Defamation Case Against Anonymous Commenter, Soto v. Does 

A number of former patients have posted anonymous negative comments on doctor rating sites about Armando Soto, a Florida plastic surgeon.  Soto has filed all of them for defamation, conspiracy, and tortuous interference in Virginia, although there appears to be no reason to believe that any of the commenters lives in Virginia.  Soto served a subpoena on Comcast seeking identifying information for one of the commenters.  Pursuant to Virginia law, Comcast contacted the commenter, who then approached Public Citizen.  We filed a motion to quash in the circuit court on May 4, 2012, arguing that the commenter had a first amendment right to post anonymously, and that since Soto’s suit has no merit, the court should not allow Soto to discover the poster’s identity.  The attorney has withdrawn the subpoena seeking information about our client.
 
Court Documents (click link to view .pdf)
Motion to Quash - Henrico County Circuit Court

Attorney(s)

Rebecca Glenberg, ACLU of Virginia; Gregory Beck, Public Citizen

Date filed

May 4, 2012

Court

Henrico County Circuit Court

Status

Cerrado