Cruse v. Teacher Smackdown [1]

Loretta DiAnne Cruse, a former special-ed teacher at Norfolk Elementary School in Arkansas, sued the Teacher Smackdown [2] website, 451 Press, LLC, which operates the website, and various individuals associated with it, including professional blogger Anne-Marie Nichols, for defamation and other claims in Arkansas state court. Teacher Smackdown is a watchdog site, which describes its function as "identif[ying] the molesters, thieves, and lecherous adults masquerading as teachers in our society" and "giv[ing] parents resources and information on protecting our kids and identifying these monsters." According to the complaint [3], an April 18, 2007 article written by Nichols falsely claimed that Cruse "plead guilty to endangering the welfare of a minor and physically abus[ing] the handicapped minor, when, in fact, she was acquitted of the crime at trial." Cmplt. ¶ 1.

The complaint also alleges that Teacher Smackdown published defamatory user comments, including the statement "Man. What a heartless bitch." Cmplt. ¶ 14. It further alleges that the website published user comments to, among other things, "generate income through increased traffic [to the] website" and to "generate greater name recognition within Arkansas." Cmplt. ¶ 14. It also alleges that the defendants knowingly and intentionally offered commenters anonymity in order to generate controversy and generate traffic, see Cmplt. ¶ 16, and that the defendants should be held liable for the defamation of anonymous users because "users do not post comments by their actual names." Cmplt. ¶ 15. In addition to defamation, Cruse claims that publishing user comments about her constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress. In all likelihood, these claims are completely barred by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act [4].

Cruse seeks $1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

Update:

03/19/09 - The Arkansas court dismissed [5] the case for lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendants.  Nichols lives in Colorado and 451 Press is based in Alabama.

04/29/09 - Cruse has said that she might appeal [5] the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court.