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U.S. District Court Rules Limitations Period Applies to Web Based Libel
On October 13, 2006, Justice David Godbey of the U.S. District Court in Texas ruled that a one year statutory limitation on libel actions applies to material posted on the Internet and runs from the first day the material is posted.
The Dallas Morning News was sued by an Ohio-based company specializing in mortgage payment services; the company claimed that a column in the newspaper was inaccurate. The ruling focused entirely on the one-year limitations statute because the complainant company filed its suit within the proper period, but failed to properly notify the defendants in the prescribed time period. The plaintiff is considering an appeal, and has publicly taken the position that the limitations period fails to account for the fact that search engines like Google can make older articles readily available today.
Earlier this year, a U.S. District Judge in Austin dismissed a libel suit alleging defamation by an online article posted three years ago.
The October 13 decision protects online publishers in the same manner as publishers and broadcasters that use traditional media. However, in the case of a medium in which archival information about a topic is universally available at the touch of a button, a question arises about when the publication of material occurs, at the time it is posted or at the time it is accessed.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15789726.htm