Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce sues anonymous commenter
The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, apparently with nothing but time and money on their hands, has filed a defamation suit against the anonymous "Elmer Fudd" for posting comments on a Sun News message board which incorrectly stated that the chamber had been raided by the Horry County Police Department.
"It's something the chamber felt like they had to react to," [attorney Cherie Blackburn] said. "They couldn't allow the rumors to go unchallenged."Blackburn said her office plans to file a subpoena this week to learn the identity of "Elmer Fudd." The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Did anyone believe such statements from the anonymous "Elmer Fudd," and was the chamber's reputation harmed? Is Mr. Fudd likely to have any assets that the chamber could recover from anyway? Patrick at Popehat sums it up: "Who in his wight mind would bewieve an accusation fwom Elmer Fudd? And why didn’t Ms. Bwackbuwn advise her cwient to wet it go?" (Be Vewy Vewy Quiet. I’m Fiwing Wawsuits.)
Comments
I'd love to hear how they quantify their "monetary damages". I'm sure in reality no more than 50 people read it and 5 of them actually live in the City of MB and own a business here. But I wouldn't be surprised if they state that "millions" of people saw it. How is that worse publicity than orchestrating a sales tax increase that goes directly to their *very* private corporation?
The only thing I can think of is there must have been some ring of truth (or twuth!) to Mr. Fudd's comments. Otherwise, it seems like a simple press conference would clear up any confusion.
Now, we're seeing The Sun News issued a subpoena to reveal the identity of the poster which opens a whole can of worms. It seems crazy, but let's not forget that the Horry County Council launched a full SLED investigation to uncover the identity of a blogger that supposedly threatened them. The guy, Wizeman, was also the same individual Mr. Scott Brandon sued this past year for $1.8M.
These people lose respect from me everytime they file with the court.
Posted by: Paul | September 9, 2009 10:02 PM
Oops. My point was that by them filing a lawsuit, that actually caused me to believe the Mr. Fudd's statements to be true. So does that mean the Chamber can go erm... sue itself?
Posted by: Paul | September 9, 2009 10:05 PM