Krinsky v. Doe 6

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Krinsky v. Doe 6

H030767

COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA, SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

159 Cal. App. 4th 1154 ; 72 Cal. Rptr. 3d 231; 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 180; 36 Media L. Rep. 1321

February 6, 2008, Filed

OPINION BY: Elia

OPINION

  ELIA, J.--As Internet technology has evolved over the past two decades, computer users have encountered a proliferation of chat rooms and Web sites that allow them to share their views on myriad topics from consumer products to international diplomacy. Internet bulletin boards, or "message boards," have the advantage of allowing users, or "posters," to express themselves anonymously, by using "screen names" traceable only through the hosts of the sites or their Internet service providers (ISP's). One popular forum is the financial message board, which offers posters the opportunity to communicate with others concerning stock trading, corporate behavior, and other finance-related issues.

The conversation on one financial message board devolved into scathing verbal attacks on the corporate officers of a Florida company, prompting a lawsuit by one of those officers, plaintiff Lisa Krinsky. Plaintiff attempted to discover the identity of 10 of the pseudonymous posters by serving a subpoena on the message board host, Yahoo! Inc. (Yahoo!). Defendant "Doe 6" moved to quash the subpoena, but the trial court denied the motion. Doe 6 appeals, contending that he had a First Amendment right to speak anonymously on the Internet. Under the circumstances presented, we agree with Doe 6 that his identity should be protected and therefore reverse the order.

Procedural History

Until December 31, 2005, plaintiff was the president, chair of the board, and  chief operating officer of SFBC International, Inc., a publicly traded "global development drug service company" with offices in Florida. In January 2006 plaintiff sued 10 "Doe" defendants in a Florida court. In the action plaintiff alleged that defendants had made "defamatory remarks" about her on Yahoo! message boards and other Web sites, using screen names to conceal their identities. During the litigation defendant Doe 6 was often referred to as "Senor_Pinche_Wey," the screen name he had used in posting on the Yahoo! Finance message board. ¹

1   For ease of reference we will use masculine pronouns to refer to Doe 6, as did his attorney in the proceedings below.