First off: I like this type of web content…but I hate the word ’blog’. Just wanted to clear that up at the get-go.
Crystal Cox runs several law-centric blogs, like industrywhistleblower.com, judicialhellhole.com, and obsidianfinancesucks.com.
She is was sued by the Lake Osewego investment firm Obsidian Finance Group in January for defamation, to the tune of $10 million. All that lovely money over some spirited, witty, and deeply researched article she posted on one of her blog posts. Here’s where the sperpent in the form of one Kevin Padrick, raised its ugly head and struck back at freedom of speech in these dangerous Patriot Days. Cox’s writing is highly critical of the firm and its co-founder Kevin Padrick. But the way the’mainstrea’ media has it, you would think this was without cause. Obsidian Finance has bilked people out of $40 million dollars…but of course mass media doesn’t take issue with that. Just business as usual. And here’s the corker: Ready for it? Kevin Padrick is close with the Oregonian’s Jeff Manning, our home team media darling.
Cox represented herself in court – if she hadn’t the fallout would have been many times worse. And for the record, the woman knows the law inside out: that’s why she poses such a threat to entities like Obsidian Finance. So Crystal maintained that her writing was a mixture of facts, commentary and opinion - like a million other blogs on the web…And for that matter exactly as ‘Air Cascadia’ has been described…Yikes! and moved to have the case dismissed. Dismissed it wasn't, however, and after throwing out all but one of the blog posts cited by Obsidian Financial, the judge ruled that this single post was indeed defamatory because it was presented, essentially, as more factual in tone than her other posts, and therefore a reasonable person could conclude it was factual. Did you read her blog?
The judge ruled against Cox on that post and awarded $2.5 million to the investment firm.
Now here's where the case gets more important: Cox argued in court that the reason her post was more factual was because she had an inside source that was leaking her information. And since Oregon is one of 40 U.S. states including Washington with media shield laws, Cox refused to divulge who her source was.
But without revealing her source Cox couldn't prove that the statements she'd made in her post were true and therefore not defamation, or attribute them to her source and transfer the liability.
The Jazz Timber sale - or Sell-out?
And it's Bradley Manning's Birthday: America's foremost whistleblower turns 24 tomorrow, December 17th.www.bradleymanning.org/events/bradley-mannings-birthday
The Bradley Mannning support Network is paying all of Manning's legal fees - which, as you might guess, are subtantial. This is the website at which you can go if you are able to help.
- KBOO