Re: Lawsuits on www.gt40s.com
Alright, that is a good number of votes. I wanted to see what the forum consensus was and how they were slanted on "where lawsuits come from". Most of my UK/German friends always think the US is sue happy and cite the "Hot coffee at McDonalds" case.
But, they forget that the US legal system comes from none other than Mother England. And, of the three times
www.gt40s.com has had a lawsuit threatened each time it has come from England. That is right, from England! Not the US! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
My buddy Jeff, who is a lawyer (solicitor for you blokes), tells be it is because liable law is so much different between the countries. In the UK, I understand, you can't go off slagging someone off lest you'll get in trouble. In the US it doesn't matter, at least as far as how much slagging off is going to happen on a forum like this.
So, each time I've had a threat it has come in the form of "XYZ said something bad about me. It is on your forum. You are liable. I'll sue you!". But, in fact, that won't happen and here's why.
www.gt40s.com belongs to me and I live in the US. It exists on a server in California and because of these reasons, it is governed by US law. Furthermore, and this is the biggest reason, when you join
www.gt40s.com you click "I agree" to a list of board rules that I have written. Most are tongue in cheek, but one of them:
• Any posts you make on this forum are your responsibility. The forum nor Ron Earp is liable for ANYTHING you post on this forum and doesn't claim to be! Its all you!
Is serious and has been upheld as binding in numerous court cases involving internet law. So, if you mouth off on the forum, slander people, etc. I'm not responsible. It doesn't mean I'll tolerate it and allow it, but that is a different thread.
Jeff tells me that Sterling Moss tried to sue some people that "slandered" him on the internet a couple years back. Seems he drove some cars at a historic event in the UK and tore, I think, four of them up!!!! Some folks called him some naughty names on the internet and he tried to sue them. Didn't work, apparently he lost the case and a bunch of dough.
So, the moral of the story? Well, there isn't one really. Just play nice, don't speak untruths, and respect your fellow forum member. Lawsuits suck, and if one were successful we'd have no more forum.
Ron
