous precedent for future cases. Not to mention his statement of 'deliberate attack' is walking a fine line between accusing the person named in the suit of lible which is very hard to prove itself and defamation which is usually the backup charge to when lible can't be proved. Maybe that's Phil's intent but the whole idea of doing this doesn't sit right with me....


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Phil Mickelson filed a lawsuit against an Internet service provider in Canada to learn the identity of a person who has been posting ``vexatious statements'' that the four-time major champion says is a deliberate attack on his reputation.

``I'm all for freedom of speech, but I won't tolerate defamation,'' Mickelson said Thursday after his opening round in the Phoenix Open.

In his lawsuit against Videotron S.E.N.C in Quebec Superior Court, Mickelson cited comments posted on Yahoo! Sports from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, in which one or more persons under the pseudonyms ``Fogroller'' and ``Longtitude'' make statements that allege, among other things, that Mickelson's wife had an affair and that he fathered an illegitimate child.

Mickelson says he is a victim of defamation. He is asking the court to force Videotron to identify the person so Mickelson can ``stop the dissemination of false and wrongful statements ... and obtain reparation for the prejudice already suffered.''
The motion was filed in Montreal on Jan. 25.

Mickelson attorney Glenn Cohen said Videotron did not oppose the request for subpoena, and he expects the information shortly.

Whether the case has wider implications for anonymous postings on the Internet is not Mickelson's concern.
``If we can stop one person, then it's one less person who can get away with this,'' Cohen said. ``Maybe it will have a chilling effect. I don't know. If other people are victims of this and want to take up the mantra, that's fine. It was a very narrow decision Phil and I made to discover this person's identity and stop it.''

Mickelson first filed a complaint Nov. 21 in San Diego County superior court, which authorized him to subpoena information from Yahoo! Inc. That led to identifying ``Fogroller'' as a Montreal resident, with Videotron as the Internet provider.
Mickelson wants the Quebec court to demand that Videotron supply him with all information of the person using the Internet protocol address who first registered under the ``Fogroller'' pseudonym on Dec. 16, 2008, and of the person using the IP address that posted the statements about him.

The person was using an email address of fogroller(at)yahoo.com at the time of registration. An email sent to this address by The Associated Press was returned as undeliverable.
 
I am glad to see him going after them. It is just ridiculous to me, some of the things posted by people that have no knowledge of what they are saying.
 
I am glad to see him going after them. It is just ridiculous to me, some of the things posted by people that have no knowledge of what they are saying.

[interlooper] . . . reviewing his previous THP posts for conjecture as it relates to golfers.
 
My gut tells me that nothing will likely happen to the culprits if they are ever identified (it looks like they will be in 10 days according to the current news).
Most of the time, when some individuals are called onto the carpet for something they did that was wrong, they are embarrassed and choose not to do it again. However, there are times when people that get caught decide they really don't care enough about it and choose to continue doing the same things again. Who knows what will happen this time around.

I do believe that if people, like Phil in this case, just continue with life and not say or do very much about it, then the unacceptable behaviors just continue. This discussion validates something that we all can benefit from, that is, if someone is doing something or behaving in a way that is inappropriate, someone should bring it to their attention so that a choice can be made by the individual(s) to continue or not.

We all need to have some form of accountability in our everyday lives. Hopefully, this will result in a way that this kind of behavior via internet blog sites and/or forums will be reduced.

Thank you THP for monitoring this website! You do a great job!
 
I've read this a few times now and I'm not sure what to think of it.....if he wins it sets a dangerous precedent for future cases. Not to mention his statement of 'deliberate attack' is walking a fine line between accusing the person named in the suit of lible which is very hard to prove itself and defamation which is usually the backup charge to when lible can't be proved. Maybe that's Phil's intent but the whole idea of doing this doesn't sit right with me....
I guess I'm wondering what you think the "dangerous precedent" is? So do you think Phil should just sit back and take all of this just because he is a well paid professional golfer? There needs to be a consequence when someone writes things that are not true. No one is anonymous on the internet. People need to learn you can not hide behind a computer keyboard.
 
1. What are Phil's damages? How has this really harmed him?

If every athlete or celebrity sued every time something like this was said about them, we'd have to have court 24 hours a day.


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Wow thats pretty wild. I hope he finds these people, he seems like such a great guy. Hope he finds his game while he's looking too
 
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