Written by Gary Craigg
The Democrat and Chronicle does not have to release information about four individuals who anonymously posted Web comments about members of the Brockport police and Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti, a judge has ruled.
State Supreme Court Justice David Barry ruled that the comments were clearly opinion and could not be considered defamatory, as the police officers and Varrenti contended in a lawsuit against the anonymous Web posters and Gannett Co. Inc., which owns the Democrat and Chronicle.
Because opinion cannot be the basis of a claim of defamation, “Gannett is not required to unmask the identities of the four anonymous internet commentators,” Barry wrote in an opinion filed Friday.
The police and Varrenti contended in separate lawsuits that the anonymous comments were defamatory. The police were accused in the comments of wrongful arrests, a break-in and overtime-padding.
Barry ruled that the comments were obviously “sarcastic, hyperbolic, and based on rumors” and were not presented as factual statements.
Attorney Jon Getz, who represented Varrenti and the officers, said he thinks the statements could be defamatory and, without information about the anonymous posters, the Brockport police cannot pursue the issue further in court. Getz likened the Democrat and Chronicle‘s refusal to reveal information about the Web posters to “a dog praising its fleas.”
Attorney Christopher Thomas, who represented the Democrat and Chronicle, said Barry’s ruling is steeped in American history.
“Anonymous speech has been important in this country since the Federalist Papers were published,” Thomas said. “This decision recognizes that principle and applies it to a modern form of speech.”
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