AutoAdmit / Xoxohth, Defamation, Free Speech, Rudeness, Technology

AutoAdmit Case Ends Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper

By  
on

If you were hoping for the AutoAdmit lawsuit to result in courtroom drama, with Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey breaking down in tears on the stand, then we’re sorry to disappoint you. The case has ended, somewhat anticlimactically.
Last week, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their case against the remaining defendants. From the Hartford Courant:

Two former Yale University law school students have quietly settled a high-profile lawsuit they brought against about two dozen anonymous authors who the students said defamed and threatened them by posting malicious falsehoods on an Internet message board.

Perhaps plaintiff Brittan Heller felt ready to put down her sword, now that she’s happily married. But note that the dismissal is without prejudice (so check yo self, Pauliewalnuts).
What did the plaintiffs get out of filing their lawsuit?


There were some settlements, according to the Courant:

The terms under which the suit was resolved are confidential, and lawyers representing the former students, Heide Iravani and Brittan Heller, would not discuss them. Court records and lawyers who followed the litigation said attorneys for the women were able to identify eight or nine of the anonymous posters and settled with some of them.

“We settled with a handful of folks,” said San Francisco attorney Ashok Ramani, whose firm, Keker & Van Nest, represented the women at no charge. “Our clients are very pleased with how the case went and I have no further comment.”

So, readers, what do you think? Did the AutoAdmit kids get pwned by Iravani and Heller? Or was the Yale ladies’ lawsuit an epic fail?
Ex-Yale Students Settle Internet Defamation Lawsuit [Hartford Courant]
Doe v. Ciolli: Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of Action [Justia]
Earlier: Prior coverage of AutoAdmit / Xoxohth

Sponsored

CRM Banner

Topics