Blogging Suit Tests First Amendment Limits

A lawsuit filed in a District Court in Texas is a strong reminder of the responsibilities that come with blogging.

On June 19, Nashville-based Essent Healthcare, which operates the Paris Regional Medical Center in Texas, filed a suit against "The Paris site," a blogging site set up by an anonymous operator in 2005 to post insider comments about the hospital. The suit alleges that "on several occasions the blog posted 'false and misleading statements with malice,'" according to an article posted by iHealthBeat.org. "According to the lawsuit, the blogger falsely accused the hospital of criminal wrongdoing in operating and managing the hospital, including Medicare fraud."

A District Court judge recently ordered ISP SuddenLink Communications Inc. to reveal -- within 20 days of when the lawsuit was filed (that would be by July 9) -- the name of the operator and the nine bloggers who have posted to the site.

In an article on the suit, ComputerWorld quotes a First Amendment lawyer as speculating that the hospital does not have much of a case.