Watch out what you post!

[Doug Charney]

"Obviously he has sustained damages," Elder said of Nicosia, "both physical and financially, as well as mentally from this onslaught of behavior."

How does that compare to losing your legs??

What a prick!

 

[boulderjohn]

Also, the fact that the defense that the information is essentially true (as in the guy was found guilty in court) is generally considered a bullet-proof defense.

I am not a lawyer, either, but I used to teach journalism, which includes the issue of libel.

While truth is a defense, it is not an absolute defense. Libel includes the concept of malice. If you are writing with the only real intention being to hurt this person, then malice comes into play. You can thus write the truth and still be guilty of libel. It is not, however, a cut and dried affair.

Let's say I found out that a neighbor of mine has a teenage son with a bed wetting problem. I post this information and ridicule him. He is not a public figure, and the public does not benefit from this knowledge. My only purpose is to harm his reputation. Even though the information is true, I would almost certainly be found guilty of libel if I were sued.

In another thread currently going on SB, someone asked about taking online classes through a scuba agency called SDA (Scuba Divers of America). I made a couple of posts in which I revealed that I had personally investigated this agency and shown them to be a fraud. In my posts, I am definitely trying to hurt their business because they are misrepresenting themselves and the validity of what they are selling. In this case, my purpose is not malicious--the public needs to know this information so that others are not pulled in by the scam and lose their money. I am therefore not guilty of libel.

I think.

If you look at the lawsuit being brought against SB and 100 of its participants, it appears to be the same sort of thing. There was a definite, proven, bad situation resulting in a man's death, and a number of SB participants wrote repeatedly about the organization and person involved with the intention of seeing to it that people knew who this was (under a new business name) and could be warned. That person is suing SB and the posters for defamation and lost business, exactly as is being done in this case. With my previous understanding of libel, I would have expected it to be thrown out of court immediately, but, by golly, it is still going on after a year of legal wrangling.

 

[Hank49]

By all accounts on Spearboard, including from the guy who lost his legs, the Dr left him in the water.
There was no other story to be told. No one defended the driver of the boat.
He should be in jail.
So sue me. Prick.

 

[Capt.Ed]

I'm a frequent poster on Spearboard too and although there are some pretty heated discussions and a lot of BS, Doctor Roger Nicosia ran Rob over, stopped his boat, assessed the situation, and then left Rob there to die...the Doctor deserved a whole lot worse than a few harsh words about his behavior. I also kind of doubt that anyone outside of the spearfishing community would be likely to read the posts and I really doubt that the posters of spearboard impacted his career...that a-hole did it himself when he left the scene of an accident that he caused!

This guy obvously didn't learn anything in this whole ordeal...

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

I'm sure I remember fish n chips tasting better when wrapped in the local rag.

Have you been drinking again, LakeCountyDiver?

Can you ever post anything that makes sense???

No one gives a thought to the pain and suffering the doctor went through, not only due to the trauma of having known he caused a debilitating injury but the odds are he's facing an expensive repair bill to the boat propeller.

I almost fell out of my chair Thanks for the laugh we all have been looking at it wrong... LMAO

 

[Mopar]

Unfortunately, the defense itself, right or wrong, can be extremely costly and time consuming... Never a fun thing...

Costly is right talking about an arm and a leg. The doctor should be in jail for attempted murder.

 

[robbcayman]

I am not a lawyer, either, but I used to teach journalism, which includes the issue of libel.

While truth is a defense, it is not an absolute defense. Libel includes the concept of malice. If you are writing with the only real intention being to hurt this person, then malice comes into play. You can thus write the truth and still be guilty of libel. It is not, however, a cut and dried affair.

Let's say I found out that a neighbor of mine has a teenage son with a bed wetting problem. I post this information and ridicule him. He is not a public figure, and the public does not benefit from this knowledge. My only purpose is to harm his reputation. Even though the information is true, I would almost certainly be found guilty of libel if I were sued.

In another thread currently going on SB, someone asked about taking online classes through a scuba agency called SDA (Scuba Divers of America). I made a couple of posts in which I revealed that I had personally investigated this agency and shown them to be a fraud. In my posts, I am definitely trying to hurt their business because they are misrepresenting themselves and the validity of what they are selling. In this case, my purpose is not malicious--the public needs to know this information so that others are not pulled in by the scam and lose their money. I am therefore not guilty of libel.

I think.

If you look at the lawsuit being brought against SB and 100 of its participants, it appears to be the same sort of thing. There was a definite, proven, bad situation resulting in a man's death, and a number of SB participants wrote repeatedly about the organization and person involved with the intention of seeing to it that people knew who this was (under a new business name) and could be warned. That person is suing SB and the posters for defamation and lost business, exactly as is being done in this case. With my previous understanding of libel, I would have expected it to be thrown out of court immediately, but, by golly, it is still going on after a year of legal wrangling.

I was that poster and I really appreciated your honesty. It seems only right to expose a company that is trying to steal money from unsuspecting customers. Thankfully, there are other people who are willing to expose the frauds. Sorry, not trying to hijack. Thanks again, John!!

 

[Airleron]

This story has me seeing red everytime I read it. It's amazing that Dr. N has the audacity to sue a BLOG/Bloggers for damaging his rep, when the very ACT of running over a diver, and NOT stopping to help even though he's an ER Physician, and having his lawyer meet him on the dock would damage his reputation MORE THAN A BLOG ever could. He's a scum sucking human.

Go ahead, sue me.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

...You can thus write the truth and still be guilty of libel. ... I would almost certainly be found guilty of libel if I were sued.

The United States does not have criminal libel laws. You cannot be found "guilty" (i.e. Criminally convicted) of libel. You may be held financially liable for damages you cause via libel.

Some countries, including the Cayman Islands where I live, do have criminal libel laws. You can be found guilty and sent to jail for libel.

 

[Zieg]

First off, I am not defending this dirtbag (the doctor). But it seems to me that perhaps the lawsuit is designed to also support his defense that he did nothing wrong, as he claims. He is appealing the criminal conviction and he is being sued by Rob in a civil case, so maybe he is trying to show the courts that he is "fighting on all fronts".

I did a search on his name yesterday and found that a couple of boating forums are discussing this case also. Also there is a site where the Dr. claims that at age 16 he was involved in a boating accident where he actually helped the people who were run over by a boat.

Diver hit by boat - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum
They hurt my feelings-Dr nicosia
Martin County Dr. sues 4 people in boating accident +
Health: News, articles, tips, fitness, nutrition, medical resources for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast | The Palm Beach Post

Personally, I think the guy should pay Rob a bunch of money and lose his licience to practice medicine. But hey, that's just my opinion.