By Mike Westervelt
Executive Reporter
Publication Date: 03/12/09
A former Purdue student is suing people who made comments about him on Facebook two years ago.
That’s just part of the 20-page lawsuit filed by Timothy Collins III last month in federal court. The entire suit also includes allegations against Purdue and local media.
Collins argues that Facebook users damaged his reputation, exposed him to harassment, threats and public ridicule. The lawsuit also says defamatory statements caused him to drop out of Army ROTC training and impaired his earning and educational opportunities.
The comments in question were made in early 2007. Collins reported he was attacked by three men the same night another Purdue student, Wade Steffey, went missing. Police found inconsistencies in the evidence and charged Collins with providing false information.
But at trial, a judge found him not guilty – ruling there was not enough evidence to prove False Informing.
Additionally, Collins was never connected to the disappearance and death of Steffey in any way. Steffey’s death was ruled an accident; he was electrocuted inside Owen Hall and found about two months after his disappearance.
Now, Collins is seeking damages from Purdue spokeswoman Jeanne Norberg, Purdue graduate Alice D’Amore, former Texas A&M student Will Rinehart and others for libel. Shortly after the false informing charge made headlines in 2007, Facebook postings discussed Collins.
According to the complaint, Rinehart and D’Amore both said Collins could have been involved with the disappearance of Steffey. Norberg did not reference Collins by name but made a post outlining already-released information about the attack he reported.
Kevin M. Goldberg, legal counsel for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, said one must publish a defamatory statement of fact to commit libel. He said Collins would also have to prove actual damages from those remarks.
“But does it really tend to injure someone’s reputation if someone writes this on Facebook?” Goldberg asked. He said it’s a question of credibility.
“The standards of what people believe is true varies with different sources.” That could make it more difficult to prove those statements caused actual damage against Collins, he said.
The Lafayette Journal & Courier is also being targeted by the suit. The newspaper is facing a libel allegation for hosting comments made by readers on its Web site. However, the claims may be barred by a federal law.
“The fact they put up the news story is not an act that makes them liable for comments posted to that story,” said Steve Key, general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association.
Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, which applies everywhere in the country, generally states that a “provider or user of an interactive computer service” is not responsible for the comments provided by others. Such a law protects sites like Facebook from being sued for hosting libelous comments.
“But the persons who made the postings ... they are responsible for those comments,” Key said.
Journal & Courier publisher Gary Suisman declined to comment on the open lawsuit.
Purdue Police Chief John Cox, Norberg and the University’s attorney also refused to speak. D’Amore and Rinehart could not be reached.
All defendants in the suit are not likely to file a formal response until sometime in April.