Legal remedies for online defamation of physicians

Journal of Legal Medicine

Volumn 30, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 349-388

  Segal, Jeffrey ^a   Sacopulos, Michael J ^a,b   Rivera, Domingo J ^c  

^a Medical Justice Services Inc   (United States)

^b Sacopulos Johnson and Sacopulos   (United States)

^c NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CIVIL DEFENSE; DEFAMATION; HUMAN; INTERNET; LAW ENFORCEMENT; LEGAL ASPECT; ONLINE SYSTEM; PHYSICIAN; POLICY; REVIEW;

HUMANS; INTERNET; PATIENT SATISFACTION; PHYSICIANS; PUBLIC OPINION;

EID: 69049116500     PISSN: 01947648     EISSN: 1521057X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01947640903146121     Document Type: Review

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25. Id. (quoting New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80 (1964)).
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28. Tronfeld v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 636 S.E.2d 447, 450 (Va. 2006).
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35. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990); WJLA-TV v. Levin, 564 S.E.2d 383, 392 (Va. 2002).
36. SPX Corp., 253 F. Supp. 2d at 980-81.
37. Id.
38. Hammer v. Trendl, No. CV 02-2462(ADS), 2003 WL 21466686, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. 2003).
39. Horsley v. Rivera, 292 F.3d 695, 702 (11th Cir. 2002).
40. Hodgins v. Times Herald Co., 425 N.W.2d 522, 527 (Mich. 1988).
41. Kevorkian v. Am. Med. Ass'n, 602 N.W.2d 233, 237 (Mich. 1999).
42. Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1074 (9th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted).
43. Fuchs v. Scripps Howard Broad. Co., 868 N.E.2d 1024, 1037 (Ohio 2006).
44. Id.
45. Fowler v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 2002 WL 31230802, at *6 (N.D. Tex. 2002) (unreported).
46. Kanaga v. Gannett Co., 687 A.2d 173, 176 (Del. Super. 1996).
47. Id. at 176.
48. Id.
49. Id. at 181.
50. Gertz, 418 U.S. at 344.
51. Lassonde v. Stanton, 956 A.2d 332, 339 (N.H. 2008).
52. Sparagon v. Native Am. Publishers, Inc., 542 N.W.2d 125, 135 (S.D. 1996); Bongiovi v. Sullivan, 138 P.3d 433, 445-46 (Nev. 2006).
53. Green v. N. Publishing Co., Inc., 655 P.2d 736, 741 (Ala. 1982).
54. Ferguson v. Watkins, 448 So. 2d 271, 277 (Miss. 1984).
55. Moffatt v. Brown, 751 P.2d 939, 941 (Ala. 1988).
56. Gilbert v. Sykes, 53 Cal. Rptr. 3d 752, 762 (Cal. 2007).
57. See, e.g., Martinez v. Soignier, 570 So. 2d 23, 28 (La. App. 1990) ("[I]t cannot be denied that Dr. Martinez sought public patronage and that his venture into breast augmentation was a matter of public interest."); Farnsworth v. Tribune Co., 253 N.E.2d 408, 411 (Ill. 1969) ("The fact that plaintiff's personal contacts were presumably with only a small portion of the public does not militate against immunity where the publications concern a matter of such vital importance as the qualifications and practices of one who represents herself as qualified to treat human ills.").
58. We Knew the Web Was Big, available at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ 2008/07/we-knew-web-wasbig. html (last visited Feb. 22, 2009).
59. 1,463 Million Internet Users!, available at http://www. internetworldstats.com/blog.htm (last visited Feb. 22, 2009).
60. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844, 870 (1997).
61. In re Subpoena Duces Tecum to Am. Online, Inc., No. 40570, 2000 WL 1210372, at *6 (Va. Cir. Mar. 2, 2001).
62. Oja v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 440 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2006).
63. Lidsky, supra note 1, at 884-85.
64. 1995 WL 323710 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Dec. 11, 1995) (superceded by statute).
65. Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018, 1029 (9th Cir. 2003).
66. Zeran v. Am. Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, 331 (4th Cir. 1997).
67. Lunney v. Prodigy Servs. Co., 723 N.E.2d 539, 542 (N.Y. 1999).
68. Id.
69. Zeran, 129 F.3d at 331.
