Irondan said:
Dan2016 said:
Is Immediate Media responsible for libelous comments made by posters here?
Surely the action is taken against the individual?
I'm no expert but we have some very well versed members that can answer better than I.
I think that it depends a lot on the country that any suit is brought up in because here in the US the libel laws are a lot less strict than in the UK. Yes, Immediate Media
could be held as a defendant in any libel case brought up for comments made in the clinic.
It's a little more complex, in the UK you would need to demonstrate that there has been some form of loss from being defamed. The first bar to prove that the comments equaled actual defamation, the second bar that there was loss or lost income from the comments. Where it gets very messy is what constitutes 'opinion' and what is an intent to harm with the written word. In the UK and most of Europe those who take out a suit are responsible for their own costs until such point there is a settlement or a court finds in favour. That could be 3+ years and several tens of thousands of pounds/dollars. It should also be noted that there is no punitive damages in the UK, meaning one is highly unlikely to get any more than a few thousands pounds for the loss. There are no big money payouts like in the US.
The final part is pre-action protocol. The courts require you to make every attempt to settle the dispute prior to taking court action. In most cases, that would mean deleting the offending words and everyone moves on.
The ultimate defence to defamation is the truth, so you'd better not be lying if you take out our suit, as the defendant has every right to request documents to prove they are correct in their statements.
The very final part is "careful what you wish for"; in any civil suit, if you take action against one person they have every right to 'counterclaim' in and some cases have that counter heard at the same time. Meaning if Sky sued an individual, that individual could counterclaim and via the process of 'discovery' could ask the court to subpoena records relevant to their case.
Tort is by no means a lottery, it's a tightrope to walk. Most lawyers will tell you to write a letter, seek a basic remedy and move on. People don't get rich from tort, with he exception of the solicitor.
I would add from recent events there is enough evidence to suggest Sky are doping to some degree and would be very easy to prove with what is already in the public domain.