Sunshine Posts

[LeeLau]

SSV's lawyer probably has no clue about "teh internet". Either that, or they're going after Lee for all his lawyer-y advice in those threads

I'd like to see them try. I have good insurance and unlimited time.

IN MY OPINION SSV should sue itself for stupidity.

[BirdRock]

What a bunch of little bitches.

I'm officially burning my SSV t-shirt after work today. It was one of my favorites too. I put it on moratorium after the first story broke. It's now time to do the deed however.

[iscariot]

Are you fucking kidding me...

IN MY OPINION The Scurfield's who own Sunshine Village Ski Area can lick my taint.

[RegCT]

IN MY OPINION...

Is that what internet forums are for? Weird.

I wonder what demands were set forth in the letter? Might be good for a laugh...

[Ottime]

anybody that feels this is wrong, and has a blog, should post about it to make up for (fill the interweb void for) what tgr took down.
at least facebook it.


planning a ski trip in canada? put your money where the sun don't shine

Like the new article, but is douchebag= dumb ass? I mean, is that statement of opinion or fact? And who is "we"? Do you have an imaginary friend typing with you?

Back to the thread. Yes, this brought this whole thing back to my attention. I had turned to other topics and pretty much forgotten about this. Not that I was planning to visit SSV, but now I will remember to talk about this and spread the word. SSV feels (opinion) unsafe with the sacking of three senior mountain management team members.

Dumb Asses for bringing this to the surface again.

[Flyoverland Captive]

After explaining this whole debacle to my wife, Sunshine is now on our no-fucking-way-will-I-give-them-my-money list. Truly astounding behavior from these idiots, in my opinion.

[Danno]

You might want to read this- http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/l...ity/defamation

SSV could have approached this differently, but this action seems to be in their best interest.
I seriously doubt this situation will progress any further due to TGR's prompt and considerate response to their request.

I would suggest everyone posting in this thread to consider making this situation as easy as possible for TGR.

That link is useless for explaining TGR's potential liability for posts, libelous or not, made by users of TGR's forums that otherwise have no affiliation with TGR as a company.

[toast2266]

That link is useless for explaining TGR's potential liability for posts, libelous or not, made by users of TGR's forums that otherwise have no affiliation with TGR as a company.

My understanding is that TGR could still (potentially) be liable for publishing defamatory statements, just like a newspaper can be liable for publishing defamatory letters to the editor. That's sort of covered in the re-publishing section of that article.

But for the record: fuck Sunshine Village, fuck its asshat owners, and fuck the owner's half-wit kid. <--- not libel.

edit: looks like I stand corrected re: Danno's post below.

[Danno]

Putting aside for the moment the international issues, my 2 minutes of research came upon this. As a lawyer -- though this is not formal legal advice because I'm talking out my ass here -- I am embarrassed to admit that I used wiki for my legal research. I don't know if this applies because my understanding is that it is designed to protect ISPs (I didn't even pull up the actual statute, sue me), but the logic of it applies equally to a forum with independent users of the forum. So it may not be any more helpful than blurred's link, but hopefully TGR's lawyers have some cojones and expertise here.

[Greydon Clark]

This family must have been born with a silver spoon in their brain.

[Danno]

My understanding is that TGR could still (potentially) be liable for publishing defamatory statements, just like a newspaper can be liable for publishing defamatory letters to the editor. That's sort of covered in the re-publishing section of that article.

But for the record: fuck Sunshine Village, fuck its asshat owners, and fuck the owner's half-wit kid. <--- not libel.

No, it is nowhere near the same as publishing letters to the editor. That requires editorial review and a decision by the newspaper to publish the letter, something that obviously does not happen on a forum. Even so, in that circumstance the newspaper would only be liable if it knew the statements to be false:

Generally, anyone who repeats someone else's statements is just as responsible for their defamatory content as the original speaker—if they knew, or had reason to know, of the defamation.

And even that link has the following:

Recognizing the difficulty this would pose in the online world, Congress enacted Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides a strong protection against liability for Internet "intermediaries" who provide or republish speech by others. See the Section 230 FAQ for more.

The vast weight of authority has held that Section 230 precludes liability for an intermediary's distribution of defamation. While one California court had held that the federal law does not apply to an online distributor's liability in a defamation case, the case, Barrett v. Rosenthal, was overturned by the California Supreme Court (EFF filed an amicus brief in this case)

which says to me that TGR is not liable.

