Odelson v. Welch [1]

Lawyers Burton Odelson and Mark Sterk sued the anonymous blogger behind the Proviso Insider [2], a blog focusing on politics in Proviso Township, Illinois. Odelson and Sterk allege defamation based on a July 2007 post suggesting that they might be indicted for suborning perjury.  The post has been taken down [3], but the Proviso Probe [4] has re-published it [5]. In December 2007, Odelson and Sterk amended the complaint to name local school board president Chris Welch and his former assistant Emily Robinson as defendants.  Welch confirmed that he is one of several contributors to the Proviso Insider, but maintains that he did not post the statements at issue.  In June 2008, the school board voted to pay $22,000 in legal fees [6]to defend Welch against the lawsuit.