• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 5, 2009

It's been clear for more than 10 years that Web services are immune from lawsuits based on users' libelous posts. But that hasn't stopped people from suing.

In the latest example, a Manhattan condo board president and property manager have sued four Web services -- Twitter, Ning, GoDaddy and WordPress -- for allegedly defamatory posts by residents. The libel lawsuit, filed last week in state court in New York, seeks $22 million in damages for the allegedly defamatory posts.

The case grew out of a heated dispute concerning the Atelier condo building at 635 W. 42nd St. in Hell's Kitchen. The condo's resident manager, Robert Moricone Jr., committed suicide last month. Afterwards, some Web users allegedly made inflammatory posts on blogs and Twitter. One post allegedly carried the headline, "Atelier Building... Site of Corruption Mess and One Man Dead So Far."

Subsequent posts included statements like: "It is still unclear at this point whether the death of the building's resident manager, Robert Moricone, today was a murder, a suicide, or something else altogether." The lawsuit alleges that several tenants and former employees as well as up to 10 anonymous Web users made the posts.

The complaint indicates that some residents were unhappy with a management decision last November to stop allowing occupants to rent out their apartments for less than 90 days. Some New Yorkers make extra money by renting their apartments to visiting tourists. Apartments in that neighborhood are listed on Craigslist for nearly $200 a night.

Atelier condo board president Daniel Neiditch and property manager Sabrina Mehmedovic said in their lawsuit that they took measures to enforce this new prohibition against occupants as well as building staff. At least two staffers were fired for allegedly "neglecting their job duties" after the crackdown began.

Shortly afterwards, some commenters allegedly made complaints online, accusing Neiditch and Mehmedovic of "murder, bribery, corruption and extortion" in various posts to blogs and Twitter, according to the complaint.

But regardless of whether the posts are defamatory, courts have consistently held that Web services are immune from liability for users' allegedly libelous comments, says Sam Bayard, assistant director at the Citizen Media Law Project. "There's no case that's cast doubt on the simple principle that passively hosting someone else's material is completely protected."

Nonetheless, these types of lawsuits continue to be filed. Earlier this year, New York teenager Denise Finkel sued Facebook for defamation after she was allegedly harassed on the site. Also, a New York man recently unsuccessfully attempted to sue Craigslist after he was shot and seriously injured by someone who purchased a gun on the site.

For Twitter, this case marks at least the second time this year the service has been dragged into court based on users' posts. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa sued Twitter for trademark infringement after an imposter created a parody account, but later dropped the case. In that instance, however, the Communications Decency Act wouldn't have protected Twitter because that law does not immunize Web services when users infringe on copyright or trademark.