You should post to
http://reddit.com/r/legaladvice I would love to see what they have to say about it lol
Note: I understand that providing a real answer to this question is as frivolous as the guys legal threats but I love this type of law.
NAL:
Firstly
Unless someone does sue you, just ignore them. In the US you can be sued for anything. Someone threatening to sue you is not the same as being sued. Unless you are served with papers you have nothing to worry about. Even if you are served It doesn't mean that they has a case against you. This case would be small claims court, so he wouldn't even need a lawyer. Still I suspect many hundreds of dollars in court fees and legal fees. If you fail to show up you will get a default judgement against you (you automatically lose, and they automatically get what they asked for in damages); so always show up if you are sued.
Obviously... This guy is not going to be able to subpoena OTM or your ISP's for your IP addresses to get the info he would need to serve you for his bogus case. You would have to have caused him measurable monetary damages worthy of withstanding a motion to squash based on your first amendment rights.
Most courts follow the standard set forth in the New Jersey appellate court decision of Dendrite
Intern., Inc. v. Doe No. 3, 775 A.2d 756 (2001). Under the Dendrite standard, courts typically
allow plaintiffs to conduct discovery to identify anonymous defendants if a plaintiff can show: (1)
An attempt to provide notice to the anonymous defendants that their identities are being sought,
and explain how to present a defense; (2) quote verbatim the allegedly actionable online speech;
(3) allege all elements of the cause of action; (4) present evidence supporting the claim of
violation; and (5) prove to the court, on balance and in the particulars of the case, the right to
identify the speaker outweighs the First Amendment right of anonymous speech.
I'm not exactly clear on how they would argue the case that they could even get a supoena for your IP addresses and then subsequently your contact information from the relevant ISP's.
Second I think it would be even more difficult because OTM is not a US based entity whereas the ISP's are.
Third there are no damages and in the US the first amendment protects our right to free speech including but not limited to whatever you said that pissed this little turd off. Now if he could provide evidence to a judge, the judge could approve some "Discovery" for the case. This is when they would get those supoena's. However I can't imagine a judge doing anything other than laughing at him and dismissing it.
Tech companies do not release user information to anyone unless required by law.
Just put him on block
Lots of info for legal geeks who care:
http://www.defamationremovalattorneysbl ... osters.pdf