Maxon v. Susan Wren [1]

Donald and Janet Maxon served a pre-discovery petition [2] on Ottawa Publishing Company, the operator of mywebtimes.com [3], a website for The Times, a local newspaper based in Ottawa, IL.  The Maxons seek to force The Times to provide identifying information about persons who they claim posted defamatory comments on the newspaper's website in March and April 2008. The petition also included a defamation count against a user identified as "Birdie1," which the Maxons allege is Susan Wren.

According to filings in the case, the Maxons alleged that Wren and other users of the site posted comments suggesting that they had bribed members of the Ottawa Plan Commission. According to press accounts [4], the Maxons had sought approval from the Commission to add rooms onto their house to accommodate a bed and breakfast. Several neighbors opposed their wish and the Maxons eventually gave up their plan after determining they were blocked by city ordinance.

In September 2008, Wren filed a motion to dismiss [5] count II of the petition which was directed at her. At a hearing on October 2, 2008, the the court dismissed [6] the petition for discovery directed Ottawa Publishing and ordered [7] that the Maxons' claim against Wren be severed from the petition for pre-suit discovery.  Wren's motion to dismiss remains pending.

Update:

1/22/09 - According to press accounts [8], the case was dismissed with prejudice