[Lonnie]

which says to me that TGR is not liable.

So that means they would have to go after every single individual who thought or said that the owners and mangers of sunshine were a bunch of dumbass cocksuckers? I may or may not think that personally, just using this as an example. Seems to me that's a lot of rabbits to chase. At what point is a persons speech protected under the first amendment and at what point is it libel? What obligation does TGR have to turn over emails and isp's?? Isn't there some point of diminishing returns for the management?

[freshie247]

In my personal opinion Sunshine Village is not a safe or prudent place to ski due to their insatiable desire to be ASSWIPES in all matters,ways,shapes & forms. Nobody I know will ever say anything complementary & certainly will never spend cent one there.Up yours sCurfield mutant nation!

[Pinner]

I love how self-important millionaire twats are threatened by our lowly group of Internet skieurz.

Power to the people! :fist

[freshie247]

Legal experts: can we have a thread about opinions of what feltchers the sCurfields & SSV are? Would that be considered defamatory?

[Joe Strummer]

Man....I am going to have to really reconsider renewing my seasons pass for next year.
This has gone from bad to worse.
More PR nightmare for them. They will never learn.

[Harry]

Over the past 20+ years I have made an annual ski trip to Canada, over 10 of these trips were to Sunshine Village. I have probably spent $10,000 to $15,000 at Sunshine over the years, maybe more. I will never ski there again, and I will be telling all my friends to avoid that ski area as well.

I do not appreciate a foreign company's lawyers coming into my country and interferring with my free speech rights. (i.e. the Cease and Desist letter delivered to TGR)

As long as this was just an employment case in Canada, I stayed out of it. I figured the court system in Canada would give everyone a fair hearing, and the truth would win out. But now they are making it personal by coming into my country and trying to screw with my rights.

Hey Mr. Scurfield: here in the United States we have something called "Freedom of Speech". I am about to use it. Take your Cease and Desist letter and shove it up your ass. <<< My attorney has advised me that the U.S. Constitution gaurentees me the right to say that.

[goldenboy]

Ironically enough, I was one who was saying we should here both sides in one of the threads before we jump to conclusions.

No doubt. The deleted thread left me wondering what exactly went down, I still had an open mind. Not so much anymore.

[doughboyshredder]

I spent a spring vacation at Sunshine a few years ago, and always looked forward to going back. If I go back to the Banff area I will spend all of my time riding at Lake Louise. I will never give the Scurfields a dime of my money.

[drdevon]

Never been. Can't see going.

[Meanfruit]

Never been. Can't see going.

Don't. It's flat, like Kansas. Heard Jar Jar Binks vacations there. No fly zone,too. Overun with Canadian Socialists. And all the toilets are plugged. I could go on, but what's the point?

[nickinbc]

This family must have been born with a silver spoon in their brain.

For that you have to have a brain.

[nickinbc]

Danno quoted US law and said

which says to me that TGR is not liable.

Which ignores that this is an international forum and Sunshine could sue under Canadian law, or another jurisdiction that is even more favourable to them (e.g. under UK libel law).

[G]

Wow, I am absolutely amazed.

Dear Sunshine Village:
I have been visiting your resort every winter for nearly 30 years now. Me, my family and my friends make at least two trips per year. Every fall I bring my wife and four children on a ten-day visit, and we always book out two suites in the Sunshine Mountain Lodge. Additionally, every spring, I organize an annual get-together for my college buddies and their families at your resort. For the springtime visit, we often rent multiple suites at the SSML for the week of our gathering. I always buy season passes for the entire family, and always eat on-mountain. For the family trip, we never fail to hire a couple of private instructors each day, and on the group visit, we usually hire one as well. On powder days, I usually demo a pair of high-end fat skis from your shop. Needless to say, I have invested a significant sum of money in skiing at Sunshine Village.

Over the many years visiting your resort, I have always left happy and looking forward to returning. After witnessing this recent egregious lapse of ethics and judgment, I will most certainly NOT be returning to your resort. I am now truly afraid for my own safety when skiing at Sunshine Village. Additionally, I will plan our future group trips to avoid your mountain and instead visit Lake Louise.

Good luck,
Another former customer

[LeeLau]

Danno quoted US law and said


Which ignores that this is an international forum and Sunshine could sue under Canadian law, or another jurisdiction that is even more favourable to them (e.g. under UK libel law).

SSV would have to create new judge-made law to be successful. Not impossible but a tall, expensive order