I have a friend who belongs to a listserv group where there is one troublesome individual. This individual has threatened the list owner with legal action is she is blocked from the list. So the question is - Is she just blowing smoke or is this really something she can sue over? My non-lawyer self thinks she’s just being a bully and doesn’t have a leg to stand on, but now I’m curious if there is a precedent for this.
It depends. The Straight Dope Message Board is owned by the Chicago Reader which is based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, so Illinois laws and federal American laws apply. I’m far from an expert, but as far as I know this means that anyone can be excluded from the message board for any reason, as it is privately owned. It should be the same with this listserv group; whoever owns it is subject to the laws of his or her country.
Basically, I wouldn’t hesitate to block this individual.
Let’s say that it’s owned by Yahoo. Wouldn’t she have to sue the list owner and Yahoo too?
You forgot to mention what the “this” is that she wants to sue somebody for. But generally speaking you can sue anybody for anything. The suit may be baseless and get thrown out, but not after the defendant spends a buncha bux hiring attorneys for their defense.
The “this” is being blocked from a listserv.
Generally, you have no vested right to be on a listserv, and thus can’t be (successfully) sued for being kicked off. However, there are a bazillion possible exceptions to this general statement, depending on a lot of facts you haven’t provided. These include, without limitation, any promises made to her by the listserv administrators, why she is being threatened with being kicked off, who runs the listserv, and whether or not she pays a fee for access to the listserv.
People threaten to sue all the time for the most trivial of things. Most of the time, they’re blowing smoke.
Just out of curiosity and not to hijack the thread, but is there any case law or precedent as to whether a listserv constitutes a “public accomodation”? I seem to remember some brouhaha a few years ago regarding some Christian website or listserv banning gay people but I don’t recall any details.
From what I gather, they consider her a troll. There’s no fee involved, but other than that, I don’t have any additional info. I don’t belong to the listserv in question.
IANAL, but I would imagine that a listserv would be treated the same as the private property of the founder. I believe that would mean that the founder can deny access to anyone for any reason whatsoever, and whoever is denied access has no (valid) legal recourse.
Did I mention that IANAL?