On Mon, 19 Jun 1995 13:18:14 -0700, Anita Cohen-Williams wrote:
>   My infamous net.kook is at it again with his threats to sue my institution
>because I served off his node.
 
Claiming what?  First Amendment rights?  See yesterday's Supreme Court
decision.  Everyone has a right to say whatever they want, but they don't
have an unabridged right to someone elses medium.
 
Has your kook been able to find a lawyer who even thinks filing would be
worthwhile (anyone can threaten to sue; actually suing can be MUCH harder
to do).  The vernacular for this sort of threat is a "slap suit"--usually
practiced by large organizations with in house lawyers as a means of
intimidating dissedents, whistle blowers, and annoying dissatisfied
customers who publicize their experiences.
 
Probably your institution has a staff lawyer :-)  At anyrate, what happens
if you tell your kook that your institution would regard any such action as
frivolous and would counter sue for harrassment?  At the least, I'd make a
phone call to the institution's legal office and see if you can get them to
agree to tell the kook "see you in court"  I'd guess the odds are over 95%
that would be the end of that.
 
/s Murphy A. Sewall <[log in to unmask]> (203) 486-2489 voice
   Professor of Marketing                          (203) 486-5246 fax