Cards' La Russa Announces Twitter Settlement, Site Denies It on Blog
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced Friday that Twitter agreed to pay his legal fees and make a donation to his animal rescue foundation to settle his suit against the social networking site. The Associated Press Wall Street Journal Law Blog reported the settlement.
La Russa filed the suit last month over Twitter’s to-that-point refusal to take down an imposter’s Twitter account that contained “derogatory and demeaning” remarks. (The site took the account down after being served with the suit.) But on Saturday, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone noted on Twitter Blog that reports of a settlement are false.
“Twitter’s terms of service are fair, and we believe will be upheld in a court that will ultimately dismiss Mr. La Russa’s lawsuit,” Stone wrote.
In the same post, Stone briefly announced an upcoming experiment with “verified accounts” that would feature a seal indicating that Twitter has verified the identity of the account holder. It will initially be tested with “public officials, public agencies, famous artists, athletes, and other well known individuals” rather than businesses, Stone wrote.
Related Coverage:
Reuters Mediafile: “La Russa v. Biz”
CNET News: “Twitter to roll out ‘Verified Accounts’ this summer”
Agence France-Presse: “Twitter denies settling baseball manager’s lawsuit”
