Failure to make a prima facie case that an anonymous e-mail was defamatory is grounds to quash a subpoena seeking the message-writer's identity, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in New Jersey says.
No plaintiff “is entitled to an order unmasking an anonymous author when the statements in question cannot support a cause of action for defamation,” the court said in A.Z. (a minor) v. Doe, A-5060-08.
Monday's decision upheld — though for different reasons — a trial judge's denial of a subpoena request by a high school student who sued over a message sent to a high school counselor about underage drinking.
Both courts applied the four-prong test for unmasking anonymous online posters of defamatory material in Dendrite International, Inc. v. John Doe No. 3, 342 N.J. Super. 134 (2001).
The trial judge found the plaintiff failed to meet the fourth prong, requiring a showing that her need for disclosure outweighed the defendant's First Amendment right to anonymity. But the appeals court found she failed to satisfy the third prong, requiring prima facie evidence supporting every element of the cause of action, because she made only a minimal effort to refute the underage drinking allegation, the appeals panel said.
via Law.com – Author of Accusatory E-Mails Can Stay Masked, Judge Rules in Libel Suit.
