A Superior Court judge has agreed to dismiss a defamation lawsuit a former Board of Education member filed against Ken Hughes, president of the Derby Board of Aldermen, over comments made about Luneau on a blog.
Hughes was sued in 2009 by Renee Luneau, after defamatory comments about Luneau were posted on a Derby politics blog Hughes ran called “Connecticut’s Smallest City.”
Judge Dale Radcliffe on Monday said that because Hughes didn’t write or post the comments himself he is protected by the 1996 Communications Decency Act. On those grounds, Judge Radcliffe granted a motion for summary judgment, which means the case is over.
Luneau’s attorney, William Wynne, said he would have to talk to his client to determine if they would appeal the decision. Wynne declined to comment on the case otherwise.
Luneau, in a phone interview, said she probably wouldn’t appeal the decision.
“I don’t think we’re going to appeal,” Luneau said. “It’s rare that the decisions are changed.”
The dismissal also applies to a second defendant — Christopher Bigelow of Connecticut Local Politics LLC.
Bigelow’s website — CT Politics — hosted Hughes’ local blog. Luneau sued Bigelow as well. Bigelow no longer publishes.
Bigelow’s attorney, Jennifer Mira, argued that as the website host, Bigelow did not have access to the Derby blog to moderate and edit comments.
“We were simply the company that offered web space,” Mira said.
Fingerprints
The 1996 Communications Decency Act generally protects websites from being held liable for content that others post.
Judge Radcliffe said the test to whether a defendant is protected by the act is whether their “fingerprints” are somehow on the content that was posted.
In other words, did Hughes and Bigelow write the comments? Did either solicit defamatory comments from the readers?
Judge Radcliffe said there wasn’t proof of either scenario.
“The grant of immunity is lost if the plaintiff can prove a defendant was an active participant in soliciting or helping to generate or write the material,” Judge Radcliffe said. “I don’t see any of those facts presented here.”
“I don’t see any fingerprints here,” Radcliffe said.
Hughes, who was not at the hearing Monday, declined to comment on the case because he had not talked to his attorney. His lawyer, Lisa Bloch, also declined comment.
‘Should Have Known’
Wynne, Luneau’s attorney, had argued that Hughes should have expected defamatory comments on Luneau, because it had happened on past items he posted on the site.
“He should have known,” Wynne said in court Monday.
Wynne argued that Hughes should have anticipated, then immediately taken down the defamatory comments.
But Judge Radcliffe said that was an impossible standard to put on him.
Hughes shut down the blog after receiving complaint letters from Luneau.
Luneau said while she was disappointed that she lost the lawsuit, she felt it was worth the effort to pursue it.
“They shut the blog down, so it was successful in that respect,” Luneau said.
