Minnesota Court Dismisses Physician’s Defamation Lawsuit, Ruling Supports Social Media Comments As Protected Speech

On January 30, 2013, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a physician against a patient’s family member who posted negative comments about the physician on a social media website; the court ruled unanimously that the comments were protected speech. The court was asked to consider whether six allegedly defamatory statements posted online by the patient's family member met the legal definition of defamation and interference with business. The ruling came in David McKee M.D. v. Dennis Laurion. In April 2010, after an encounter with Dr. McKee, a neurologist, during a 20-minute examination of . . .