Theriot v. Does [1]

On May 7, 2010, the Parish of Jefferson in Louisiana and its interim President, Steve Theriot, filed a lawsuit in state court against unnamed Does for defamation.  According to the Complaint [2], the Does "systematically published messages on the Internet using the forums and blogs on Nola.com and Slabbed.wordpress.com," which comments were allegedly defamatory.  (Complaint ¶ 5)  The Complaint alleges that the defamatory material included statements "that members of Jefferson Parish Government such as Mr. Theriot are unethical and deceitful." (Complaint ¶ 6)  The Complaint seeks "[d]amages for embarrassment and emotional suffering[; . . . d]amages for loss of personal reputation; [. . . and d]amages for loss of business opportunity," as well as costs and attorneys' fees.

The same day the Complaint was filed, Plaintiffs issued a subpoena to New Orleans Net LLC, the operator of the Nola.com website, seeking the identities of the posters using 11 Nola.com screen names.

UPDATE: According to news reports [3], Theriot has dismissed the lawsuit.