Digital Media Law Project
Published on Digital Media Law Project (https://www.dmlp.org)

Home > Waters v. Miller

Waters v. Miller [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Mon, 09/10/2007 - 15:58

Summary

Threat Type: 

Lawsuit

Date: 

05/24/2006

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Settled (total)

Location: 

Florida

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Defamation
There is little information available about this case, but it appears that high school student Douglas Miller posted sexually demeaning statements alongside high school teacher Lee Waters's photograph on MySpace (it is not clear whether Miller also posted the photograph or just... read full description
Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat: 

Lee Waters

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Douglas Miller

Type of Party: 

Individual

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • Florida

Location of Party: 

  • Florida

Legal Counsel: 

Geoffrey Morris

Legal Counsel: 

Douglas Grissinger
Description

There is little information available about this case, but it appears that high school student Douglas Miller posted sexually demeaning statements alongside high school teacher Lee Waters's photograph on MySpace (it is not clear whether Miller also posted the photograph or just commented on Waters's profile). The school district suspended Miller, and Waters filed a lawsuit. We have not been able to determine the claims made in the lawsuit, but Waters may have been claiming defamation. A stipulation and order of dismissal were filed in January 2007, presumably after the parties reached a settlement.

Related Links: 

  • Clerk of the Circuit Court, Sarasota County: Case Docket [2]
  • TheLedger.com: Not-So-MySpace Any More [3]
  • MLRC's Legal Actions and Developments Involving Blogs [4]

 

Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

MySpace [5]

Content Type: 

  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Social Network

Subject Area: 

  • Defamation
  • Student Speech
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Florida

Court Name: 

Florida Circuit Court, Sarasota County

Court Type: 

State

Case Number: 

2006CA002690SC
CMLP Information (Private)

CMLP Notes: 

to-do: further research required; get court documents; revise description section

DMLP Logo


Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:02pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/waters-v-miller

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/waters-v-miller
[2] http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/srqapp/civdetail.asp?tb_searchby=Name&tb_searchfor=2006+CA+002690+SC
[3] http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060423/NEWS/604230392/-1/NEWS0101
[4] http://www.medialaw.org/bloggerlawsuits
[5] http://www.myspace.com/