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Wakefield allegedly suing Deer for libel

commandlinegamer

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commandlinegamer
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Via JackofKent on Twitter who does comment it's not been verified as yet:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2...ndre.php?utm_source=selectfeed&utm_medium=rss

Apparently not satisfied with having taken a run at Brian Deer and lost, even in the libel-friendly venue of the UK, disgraced anti-vaccine "brave maverick doctor" Andrew Wakefield has apparently filed a libel suit against Brian Deer on January 3. A PDF of the complaint can be found here. Apparently, Wakefield is very, very unhappy at the most recent series published by Brian Deer in BMJ almost exactly a year ago today in which Deer characterized Wakefield's research as "Piltdown medicine."
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I hope it's true; the anti-vaccine crowd have caused so much mischief. Let's see him try to argue this nonsense in court.
 
Sorry, I read the bit in the OP about Jack of Kent and Twitter, and somehow thought the link must be to a Twitter post....

My bad. :o

Rolfe.
 
It won't go anywhere except badly for Wakefield; he probably doesn't stand a chance to even have the case heard, let alone prevail. He is merely doing this as a show for his supporters who have probably questioned his silence on the matter for so long and since that is all who he has left paying his meal ticket, he's got to do something. The temporary silence he may buy for Brian Deer is going to bite him on the bum.

Este
 
Dude, if you can't win a libel case in England, you sure as hell aren't going to win it in Texas.
 
Interesting that his court application ends with a heading "Prayer", and we hear how he hereby prays for a jury hearing and favourable judgement.

Is this normal in Texas libel lawspeak to do this?
 
Haha. The truth is an absolute defense against libel in the US. He hasn't got a chance. The court might even order him to pay court costs.
 
The suit was filed on 3 January 2012, Deer, Godlee and BMJ have not been served with a formal petition as of yet. Is this delay customary? Aside from a weak show for his "sad rump of disciples", I can't imagine what this move can possibly do for his "career".

Este
 
godless dave said:
Dude, if you can't win a libel case in England, you sure as hell aren't going to win it in Texas.
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From what I understand, you may have that backwards. At least in matters of the press, British libel law is much stricter than in the U.S., and the press is much more limited in what they can say or allude. I'm uncertain if it's different for others.

@Deetee: the term "prayer" or "pray" is common in all U.S. law, not just in Texas.
 
slingblade said:
From what I understand, you may have that backwards. At least in matters of the press, British libel law is much stricter than in the U.S., and the press is much more limited in what they can say or allude. I'm uncertain if it's different for others.

@Deetee: the term "prayer" or "pray" is common in all U.S. law, not just in Texas.
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And that's the point--he lost in GB, with its strict interpretation of what libel is--he claimed they libeled him, the courts found differently...
 
So you can sue people over words that make you look bad.


I wonder, can you sue people over words that lead people to die?


Seems like a legal system that's upended bass-ackwards.
 
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