The Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear a case involving an Internet site that rates health care providers, the Associated Press reports. Home health care agency Northwest Healthcare Alliance originally sued Healthgrades.com for defamation in a Washington state court over what it thought should have been a higher rating.
Kris Kostolansky, the attorney for Colorado-based Healthgrades.com, said that the company should not be subject to a trial in another state. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that Healthgrade.com, because it obtained Washington state records and rated a Washington provider, was open to the lawsuit.
The circuit court's decision to allow the suit "subjects those who communicate opinions over the Internet to the unconstitutional burden of being subject to suit in any forum, until such time as this court corrects the injustice," Kostolansky said.
The Supreme Court has yet to consider a case involving legal boundaries on the Internet, according to the Associated Press. The highest court in Australia, however, ruled last year that a businessman could sue for defamation regarding a U.S.-published article posted on the Internet (AP/New York Times, 4/28).