Former Prosecutors Sue Anonymous 'Lawyer' Commenter over Online Sex-for-Promotion Allegation
A couple in Las Vegas who once worked together as prosecutors have filed a defamation suit against an online commenter who goes by the name “Lawyer.”
The suit by former prosecutors Mary and Phil Brown target Lawyer’s assertion that Mary Brown “had sexual relations in order to get promoted,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The suit claims Lawyer made the false claim five times under four news stories published by the Review-Journal.
Tony Abbatangelo represents the anonymous commenter. He has filed a motion to quash that says disclosure of Lawyer’s identity would likely result in a bar complaint and effectively ruin Lawyer’s career.
Abbatangelo says the blog comments are protected free speech, and they didn’t harm Mary Brown’s reputation in any event. He described blog comments this way in an interview with the Review-Journal: “Half of it’s nonsense, and the other half is more nonsense,” he said.
