Supreme Court Asked to Consider Court of Appeals’ Decision to Keep Anonymous Bloggers Identities Secret in Defamation Suit

In Ghanam v. John Does et al. the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's decision to allow the deposition of a fact witness in a defamation suit filed against ostensibly anonymous commentators on an internet-based public forum. Last week, I filed an application for leave to appeal in the Michigan Supreme Court in this case [...]

Court of Appeals Rules Michigan Court Rules Adequately Protect Anonymous Defendant’s First Amendment Rights to Free Speech in a Defamation Suit in which Defendant Seeks to Remain Anonymous and Refuses to Judicially Adopt Anti-SLAPP Legislation in Michigan

The Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Thomas M. Cooley Law School v. John Doe 1 today. In this published opinion addressing an issue of first impression in Michigan, the Court of Appeals in a split opinion (2-1) (Whitbeck, J. and Meter, J. in the majority and Beckering, J. in a partial dissent) held the [...]