Avvo Poster Remains Anonymous

The opinion of the Washington State Court of appeals denying a plaintiff attorney access to information that would identify an anonymous Avvo poster is linked here.

What showing must be made by a defamation plaintiff seeking disclosure of an anonymous speaker’s identity? This is an open question in Washington. Thomson brought a defamation suit against Doe, an anonymous poster who wrote a negative review of Thomson on Avvo.com. Thomson then subpoenaed Avvo seeking Doe’s identity. When Avvo refused to provide the information, Thomson moved to compel Avvo’s compliance with the subpoena. The trial court denied Thomson’s motion, finding that Thomson had not made a prima facie claim of defamation. We affirm.

Thompson is a Florida attorney who sued as a result of this post

I am still in court five years after Ms. Thomson represented me during my divorce proceedings. Her lack of basic business skills and detachment from her fiduciary responsibilities has cost me everything. She failed to show up for a nine hour mediation because she had vacation days. She failed to subpoena documents that are critical to the division of assets in any divorce proceeding. In fact, she did not subpoena any documents at all. My interests were simply not protected in any meaningful way.

Thomson’s complaint alleged that Doe was not a client and that the post was designed to impugn Thomson’s personal and professional reputation. Thomson alleged four causes of action: defamation, defamation per se, defamation by implication, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (MED).

The court concluded that the First Amendment protects the right to post anonymously.

Hat tip to the ABA Journal. (Mike Frisch)