 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Varian Medical Systems11/13/2003
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Defendants Michelangelo Delfino and Mary Day used Internet bulletin boards to post numerous derogatory messages about their former employer, Varian Associates, Inc. (Varian) and two Varian executives. Varian and the two executives sued. Defendants treated the lawsuit as a challenge to their constitutional right to free speech and responded with a flood of spiteful messages posted on hundreds of Internet bulletin boards. By the time of trial defendants had posted over 13,000 messages and vowed to continue posting until they died.
Defendants' position at trial was that their postings contained only truth, opinion, or hyperbole. They stressed their belief that they were constitutionally entitled to publish the offending messages and that large corporate plaintiffs ought not be permitted to stifle free speech by filing suit against them. The jury was not persuaded. Defendants were found liable for defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and conspiracy. The trial court determined that in view of defendants' promise to post until they died an injunction was necessary to prevent future injury. The judgment gives plaintiffs $775,000 in damages and a broad injunction.
On appeal we are asked to consider whether the fact that defendants' messages appeared on Internet bulletin boards affects the character of the offending messages for purposes of defamation law. Specifically, defendants argue that typical Internet hyperbole cannot be considered defamatory. Defendants also argue that to the extent speech on the Internet may be defamatory it must be designated as slander, which requires proof of special damages, rather than libel, for which damages are presumed. We reject these and defendants' other challenges to the damages portion of the judgment. We do find merit in defendants' argument that the portion of the injunction prohibiting future speech is an impermissible prior restraint under both the state and federal constitutions. Accordingly, we shall modify the judgment striking the invalid portions of the injunction and as modified, affirm.
I. Factual Background
Plaintiffs Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VMS) and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (VSEA) are publicly traded companies that manufacture technological equipment for medical and other markets. Plaintiff George Zdasiuk is a vice president of VMS and plaintiff Susan B. Felch is the director of a VSEA research center. Defendant Delfino was employed by Varian as a senior engineer. Zdasiuk fired him in October 1998 for complaints that he was disruptive and harassing to Felch and other co-workers. Defendant Day resigned in sympathy two months later.
Immediately after Delfino lost his job he began a campaign of posting derogatory messages about plaintiffs on Internet bulletin boards. He posted some of his first messages on the Yahoo! finance board for Varian. With rare exceptions, the messages on the Yahoo! board that were posted by persons other than defendants concerned the price of the stock and related issues such as, "My broker sees Varian dropping to 35 before the breakup . . . ," and "Does anybody know how much the profit sharing is this year."
Some of Delfino's messages were similar to those posted by others. Some were much more caustic. He maligned Varian products. He accused Felch of being "a manipulative liar" or "a neurotic hallucinator." He charged Zdasiuk with being mentally ill. He claimed both executives were incompetent and accused them of being chronic liars. Many of his messages contained sexual implications. One early message implied that Felch had attained her position by having sex with a supervisor: "build
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 California Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|