70. 47 U.S.C. §§ 230, 560, 561 (1998).
71. Zeran, 129 F.3d at 331.
72. Barrett v. Rosenthal, 146 P.3d 510, 523 (Cal. 2006).
73. Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F. Supp. 44, 49 (D.D.C. 1998).
74. Murawski v. Pataki, 514 F. Supp. 2d 577, 591 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (citations omitted); see also Fair Hous. Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, L.L.C., 521 F.3d 1157, 1169 (9th Cir. 2008).
75. Novak v. Overture Servs., 309 F. Supp. 2d 446 (E.D.N.Y. 2004).
76. Barrett, 146 P.3d at 529.
77. 47 U.S.C. § 230(f)(2).
78. RateMds.com, available at http://www.RateMds.com/social (last visited Feb. 24, 2009).
79. Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com, L.L.C., 418 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (D. Ariz. 2005).
80. Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com, L.L.C., 521 F.3d 1157, 1175 (9th Cir. 2008).
81. 42 U.S.C. § 3601 (2008).
82. Roommates.com, 521 F.3d at 1166. However, the court found that, with respect to the "additional comments" feature, CDA immunity applied.
83. Id. at 1166-67 (citing Carafono v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 207 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (C.D. Cal. 2002)).
84. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 (2006).
85. PatentWizard, Inc. v. Kinko's, Inc., 163 F. Supp. 2d 1069, 1071-72 (D.S.D. 2001).
86. Krinsky, 72 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 239.
87. Doe v. 2TheMart.com Inc., 140 F. Supp. 2d 1088, 1092-97 (W.D. Wash. 2001).
88. Doe I v. Individuals, 561 F. Supp. 2d 249 (D. Conn. 2008).
89. In re Subpoena Duces Tecum to Am. Online, Inc., No. 40570, 2000 WL 1210372, at *6 (Va. Cir. Ct. Jan. 31, 2000).
90. Immunomedics, Inc. v. Doe, 775 A.2d 773, 777-78 (N.J. 2001).
91. Doe I, 561 F. Supp. 2d at 253.
92. In re Subpoena Duces Tecum, 2000 WL 1210372, at *6.
93. Id. at *5.
94. 775 A.2d 756, 760-61 (N.J. 2001).
95. Columbia Ins. Co. v. seescandy.com., 185 F.R.D. 573, 579-80 (N.D. Cal. 1999).
96. Timo Salmi, Anonymous Usernet Posting, Another View, available at http://lipas.uwasa.fi/?ts/ http/anonpost.html (last visited Feb. 21, 2009).
97. Chrupcala v. Chester County Hospital, 2003 WL 21088476 (E.D. Pa. 2003).
98. State v. Noah, 9 P.3d 858 (Wash. 2000).
99. See generally HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 C.F.R. § 164.502 (2009).
100. A Contract's Out on Rating Docs, MODERN HEALTHCARE, June 25, 2007, at 84;
101. see also Dmitriy M. Kruglyak, "Medical Justice" Patient Gag Contracts: Not Just Dumb, but Illegal, TRUSTED.MD BLOG, June 9, 2008, available at http://trusted.md/blog/hippocrates/2008/06/09/ medical justice patient gag contracts not just dumb but illegal (last visited Feb. 21, 2009).
102. Pamela Lewis Dolan, "Vaccine Against Libel" Could Have Some Side Effects, AM. MED. NEWS, June 9, 2008, available at http://www.ama-assn.org/ amednews/2008/06/09/bica0609.htm (last visited Feb. 21, 2009).
103. Rendell-Baker v. Kohn, 457 U.S. 830, 837-38 (1982).
104. Noah, 9 P.3d at 870.
105. Id. at 871.
106. Bottros v. Park Ridge Hosp., Inc., 482 N.Y.S.2d 629, 629 (N.Y. 1984).
107. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1996).
108. S.P. v. City of Takoma Park,Md., 134 F.3d 260, 265 (4th Cir. 1998); Koulkina v. City of N.Y., 2008 WL 463726, at *15 (S.D.N.Y.) (unreported); Vazquez v. Marciano, 169 F. Supp. 2d 248, 253-54 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).
109. Milo v. Cushing Mun. Hosp., 861 F.2d 1194, 1197 (10th Cir. 1988); Clair v. Centre Cmty. Hosp., 463 A.2d 1065, 1067 (Pa. 1983).
110. Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U.S. 991, 1004 (1982).
111. Id. 111 Alexander v. Pathfinder, Inc., 189 F.3d 735, 740 (8th Cir. 1999).
112. Sarin v. Samaritan Health Ctr., 813 F.2d 755, 759 (6th Cir. 1987).
