Legal Question in Technology Law in Canada

Threats of Lawsuits

As a hobby several of my friends and I have maintained a support site for a computer simulation. We have become pretty successful and even managed to make a little money helping the owner of the simulation sell the game. Its not a lot of money but enough to maintain the cost of running the site. We still must maintain real jobs and consider this site a hobby.Now up until recently we've had great success but now we've started experiencing things we've never had to deal with before;specifically the words ''I'll sue''.

1)What would be the best way to determine if lawsuit threats are real or just an empty threat?

2)Can a lawyer in Canada sue a website hosted in the US? Can he sue individuals in the US,Norway, Australia, etc.

If so what are the procedures for him doing so?

3)Are list moderators of a yahoo group website responsible for what users post? Even if there is a disclaimer that they are not?


Asked on 1/09/04, 9:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Threats of Lawsuits

The best indicator of substance behind a threatened lawsuit is a demand letter from an attorney. Absent that step, it is highly unlikely that you will get a knock on your door and find a process server with a summons and complaint for you.

The rules on jurisdiction over internet/e-commerce sites are far from settled; the majority rule is that sites that deliberately target consumers in a given jurisdiction are amenable to legal actions there, particularly if consumer protection laws are involved. However, unless your company has assets in the jurisdiction in question, there are few practical consequences there, and enforcement in the US is quite unlikely.

List moderators are most unlikely to be held vicariously liable for the contents of the listservs that they moderate. It is worth asking nicely that the moderator remove plainly inappropriate postings, but your real remedy is against the poster rather than the moderator.

Best wishes,

LDWG

Read more
Answered on 1/09/04, 9:33 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Computer & Technology Law questions and answers in Canada