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Can I be sued for defamation and loss of income for this?
Anonymous7 views6 answers
Hello! I have recently gotten into a feud with someone on the internet. We are both 'big names' in an art community online. I questioned the validity of some of his work a couple months ago, he and his supporters bashed me plenty for it, I admited I was wrong. This person then proceeded to message me privately on facebook, insulting me and my character over my behavior. We argued back and forth, and he made many claims about his superiority over me. I decided to publicly post some screenshots of bits of things he said, without naming him, and just made general comments about how ridiculous it was. Now he is threatening to sue me over defamation and loss of income. He runs workshops where he teaches his 'art'. I am in california, he is in australia. Should I be worried? Thanks!
It will probably be pretty difficult for an Australian to file a lawsuit in California. He can try to file it in Australia, but you're not subject to their jurisdiction. Everything is possible, but in this case, the lawsuit scenario is extremely unlikely.
The internet is powerful and dangerous tool in the wrong hands. You can certainly be sued for defamation and loss of income on these facts. Whether the case has merits that would justify the bringing of a suit or uncertain damages is a whole 'nother matter. Threats of lawsuits, and for that matter actual lawsuits, happen all the time. You might want to nip this in the bud and take the higher ground and stop contact or communication in this internet feud, now rather than later as it is clearly escalating. There are many defamation attorneys in your local California jurisdiction that can be consulted to provide better insight on your rights, responsibilities and options.
I am not an authority on either California or Australian law, but I know enough about defamation and jurisdiction to assure you that there is not much to worry about in this instance. However, for future disagreements that might one day hit closer to home, use your words with forethought and circumspection, especially those you post to and/or about others online. Best wishes.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. It's highly unlikely that he would pursue a defamation claim when he is in Australia over such petty nonsense on the internet. Just stop making any more posts about him.