113. Modaber v. Culpeper Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 674 F.2d 1023, 1026-27 (4th Cir. 1982); Mendez v. Belton, 739 F.2d 15 (1st Cir. 1984) (mere receipt of Hill-Burton Act construction funds did not make a private nonprofit hospital's every act "state action" for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment); Hodge v. Paoli Mem'l Hosp., 576 F.2d 563, 563 (3d Cir. 1978) (receipt of Medicare, Medicaid, and Hill-Burton construction funds fails to transform an otherwise private hospital into a "State actor"); Avallone v. Wilmington Med. Ctr. Inc., 553 F. Supp. 931, 933-34 (D. Del. 1982) (receipt of Medicare, Medicaid, and Hill-Burton construction funds, tax exempt status, and licensing by the state does not convert a private nonprofit hospital into a governmental actor).
114. 405 U.S. 174, 185 (1972).
115. 129 F.2d 173, 176 (7th Cir. 1942).
116. Noah, 9 P.3d at 871 (holding that a defamation settlement agreement between patient and physician was enforceable against the patient, as the patient had validly waived her free speech rights with regard to the defamatory comments).
117. Comm. for a Better Twin Rivers v. Twin Rivers Homeowners' Ass'n, 929 A.2d 1060, 1063 (N.J. 2007).
118. Paulson v. Paulson, 694 N.W.2d 681, 685 (2005).
119. Morgan v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 222 So. 2d 820, 829 (Miss. 1969).
120. Brown v. State, 37 N.E.2d 73, 77 (Ind. 1941).
121. Hittson v. Chi., R. I. & P. Ry. Co., 86 P.2d 1037, 1039 (N.M. 1939).
122. Zeitz v. Foley, 264 S.W.2d 267, 268 (Ky. 1954).
123. A.Z. v. B.Z., 725 N.E.2d 1051, 1058 (Mass. 2000).
124. City of Santa Barbara v. Super. Ct., 161 P.3d 1095, 1115 n.53 (Cal. 2007).
125. Noah, 9 P.3d at 858.
126. Id. at 871.
127. Id.
128. Buraczynski v. Eyring, 919 S.W.2d 314, 320 (Tenn. 1996) (quoting BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 40 (6th ed. 1990)).
129. Broemmer v. Abortion Servs. of Phoenix, Ltd., 840 P.2d 1013, 1016 (Ariz. 1992) (quoting Stanley Henderson, Problems in the Enforcement of Agreements to Arbitrate Medical Malpractice, 58 VA. L. REV. 947, 988 (1972)).
130. Hughes Training, Inc. v. Cook, 254 F.3d 588, 593 (5th Cir. 2001); Kosmicki v. State, 652 N.W.2d 883, 893 (Neb. 2002); Yakima County (W. Valley) Fire Prot. Dist. No. 12 v. City of Yakima, 858 P.2d 245, 257 (Wash. 1993).
131. Graham v. Scissor-Tail, Inc., 623 P.2d 165, 172 (Cal. 1981).
132. Wis. Auto Title Loans, Inc. v. Jones, 714 N.W.2d 155, 164 (Wis. 2006); Armendariz v. Found. Health Psychcare Servs., Inc., 6 P.3d 669, 690 (Cal. 2000).
133. Hughes, 254 F.3d at 593-94; Razor v. Hyundai Motor Am., 854 N.E.2d 607, 622 (Ill. 2006).
134. Wis. Auto Title, 714 N.W.2d at 166.
135. Iwen v. U.S. West Direct, 977 P.2d 989, 996 (Mont. 1999).
136. Trinity Mission Health & Rehab. of Clinton v. Estate of Scott ex rel. Johnson, 2006-CA-01053-COA, 2008 WL 73682 (Miss. App. July 17, 2008).
137. Sosa v. Paulos, 924 P.2d 357, 362 (Utah 1996).
138. Iwen, 977 P.2d at 989.
139. Broemmer, 840 P.2d at 1017.
140. Razor, 854 N.E.2d at 622; Kinkel v. CingularWireless LLC, 857 N.E.2d 250, 264 (Ill. 2006); Deminsky v. Arlington Plastics Mach., 657 N.W.2d 411, 422 (Wis. 2003).
141. Russell, 826 So. 2d at 725; E. Ford, Inc. v. Taylor, 826 So. 2d 709, 714 (Miss. 2000); D.R. Horton, 96 P.3d at 1162-63.
142. Lovey v. Regence BlueShield of Idaho, 72 P.3d 877, 882 (Id. 2003).
143. Zuver v. Airtouch Comm'ns, Inc., 103 P.3d 753, 757 (Wash. 2004).
144. Id. at 761.
145. Clark v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 706 N.W.2d 471, 475 (Mich. 2005); Wis. Auto Title, 714 N.W.2d at 165-66.
146. Bruni v. Didion, 73 Cal. Rptr. 3d 395, 412 (Cal. App. 2008).
147. Buraczynski, 919 S.W.2d at 320.
148. Id. at 321 (emphasis added).
149. Wilkerson ex rel. Estate of Wilkerson v. Nelson, 395 F. Supp. 2d 281, 289 (M.D.N.C. 2005).
150. Tracy v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 569 N.E.2d 875, 879 (Ohio 1991).
151. Black v. Littlejohn, 325 S.E.2d 469, 482 (N.C. 1985); State ex rel. Dean v. Cunningham, 182 S.W.3d 561, 566 (Mo. 2006).
152. Tex. State Bd. of Med. Examiners v. Birenbaum, 891 S.W.2d 333, 336 (Tex. App. 1995); Mozingo ex rel. Thomas v. Pitt County Mem. Hosp., Inc., 415 S.E.2d 341, 346 (N.C. 1992).
153. McNamara v. Emmons, 97 P.2d 503, 507 (Cal. 1939).