The New York Court of Appeals adopted a broad reading of the federal Communications Decency Act in a 4-3 ruling protecting the anonymous and defamatory comments from a February 2008 blog post. The comments were accused New York City apartment rental agent and seller Christakis Shiamili of being a racist, anti-Semite, wife-beater, an adulterer and a bad boss.

State defamation law is preempted by the federal act, claimed Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick in her majority decision today. The majority upheld dismissal of the case on the grounds against Daniel Baum and Ryan McCann of the Real Estate Group of New York because they were found to not have authored the "obviously offensive" comments. The comments were originally made by a blogger named "Ardor Realty Sucks". Mr. Baum and Mr. McCann merely passed on the material to internet users, the court said.

Many find that this case sets pretty tough obstacles for plaintiffs to show enough information to overcome the defenses in the Communications Decency Act. Judge Ciparick cited the federal intention of the act to foster a free exchange of ideas and opinions on the Internet.

Read the Full Article on the New York Law Journal Here

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