• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 13, 2010

A New York judge has shot down Sandals' request to unmask a Gmail user who allegedly criticized the vacation resort's hiring policies as racist. Sandals had argued that it was libeled by the Gmail user, who allegedly said in an email that Sandals "does not even have a single dark-skinned Jamaican on its board." The email, which came from a Gmail address, was sent under the apparent pseudonym John Anthony.

Sandals said in court papers that it needed to learn the account holder's identity from Google in order to file a libel lawsuit.

New York Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger rejected that request, ruling that the email wasn't defamatory because it was opinion. Only verifiable statements of fact can be libelous.

"As the email at issue does not contain assertions of objective fact with regard to Sandals, the email cannot form the predicate for a defamation claim," Schlesinger wrote. "Therefore, Google shall not disclose the requested information relating to the account holder."

Sandals had attached a printout of a Nov. 11 email to its original court papers, but didn't specify which precise statements it believed were defamatory. The printed version, viewed by MediaPost, included several different statements that criticized the resort's alleged policies. One line said: "Look at this great job that went to a foreigner." Immediately underneath was the first sentence of a press release in which Sandals announced the appointment of Dinah Marzullo as senior director of advertising.

Another line, printed in all capital letters, read: "Menial-low paying jobs for Jamaicans, High profile luxury-style jobs for foreigners!"

Schlesinger ruled that the email's format -- assertions and questions in response to other articles -- "indicates to the reader that the account holder's words are meant to provoke either thought or discussion and are therefore protected speech."